Internships

As part of Epicodus, companies host students as full-time interns. It's a chance for students to learn about how development works in the real world, and a chance for companies to work with talented developers in the making. 

We run a match-making process for employers in the Portland and Seattle areas, or who host fully remote internships.  

Most students in our part-time program arrange their own internships on schedules that best meet their needs. If you are not able to participate in our matchmaking process or host interns on a full-time schedule, but would like to support interns on a part-time schedule, we are happy to put you in touch with our part-time students.

If you would like to participate or have any questions, you can email employers@epicodus.com.

The Match-Making Process

Because of the large number of students and employers who participate in the internship program, Epicodus facilitates match-making between students and employers. Here's how it works:

  1. Students rank employers based off descriptions employers provide.

  2. Based on those rankings, Epicodus staff assign around 8 students for each employer to interview.

  3. Employers interview their matched students and provide a ranking of their preference.

  4. Students re-rank employers after their interviews.

  5. Based on employer and student rankings, Epicodus staff match students and employers to make everybody as happy as possible!

Often, employers do not get their first choice interns, because they are not those students' top choice. And often, students do not get their first choice internships, because they are not those employers' top choice. Very rarely, a student and employer may be each others' top choice but not be matched, because it would mean that a second-choice employer or student would have no other good match. 

We are almost always able to get students one of their top three choice internships, and employers at least one of their top three choice interns. That said, we can't make any guarantees: for example, we have had a very small number situations where a student's lower-ranked internship was at the only company that ranked them highly.

 

What to Expect from Students

Students begin the internship program after completing several classes at Epicodus. They are still students and are still learning. The internship should be an educational environment where students learn how to apply the skills they practiced in the classroom to real-world development.

We usually place interns in pairs. While the interns usually don't pair-program, they typically sit next to each other and help each other out, reducing their need to ask questions of their mentor and giving them more confidence to ask when they do have questions.

For full details on the internship process, read our student internship agreement.

What to Expect from Employers

Participating employers come in all types, sizes, and missions: we've had employers range from a one-person startup to a Fortune 100 company to a non-profit. There are just two things employers must provide to participate:

  • A learning experience for the interns, in which the interns will spend at least 30 hours each week on development-related work.

  • An experienced developer as a mentor who will guide the interns and answer their questions.

For full details on the internship process, read our employer internship agreement.

 

Maximizing Success

Epicodus does not take a one size fits all approach to how internships should be structured. The companies we work with are as varied as our students, and are welcome to organize your internship in whatever way works best for them. We have spoken with many of our previous and current partners, however, and have found some common themes among those who got the most out of participating in this program. You can find a compilation of that information in our internship report (PDF).

Our remote internship guide (PDF) has additional information about how to successfully conduct internships remotely.