Student Stories
Computer Science Co-Op Story: McLeod Software
Mihir Patel
Computer Science
What company or organization did you co-op with and where are they located?
McLeod Software | Birmingham, AL
How did you identify and apply for your co-op? Are there any specific resources you used to find the opportunity (i.e. Handshake, career fairs, other recruitment events)?
I attended the Engineering Career Fair and research the company on Handshake and Career Fair+.
What was the application process like?
The application process was very smooth. I had to submit my resume and answer a few short answer questions, then automatically received an interview slot at the Career Fair. After the career fair interview, I had a second interview with a couple developers, my manager, and the VP of my department.
Tell us about your co-op experience. What types of tasks and projects did you engage in? Was there a particular project or part of the experience you learned the most from?
My day-to-day involves investigating bugs or creating custom modifications for customers. I have gained enough trust with my team and have been able to work on some high level and emergency work items which typically involve large modifications or bug fixes that the customer needs as soon as possible. One memorable emergency work item was one I had this week where a customer was unable to send bills out and were essentially losing $100,000 a day because of the issue. I was able to find the root cause of the issue and create a bug fix for it and save the customer hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In what ways did your co-op experience help you prepare for your next destination after Auburn?
If hired with McLeod for a full-time position after graduation, I would be able to be immediately productive and make a real difference in the workflow given that I already have a year's worth of experience with the software. My experience could also easily translate to other companies as I know I can quickly become part of a team and start tackling issues.
In what ways did your coursework or other experiences at Auburn prepare you for your co-op work experience? Are there specific topics or skills you learned from classes that you put into practice on the job?
The work techniques I learned at Auburn have helped me at McLeod. What I mean by that is the ways I have learned to find issues in code I write for assignments. I am utilizing the same practices here to find bugs and fix them for customers, so I'm glad my practices in Auburn courses have translated so well. One of my classes allowed us to use AI to support our code development. It has become incredibly useful as McLeod is starting to push more and more AI-supported development in order for developers to become more productive. I already had the knowledge on how to integrate AI in my coding, so I was able to become more productive at my job.
Do you have any advice for other students seeking an experience like yours?
Don't be afraid to take the risk and always continue seeking knowledge. You may randomly read an article about something, and it could be the difference between getting a job or not.
