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Interning at Capital One

July 13, 2025

Starting week 7 of my internship here, I think I’ve learned a lot, not only in terms of how engineering works at large companies, but also about myself. This is the first time I’ve been away from home on my own for any extended period of time.

Some brief happenings and takeaways:

• Upon arrival to the apartment, my roommate and I found that the floors were leaking.
• Virginia is extremely humid.
  • The bugs look weird
  • The sky seldom looks as blue as it does Washington (state).
• Groceries are expensive.
• Time moves both slower and faster.
• Although extremely uncomfortable, living in a new place that you don’t how to navigate rapidly expands your world view. I’ve realized Seattle and its surrounding areas are just a microcosm of what kinds of people, ideas, and things there are to experience. I’m definitely much more open to the idea of living in various other countries in the future.

In terms of engineering at large companies, I’ve noticed that it’s much harder to apply the mindset of ‘just build things’ due to a variety of factors.

• A certain software library may be unauthorized for use
• You may be waiting on approval for access to a certain API that is blocking your project
• Your point of contact for critical information be out of office (good for them!)

The ‘bureaucracy’ has been a new experience, one that I’ve come to appreciate. More importantly, I am enjoying building things alongside a knowledgeable team, just as much as I had hoped before starting this position.