Once in a while I have this knack of searching Tumblr for the tag “OJT” or “Internship” for no reason at all. Reading the entries though, especially those from CS/IT fields or those that are kinda ranting that they still have xx hours left to finish while whining makes me look back on my On-the-Job training.

Since we are a trimester school, we have shorter OJT hours to fulfill. In my curriculum, we only have 120 hours. Aside from there are a lot of competition and the selection of  companies to apply for an OJT is limited, that added factor made other companies to reject us – unless we are willing to finish the 320+ hours.

I have limited budget, given that I only go to school with 50 or 100 pesos for the whole day, so looking for a company that is near is next to impossible. My mom suggested that I just get my internship at their company’s IT Department, which is in Makati. I reluctantly agreed in the end since she isn’t supporting me to find another company to try, one that is nearer and compensates well (not all companies give allowances).

The business is focused on beauty and wellness so there was no room for me to be immersed in programming. The IT Department is focused on making sure that every equipment is up and running, as well as the internet connection and telephone lines. They also deal with printing the privilege card, fixing faulty PCs or printers, and other requests by the bosses.

My shift is 8am – 6pm. I have to ride a jeep – van – jeep then walk to reach the office. It is near the Makati City Hall. The room is very small and cold and I have to watch Basketball games online with them since that’s where they’re hooked on (not really a fan :|).

Most of the time we were left with nothing to do but I can’t sleep. I don’t even attempt to do some schoolwork thinking they might reprimand me. I don’t even use my mobile phone nor open my social networking or email accounts. I think I was only busy for an entire day, not more than 3 times.

Everyday on my way home I keep telling myself that, I want this to end soon. I would ride usually ride a jeep to my mom’s work then we’d go home together. She pays for it and she buys me food (because I insist and I don’t really eat much the whole day). If not I’d go home on my own.

I didn’t really learned much. A little refresher, yes. I was really fixated on learning to program, whether or not it was software development or web development/designing. Until now I wish I could have enjoyed it a little more. That came true when I got to work part time in Ayala, Makati – one that’s really challenging yet very much fulfilling.

Anyway, in the long run I learned that aside from learning on the job, you get to know where your niche is. You also get to know a lot of people and develop your social skills.  And you should appreciate that time, because when they get to graduate, it will be a whole lot different. No more lenient seniors or selecting your schedule based on your free time. Just ENJOY! 😀

Just sharing my OJT experience and a little note for those who are going to have their OJT/internship in the near future 🙂