We would like to welcome Daniel Cruickshanks, our recent Hack Day finalist, who has joined our team for his 2-week work placement. Here’s what Dan had to say about his experience here at Hark.
Life at Hark
My two-week internship with the fantastic team at Hark, was my first exposure to life as a developer. After all the introductions and formalities, I got a chance to talk and sit with the people that make it all happen. It’s astounding and truly eye-opening how much effort goes into every aspect of their platform to deliver their services, especially so given the size of the team. That paired with the fact that I wasn’t familiar with the programming languages in use made my stay a challenging one.
Pushing the Boundaries
I was tasked with producing a functional prototype that implements interactive and customisable data visualisations for their platform… in TypeScript. Suffice it to say, Google had become my best friend very quickly during my time here. However, my end product would still be of use for the Hark team, which was a big encouragement to complete the task to their liking.
I was conscious that the team was particularly busy during my time there so I tried to get on with things myself where I could. Having said that, anyone at all who was in the office at the time was more than happy to offer help, feedback, or improvement advice whenever I needed any. There was always a warm atmosphere in the office, and I’ve had some fun conversations with everyone, work-related or not.
I was really happy that whatever little thing that I conjured up during my time, made a positive difference. The design was probably not the prettiest admittedly, but I produced code that will add to their platform in some way.
I will shortly be starting a qualification course to become a developer. I feel like after this experience, I have certainly made the right career choice after my time previously working in the legal industry. I have no-one else to thank other than Hark for offering this opportunity to me and allowing me to work alongside everyone. I could not have been luckier to find a way to test whether being a developer is the right path or not.
It has been an enormous pleasure to have been a part of this team for two weeks. I could not have asked for a better introduction to the world of software and web development.
It’s been great having Dan in the office, and we wish him all the best on his next venture. From showing him how we operate to him teaching us all Russian, he’s been a fantastic asset to the Hark team.
