August 04, 2023

Meet Andrew Kim: a senior studying computer science and information technology. His interest in technology began when he was young and only grew as he became more acquainted with the topic.

“I found my passion for the tech industry as a kid,” Kim said. “I was actually introduced to the topic after some Mizzou students started a coding club at my elementary school. I was always bewildered by how easy it was for someone to get started on a project, as well as the impact one could have. From there, I’ve always found an interest in CS/IT, and kept up with the latest in technology.

This summer, Kim has conducted an internship at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMC) in Chicago. We asked him a few questions about the experience.

Tell us about your internship at JPMorgan Chase & Co. What’s your role and primary responsibility? 

At JPMC, I am a Software Engineer Intern located in Chicago. I work on a payments team under the Corporate and Investment Banking Line of Business. My primary responsibility is to support DevOps, so reliability and scalability are two primary concerns of our solutions.

What’s a typical day like? 

Day-to-day, my role entails a lot more than just coding. As my team touches multiple projects, I might have multiple stand-ups and meetings to attend throughout a single day. What I really enjoy is that JPMC provides many opportunities for self-development throughout the internship. From sessions on other aspects of the company, to presentations on our latest tech developments, to hackathons that offer an opportunity to create something entirely new at the firm, there’s always something to keep us busy and learning. However, I am still expected to prioritize and complete my stories on-time, which might entail reading lots of documentation to learn how a platform/service works, as well as how to begin to resolve the issue at hand.

How did Mizzou Engineering prepare you for this internship?

Mizzou taught me the basics of collaborating on a team. Without that skill set, it would be impossible to work with others at a company. This is especially necessary at a large firm such as JPMC, where we collaborate with hundreds of other people on projects, who might be located all over the world. I’ve learned these skills both in the classroom and outside by getting involved in student orgs.

How did Mizzou Engineering Career Services assist you with securing or preparing for this internship?

Mizzou Engineering Career Services has always been there for me when preparing for recruitment season. My favorite event leading up to our Career Fairs is always the Mad Dash Resume Review. Mizzou Engineering is unique in that they invite companies to review resumes in-person days before the career fair, meaning that you can get direct and personalized resume advice from the same people that might hire you later that week. This has personally helped me perfect my resume over the past few years.

What have you enjoyed most working at JPMorgan Chase & Co. so far?

I have loved the amount of networking opportunities available at JPMC that I’ve been able to take advantage of. As we are a large company, I’m constantly meeting new people and attending social events, both with interns and full-time employees. Furthermore, I’ve been scheduling one-on-one coffee chats with people that my team works closely with to learn more about their journey and how what they’re working on fits into the company. It’s fascinating to learn about the vast number of products and services JPMC has to offer.

What have you learned from your internship experience?

I’ve learned so much over the course of the internship. I’d never touched DevOps before, so I ended up gaining a lot of new experience with CI/CD and internal tools within that scope, learning hands-on about how convoluted and massive our systems are. I also learned a lot from a business perspective, including how receivables are processed, tracked and used in the industry.

What advice would you give other students wanting to conduct an internship in this area?

I’d highly recommend others to simply get involved in student orgs within Mizzou Engineering. You’ll learn so many of the soft skills (potentially hard skills as well) that are needed on the job by actively participating in an org that interests you. Furthermore, I highly recommend taking advantage of Mizzou Engineering Career Services as they do a wonderful job of providing access to opportunities. 

Thanks for sharing!

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