My first week of work was pretty spectacular. I'm still learning the ropes about a lot of things, and figuring my way around, but I've come a long way.
The first day, Monday, was pretty uneventful. It was basically doing a lot of paperwork to make sure I was who I said I was. I expected to be 1 of only a few people there, but about 100 people started the same day as me. For a majority of the time, we were all in a big conference hall listening to presentations and watching videos. We got various breaks where there were snacks and drinks, and they also let us go to The Commons for lunch - basically a student center equivalent at a big corporation. There are tons of places to get food, but also a bike shop, cell phone providers, a bank, USPS store, etc. During the day, I sat near a couple people around my age, but there were definitely people there who were 40+. One guy had just moved here from Australia after having been an intern last summer. A girl I sat next to also interned last summer, but was from the area so didn't move from quite as far.
At the end of the day, I decided to find out where my building was. I asked the receptionist if my mentor or manager were there. She told me where their offices were, so I went and poked my head in. Only my mentor was there, so we talked for a bit. He was a little surprised to see me since they didn't expect me until the next day, but seemed glad I stopped by. I got a little preview of what I would be working on, and then headed home. I got back by 5pm, so a pretty easy day all things considered.
I have my own office just down the hall from the rest of my team - it has my name on the door an everything. There are (or there will be) 3 different computers in my office for various uses, and I have a bunch of whiteboards to help work on stuff. The next couple of days were spent getting my office set up, meeting various people I'd be working with, learning how to get things done, etc. There is a LOT of information to digest, and everyone knows that so they're giving me plenty of time. I did get to make some real contributions in the middle of the week, so I felt productive.
For lunch, there is a big cafeteria near my building (not the Commons). On Wednesday, we had a team lunch there for some bonding. The cafeteria had a buffalo chicken sandwich special for the week, so of course I got that. There are plenty of other options, too: asian noodles, salad bar, and more. Thursday, I left campus to go into downtown Redmond to get lunch with a few other employees and interns. I didn't realize it right away, but we ended up playing credit-card roulette to see who paid. It came down to me and one other person, but luckily I didn't lose.
By the end of the week, I was fairly autonomous. I still had plenty of questions, but I like to think I got good at figuring out stuff when I didn't immediately know the answer. I spent Friday afternoon exploring around the main part of campus. I learned that the first Friday of every month is Family Day, where families bring their kids and significant others for lunch, games, and other activities. At first I thought people brought their families in practically every day, especially during the summer, but then I saw a sign about it. That may also give you an idea of the demographic I work with. There are plenty of younger people though; I'd guess the average age of my team is around 30, but I am definitely the youngest. While it's a stark increase in age from my internship last summer, it's not as drastic as I've heard from others. Everyone in my group is really awesome, and I hope to get up to speed as fast as possible.
Getting to and from work has steadily gotten better. For most of the week, I was driving to and from. It was about a 45-55 minute commute each way, and I hit a fair amount of traffic during peak rush hour times. Rush hour here is particularly rough - there are 2 bridges that cross Lake Washington: the 520 and the 90. Within the last year or so, the 520 bridge had a toll put on it to raise money for repairs. This caused a lot of people to switch to the 90 bridge, creating tons of congestion. Not wanting to pay the toll, I did the same. Luckily, there are shuttles that go around the Pudget Sound area to pick people up and take them straight to campus. There is one less than half a mile from my apartment, they all have WiFi on them, and the best part is they take the 520 bridge so there is practically no traffic. This cut down my commute to 35-45 minutes since there's a little walking involved at each end. I'll get a bike eventually, and hopefully get it under half an hour when all is said and done.
At some point in the future, I'm gonna bring my camera to work so you can actually see what it's like in a day of my life at work. This weekend is supposed to be spectacular in terms of weather, so I'll be spending a lot of time outside exploring.
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