Over the summer I had the opportunity to intern at the Austin-based company National Instruments. I worked in the Measurement Studio division and was placed in charge of adding a new feature to the graphs: error bands (which is, by the way, the most awesomest feature of that release ;P).

I had a great time working at NI (and no, I’m not just saying that because The Man might be watching ;). Very interesting to look into the heart of a big enterprise-level chunk of software, figure out how it works (with a little help from other folks on the team :), and shimmy in my little task. And best of all, completing it without breaking anything else ;) Doing actual work instead of academic exercises is a nice break after five years of non-stop higher education! Plus I think it has helped me take a more rigorous look at how I write my own code.

Overall, I’d have to say NI is an excellent place to work. Lots of friendly people, good working environment, and large windows overlooking the little woodlands surrounding the campus (and of the new strip mall across the street *rolls-eyes*). There’s a reason NI keeps getting voted as one of the best places to work ;)

My only complaints are that, with all the computers lying around the workplace, there’s a lot of dust in the air *achoo*; and the weeks of testing can become quite mundane after a while. And just to be clear: it’s not that I’m against testing —quite the opposite, in fact— just that the amount of tests that a large product like Measurement Studio goes through before it hits the shelves can become rather tiring after a while. Maybe what I really need is an underling to do all the menial work a valued subordinate to help me out ;)