Internship turned App Developer Job | tapptitude Interns Success Stories

8 Min Read • Oct 16, 2017

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Sinziana Chitea

Content Marketer

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A mobile app developer internship turning to a full-time, real-life mobile app developer job – it’s the dream, right?

It’s a dream come true in our case. Actually, in their case: Deni, Robert, Mircea, Stefan, and Andrei. They are (some of) the awesome guys who decided to start their mobile app developer careers in the iOS and Android app development teams here at Tapptitude.

And we’re so glad they did! The best part is, they seem to be just as happy about it.

Internship turned App Developer Job: tapptitude Interns Success Stories | tapptitude Blog

Wondering how to kick-start your own mobile app developer career? Here’s a look at how our super-awesome interns did it.

The search for the not-so-scary app developer internship

It all started with them – Deni, Robert, Mircea, Stefan, and Andrei – looking for a mobile app development internship.

I read the article about the internship and I was surprised by the friendly offer presented. I spent the previous days looking for job offers that would suit me, but yours was by far the less scary. You made it seem like something fun and accessible. And it was mobile !!!! So I decided to accept the challenge.

– Deni

Whether it was iOS or Android app development they were interested in, the tapptitude internship offer was appealing in more than one way. Not only would they learn how to build a mobile app, but they would also get a taste of what it’s like to work in a mobile app development agency.

I really wanted to learn iOS programming, and thought that a guided training inside a mobile company is the best way to achieve this goal. Unlike self-teaching, an internship would also allow me to expand my career opportunities, as I would be able to discover a new company.

– Andrei


Learning and growing as a mobile app developer

Tapptitude started out as a 4-man-operation almost 4 years ago. The fact that it’s a strong team of more than 35 mobile specialists today – iOS and Android app developers, UI/UX designers, mobile product managers and marketers – is due to the company’s culture of continuously growing fresh talent.

As a young & ambitious team ourselves, we had a pretty good idea of what an aspiring app developer expects from a mobile app development internship. We knew it had to be a balanced mix of hands-on coding tasks, interesting insights into the world of mobile products, and bits and pieces of the app developer’s everyday life.

Talking to our newest team members, we find we were right on track:

Frankly, I didn’t have any expectations, maybe to get hired after that, which happened 😎. But all I wanted was to learn from the best all the tips and tricks of being a successful iOS developer… to try, to fail, to try again till I’ll be able to do it perfectly on my own.

– Robert

I was hoping to learn the basics of iOS development and build at least one small app while doing so. Even though I didn’t have too many expectations, I was very eager to learn and to discover this new company, different from other companies I interacted with. I was pleasantly surprised, as I discovered a small but driven company, full of fun but also knowledgeable people, that helped me learn and evolve as a programmer.

– Andrei

I expected to learn all kinds of stuff not only about developing applications but also about working in a company, what’s expected of me and how well I can do my part.

– Mircea

Delightful mobile app development internship recipe

What you’ll need is:

  • A senior mobile app developer to lead the internship programme
  • A couple of iOS and Android mobile app developers to be the awesome teachers you never had
  • A time-boxed internship programme structure: quick and to-the-point half-hour lessons that end with tasks
  • A welcoming team of mobile specialists
  • A group of smart, fresh-minded individuals, eager to learn all there is to know about native mobile app development
  • A drone to work and have lots of fun with

The Tapptitude mobile app development internship was oriented towards iOS and Android app development. As a result, we had one top-notch senior mobile app developer lead the internship program for each operating system: Alexandru Tudose – Head of iOS, and Laurentiu Onac – Head of Android here at Tapptitude. It was of the utmost importance that senior mobile developers, with solid knowledge and extensive experience in the field of app development, guide the interns through their first hands-on app development experience.

If you want to do this right, you’ll need the entire team to jump in – which we were totally up to. Experienced members of the iOS and Android app development teams embraced their teaching positions in order to help the youngsters embrace native mobile app development. Up to two times a week, for one and a half months, the meeting rooms at the Tapptitude headquarters were alive with the chatter of app development do’s and don’ts.

Rules of the tapptitude app developer internship

Regardless of industry, an internship should be a door opener to fresh knowledge, challenging opportunities waiting to be uncovered, people eager to share their expertise, and a chance to discover and grow one’s self.

Last but not least, an internship should be fun.

A few other things that go into organizing memorable app development internships:

Birthdays should be celebrated, and nutritious meals have to be planned out to ensure the strength of the app development team:

My birthday was LIT because of y’all tapptitude coworkers. But that pizza tho … dayum son 🍕👌🏼 was a heck of a day. I felt appreciated even tho I was in the company for just 3 weeks.

– Robert

Recreational activities are a must in order to keep the creative juices flowing, and encourage friendships among team members:

My first Mortal Kombat game played was at Tapptitude, where my overly generous coworker let me win (I couldn’t even hold the controller right). I can cross that off my list.

– Deni

Boundaries and rules within the company have to be made very clear, in order to avoid misunderstandings:

When I came to Tapptitude I learned that the fun room is for playing only and that I am entitled to kick out anyone who has any sort of extremely important meeting if my desire to play is that strong. I didn’t believe that until one day a team member was politely invited *cough* kicked out *cough* while he was in a conference. Funny guys.

– Stefan

Whatever’s in your power to make work feel less like work, do it:

Everything felt just right. Chatting with other team members, cracking jokes on the rooftop, having a video-game break every now and then, eating together and laughing together are things that are better felt than narrated. It was an overall empowering experience, in which I’ve seen the face of working in a way I never did before. This is where I found out that work doesn’t have to be a drag!

– Mircea


To be or not to be a Tapptitude app development intern?

A lot of us here at tapptitude had to go through this decision ourselves: what company should I choose for my app development internship?

So we kindly asked our 5 awesome, new teammates to answer this question for those of you who might be struggling to find the answer. Here’s what they said:

They had strong arguments for saying so, too:

It’s a great opportunity to grow, professionally and personally. You get the chance to be a part of this very energetic, dynamic and high spirited team, to make new friends and develop your skills with all the help you can get.

– Deni

Definitely GO FOR IT! Being part of a young and open-minded team and growing alongside of it is something of great value that can be found here, and you don’t even have to believe me, but you really have to try it first!

– Mircea

Hear that? “Definitely go for it!”. Music to our ears 😄

Tapptitude is a growing and caring mobile app development agency. We organize iOS and Android mobile app development internships at least once a year, and we’d love for you to join us in the future if you think mobile app development might be the career of your dreams.

So, convinced to join our awesome team? 

Sinziana Chitea

Sinziana Chitea

Content Marketer

Content Marketing Specialist, teasing everyone into taking cute pictures for Instagram. Discovering the tech world bit by bit, and writing it all down on the agency's blog. Enthusiastic about everything visual. And sweets and dogs.