In October last year, six Swiss apprentices got to go to New York City to work on small projects with different companies for four weeks. This trip was organized by TIE International, and I joined the group as a supervisor. It seemed like a fantastic opportunity to explore this vibrant city and gain some personal and professional experiences along the way. Here’s how it went.
A Bite of the Big Apple
Tamara Gini, 12 January 2023
Discussing the design of a simulation. Photo credit: Chiara Korrodi
Coming from Switzerland, I was used to trains being exactly on time, up to the minute. NYC’s public transportation system works differently. You just go to a metro station and wait until a train of your desired line arrives. This sometimes takes 1 minute, sometimes 15 minutes. It seemed odd at first, but somehow it worked well, since the more popular lines go quite frequently. By the end of the month, I rather enjoyed the freedom you get when you don’t need to hurry to catch a specific train.
Another thing that struck me was how open-minded the Americans are. All our partnering companies were very welcoming and open towards the apprentices, and wanted to give them space to shape the project in their own way. This mindset was both a gift and a curse for the apprentices. It meant that they could expand their ideas independently and have an impact on the project without strict guidelines on how it should be done. However, it also meant that they had to learn how to navigate this freedom and at what point to ask for more details. This was a challenge that I, as a supervisor, could alleviate a bit, by talking through the problems and offering some advice.
Through those conversations, it became clear just how difficult it is to communicate the goal of a project from a business and technology perspective. One client we collaborated with was a pure businessman, which was very interesting to all of us. He could tell stories about what makes or breaks a start-up and how the first pitch to investors decides its fate. While this was great to broaden our own worldviews, it made communicating about technical details challenging. We had to find a way to ensure that we talked about the same thing, just from different perspectives. Only that way could we make sure that in the end, our project satisfied the client’s needs.
Another thing that struck me was how open-minded the Americans are. All our partnering companies were very welcoming and open towards the apprentices, and wanted to give them space to shape the project in their own way. This mindset was both a gift and a curse for the apprentices. It meant that they could expand their ideas independently and have an impact on the project without strict guidelines on how it should be done. However, it also meant that they had to learn how to navigate this freedom and at what point to ask for more details. This was a challenge that I, as a supervisor, could alleviate a bit, by talking through the problems and offering some advice.
Through those conversations, it became clear just how difficult it is to communicate the goal of a project from a business and technology perspective. One client we collaborated with was a pure businessman, which was very interesting to all of us. He could tell stories about what makes or breaks a start-up and how the first pitch to investors decides its fate. While this was great to broaden our own worldviews, it made communicating about technical details challenging. We had to find a way to ensure that we talked about the same thing, just from different perspectives. Only that way could we make sure that in the end, our project satisfied the client’s needs.
Part of the group marvelling at the size of Central Park. Photo credit: Chiara Korrodi
Busy streets of Chinatown, where our coworking space was located. Photo credit: Chiara Korrodi
The group in front of the NYC skyline from New Jersey. Photo credit: Sven Zeindler
The personal connections were one of the things that fascinated me most during my stay in the Big Apple. Everyone we met was eager to talk to us and quickly offered to connect us to other people in the field we were interested in. During my five years as a student at ETH Zurich, I rarely had the occasion to connect with so many interesting people in such a short time, which was both exhilarating and inspiring. It made me feel like the world was at my feet and that in this city, anything is possible.
Reflecting on that month now that I am back in Switzerland, I am immensely grateful for having had this opportunity to meet people I would never have met otherwise, to experience the American (work) culture first-hand and to become a tiny bit of a New Yorker myself. Not only did I improve my networking skills, but I also learned valuable lessons on how to lead a small team. Although it was loud, busy, and packed with people, I am happy I got to experience a city where walking by a movie set seems like a normal thing to do.
Reflecting on that month now that I am back in Switzerland, I am immensely grateful for having had this opportunity to meet people I would never have met otherwise, to experience the American (work) culture first-hand and to become a tiny bit of a New Yorker myself. Not only did I improve my networking skills, but I also learned valuable lessons on how to lead a small team. Although it was loud, busy, and packed with people, I am happy I got to experience a city where walking by a movie set seems like a normal thing to do.
About the Author
Tamara Gini
Tamara is a Computer science student at ETH Zurich. She did an internship in Norway between her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, which made her want to experience yet another country from the work perspective. Going to New York City for a month helped Tamara see both the advantages and disadvantages of her home country from a different angle.
