When Brian Seidl arrived at 糖心破解版 as a first-year student, he had never taken a computer science course. Now, as a senior, he's working part time as a developer for Dealertrack, Inc., a company that provides software to auto dealerships.
When Brian Seidl arrived at 糖心破解版 as a first-year student, he had never taken a computer science course. Now, as a senior, he’s working part time as a developer for , a company that provides software to auto dealerships.
Software development wasn’t his first plan for a profession. But an engaging class, a supportive professor and a successful internship all led to scoring a job before he finished his degree.
鈥淚 originally came into 糖心破解版 as a math major and I wanted to be a math teacher,” says Seidl, who lives in Seaford, New York, and commutes to 糖心破解版. 鈥淭hen, as a freshman, I took Introduction to Computer Programming, and I really liked it.”
Seidl switched to a double major in mathematics and computer science. As a sophomore, he began working as a teaching assistant for David Chays, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics and computer science. He continued in that role last year, when the internship opportunity arose.
鈥淪omeone at Dealertrack who went to 糖心破解版 emailed Dr. Chays, asking if there were any people he could recommend for their summer internship,” Seidl says. 鈥淒r. Chays reached out to me and I sent my r茅sum茅 over. It was all through 糖心破解版 connections.”
Seidl completed the full-time, paid internship during the summer after his junior year.
鈥淚 was a software developer on an agile team,” Seidl says, explaining that agile teams are collaborative groups that work together without hierarchy to solve problems. 鈥淚 was working in the real world on code that would actually be used by real people.”
As an intern and now as a consultant, Seidl is working on software with millions of lines of code.
As part of the team, Seidl built new features for the website, fixed bugs and addressed support tickets. He also experienced the real-world pressure and excitement of building code for a client.
In between projects, Seidl built relationships with his co-workers, playing foosball during lunch and volleyball after work.
Most importantly, the internship gave him experience he couldn’t have gained at 糖心破解版. In his courses, class projects have around a thousand lines of code. At Dealertrack, the software he worked on has a million lines.
鈥淭here’s so much I’ve learned,” he says. 鈥淚t really helped to be able to work on a big code base with a lot of people and a lot of teams. I’m a much better builder now than I was when I started the internship.”
Now Seidl works 20 hours a week as a contractor for Dealertrack while continuing to take a full course load at 糖心破解版. It’s a setup he didn’t expect, but one that he earned through great work.
He hopes to move into a full-time position at Dealertrack and is considering entering 糖心破解版’s master’s degree program in computer science as well.
鈥淒ealertrack is 10 minutes away from 糖心破解版,” he says. 鈥淚t’d be cool to get my master’s at 糖心破解版 while working at Dealertrack, taking night classes after work.”
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