My Three-Month Tryst With Networking Technologies

Let me give you a snapshot of who I am. An English literature major who studied humanities and languages all her life; a writer at heart who went on to study journalism and is currently hoping to break into the space of being a reporter. This is who I am. Now you might wonder, how does a person like this, with this portfolio and background, know anything about networking technologies and network security? The truth is, I didn’t. And I still think I have a long way to go in developing any real expertise on the subject. But today, if I can muster the slightest bit of faith and write the briefest of articles on SASE’s benefits for all organizations in today’s world, or the different deployment processes that companies can use to implement SASE into their existing structure, it is because of my experience at Aryaka.

My internship at Aryaka was my introduction to the world of networking technologies, network security, cloud computing, and the likes. While as a GenZ individual, I was always aware of the changing dynamics of the world of technology and the cloud, I did not possess any real understanding of its technicalities or core concepts. Working at Aryaka was the beginning of these discoveries.

The Slow Climb

In no uncertain terms, let me inform you that the first week at Aryaka was as daunting as it could get for me. While I had a really supportive network of managers backing me up and giving me all the time I need to familiarize myself with this world, I felt like I was drowning under the weight of technical terminologies and concepts, each introducing five new branches that I did not have a clue about. But to my utter surprise, by the latter half of the second week, most of the concepts left lasting impressions on the recesses of my brain and the terminologies which used to baffle me just a few weeks ago, would resound familiar the more I came across them.

I gradually transitioned from reading, consuming and understanding to reproducing and curating content. I genuinely appreciate all the reading time which I was given in the starting week by my manager since that was the sole foundation on which my following weeks of work were shaping up. The work in itself was also like a good concerto, slow at first but gradually lifts up in speed and intensity as it nears the climax. My first project was to use a press release and create a blog out of it on Aryaka’s newest mid-market standpoint. This blog exercise was followed by beginning to revamp and optimize the website content on the careers and company values page. And this was followed by the SASE academy page and its optimization. Thus, the internship was designed and experienced in a way to gradually absorb me into the organization’s workings dive deeper into the content as the weeks went by. I believe this was the sole reason I was able to learn and contribute to the organization and I credit most of this to the structural workings of the organization and my direct reporting managers who mentored me every step of the way. This brings me to the next part of my experience at Aryaka, which was the organization’s culture itself.

The Company Culture

The one thing I noticed at Aryaka from the very beginning was the company’s culture and functioning. In the start of my time at Aryaka, I was encouraged to connect and network with employees working on different projects and understand where I could come in and contribute beyond the work that was assigned to me. This exercise put me in touch with a diverse set of individuals, each of whom were extremely warm, welcoming, encouraging and accommodative. They were each eager to know how they could help in making my experience at Aryaka as resourceful and fruitful as possible. I was given an abundance of resources to dive into and asked to understand and decide on which areas I would like to build on and contribute to. The helping hand that was extended to me by all was a wonderful experience, which made me feel at home with the organization very early on.

The People

Such organizations where the community and team spirit is palpable to even the ground-level interns is testament to the fact that the individuals that make up the organization are each driven by the same spirit. And these are the best kind of organizations to be at. My experience has been more warm, resourceful and encouraging than I could’ve imagined and the credit absolutely goes to the people, the company, and the design of the internship experience.

Takeaways

The advice I would offer to any individual who chooses to intern with Aryaka, especially as an opportunity in the early stages of their career, is to keep an open mind, learn at every step, network and make connections, and work hard. The experience comes with a learning curve at every stage and our job is to be open to the different kinds of work we are introduced to and the different people we meet at various levels. Our best effort lies in becoming a sponge for the few weeks and months that we are here and absorb as much as we can in terms of knowledge and skills. We are not supposed to go with a rigid idea of what we can and are supposed to do or how we are supposed to do it. Our job is to listen, absorb and learn, all for the benefit for our own skillset and the output we procure at the end of our internship. And of course, as my Aryaka manager always said, network and make connections every step of the way. Because you never know who will bring you your next opportunity.