Summer of Bitcoin 2024: Career Bootstrapped

Quick Introduction

Hi, everyone my name is Sahil Mandi, and I am an aspiring software engineer currently perusing my bachelor's at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Nagpur, Maharashtra India. I specialize in frontend development and design.

What is Summer of Bitcoin?

Summer of Bitcoin is a global online summer internship program that introduces college/university students to bitcoin opensource development and design.

learn more ->

My experience so far...

After two months as a summer intern with Summer of Bitcoin (SOB'24), I can confidently say it was a transformative experience. This internship provided an excellent introduction to both the world of Bitcoin and open-source development, significantly impacting my professional growth.

Key Highlights

1. In-depth Learning: The internship offered a deep dive into Bitcoin technology and blockchain fundamentals. The technical knowledge gained has been invaluable.

2. Community Engagement: Becoming part of the Bitcoin and open-source communities was incredibly rewarding. The connections made and the sense of belonging to these vibrant communities are assets I'll carry forward in my career.

3. Mentorship: The guidance provided by experienced mentors was crucial. Their insights not only helped in project completion but also in understanding industry best practices.

4. Practical Experience: Working on real-world projects provided hands-on experience that bridged the gap between academic knowledge and industry application.

5. Skill Development: Beyond technical skills, I honed my problem-solving abilities and learned to communicate complex ideas effectively.

6. Bitcoin Ecosystem Insight: The internship provided a comprehensive view of the Bitcoin ecosystem, from technical aspects to its potential impact on global finance.

My Project

Currently, I am working on a frontend redesign project at Robosats (a privacy focused bitcoin exchange). The project mostly deals with react frontend with MUI as its UI library for simplicity. The current and original design of the platform is very basic. My overall aim is to improve the aesthetic of the website and identify key UX issues that might be bothering the users. So far the biggest problem that I faced was the Design itself, re designing a minimal design and keeping it minimal was quite a challenge, took me more than 2 weeks to come up and finalize something, roughly 65% of my time spend on this. And then 30% of the time rewriting and refactoring the code itself, and of course 5% debugging the Type Script error logs 😅, by the way, here is a quick glimpse of my what I'm working on:

Original: Welcome Page

Re-designed: Welcome Page

Learn more about the re-design process and more visit: https://sahiltgs.super.site/summer-of-bitcoin/sob24/work-journell
I'll publish a more summarized version after the completion of the project stay tuned for that.

Final Words

The Summer of Bitcoin 2024 internship has been a significant learning experience, providing valuable insights into open-source development and the field of Bitcoin. It has broadened my perspective on potential career paths in these areas. The program offers a comprehensive introduction to the Bitcoin ecosystem and open-source contribution, making it a worthwhile opportunity for those interested in these fields. I am grateful that I have been able to put my skills and knack for design to great use in this project. In return, this project has further strengthened my skills as a React developer. Overall, SOB'24 has been a positive and educational experience that I appreciate having been a part of.