Work History: Microsoft Dynamics AX - Software Engineer Intern

Skills: C# and XAML

My first Microsoft internship didn't live up to my expectations compared to my other college experiences. I'd turned down an offer from Blizzard to accept the Microsoft role. Working in game development was my lifelong dream, but a Microsoft was a golden ticket. Blizzard was games; Microsoft was validation. I felt like I sold my soul to the devil.

Working with another intern, we built improvements to the Microsoft Dynamic AX mobile client. The problem was that the work was too easy. We had the product up and running within the first half of the internship, which left the second half feeling empty. I like hard problems, and this work just didn't feel stimulating.

Honesty is important to me. If you pretend to be happy when you're not, your life can drift in directions you don't want. So I was direct with my manager, Ole Hellevik, who was was superb. I told him about my feelings, and my desire to work on game development. He connected me with folks at Microsoft Game Studios, which helped me network my way into an interview for the following summer.