AJ working at his desk.

AJ Ostrow (Garfield ’11) took half of Creative Computing in spring of 2009 and after learning some Python, decided he wanted to pursue a summer internship in a technical field. He spent the summer working for the Cobalt Group, now a division of ADP.

Role at Cobalt

My position at Cobalt was Software Engineering Intern for the Visualization team. Cobalt is an automative marketing company and I was involved with making their consumers, car dealerships and manufacturers, happy. To do this I created reports to measure website success using the information in the database, which would then be made into a dynamic web page to be accessible to dealerships.

More specifically, I was in charge of creating Google Spreadsheets with motion charts and working with the visualization team to make sure we found meaningful metrics. Each time I finished a query, I would export the resulting table, create a moving chart, and then document my work on Confluence (a collaboration tool). Also, I was often tasked with searching through traffic logs (enormous, compressed text files) to make reports back to Websites Team. I did most of my programming in SQL but I also learned how to use UNIX power tools in VIM, and learned a little Perl, Groovy, and Javascript. However, I didn’t spend the whole day in front of a computer! I also joined in on many brainstorming meetings to create a new way to report Cobalt’s services to car dealerships. Every day we had a stand-up meeting in addition. Each day I had a morning session to learn and go over assignments.

Cobalt’s Culture

Working at Cobalt was really fun because everyone treated me very well, and as an equal. I got to work on interesting projects and could ask questions at any time. part of the way through, I got to experience what a company merger is like, which was a valuable experience. Twice during my time our team had Indian food for lunch. Oh, and my manager enjoyed pinging people with giant nerf guns.

Lessons Learned

While at Cobalt, I learned a lot about the power of information, and the computing power possible with databases. Once I was discussing (arguing) with a developer about the best way to complete a complex SQL query, and after 15 minutes or so he said at one point “If you calculate it in a batch, it will only have to hold, what, a 1600 times 1600 table in memory. Oracle should be fine…” And he was right! It took maybe 20 seconds to do all of the calculations including inner queries. Another thing I learned was how to put together a meaningful report. I had to restructure my reports and add to them, but they will eventually be shown in a demonstration.

Advice for Students Interested in Cobalt

Cobalt has a ton to offer its interns! I was their first intern ever as a high school student. I do not think they realized how someone my age could contribute, and now my manager is interested in bringing more interns from Garfield on, and eventually starting an official program. Right now there is not an application process, so the best way would be to create a resume, and be ready when Ms. Martin, my manager, and I have more information. I highly recommend staying tuned, because Cobalt was a great experience for me!

(101 votes, average: 3.23 out of 5)

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