From Bermuda to the Silicon Valley | A Bermudian Perspective on Atsign’s Remote Internship

When developer intern Tyler Trott began working with Atsign, a Silicon Valley startup, the reactions of his Bermudian peers were varied. Most notably, he was asked: “What’s the Silicon Valley?”

It’s a question that exemplifies most Bermudians’ limited exposure to the tech industry. As Tyler’s experience indicates, it’s uncommon for Bermudians to pursue careers in tech. He says, “There’s a lot of international business here [in Bermuda], so most people pursue insurance, accounting, and business administration rather than IT — the IT classes are really small here.”

But though technology was often overlooked in Bermudian spheres, Tyler’s interest in the subject was piqued when he took an AP Computer Science course in high school. “That was where I made my first video game,” he explains. “I developed a video game for the AP exam, and I think that pushed me in the direction I was going.”

His career goals may have seemed unorthodox to most Bermudians. But Tyler found relevant work experience with Bermuda-based organizations, where he fostered connections that eventually led him to Atsign. As he says, “I didn’t mean to find this internship; it found me.”

And although Tyler has worked with tech companies before, Atsign’s internship program has been instrumental in deepening his app development knowledge. He says, “There’s code I’ve never done or even learned about, so it’s all Greek to me. There’s a lot to do in the weeks that we have.”

In spite of the technical difficulties, adjusting to remote work has proved less challenging than Tyler expected. He says, “It’s honestly not as different as I thought it would be, because there’s still a lot of Zoom meetings and phone calls where it’s like, ‘Have you done this, this, and this? Give me your updates.’ When it comes to programming and software development, nothing has really changed.”

Working remotely has also allowed him to interact with people from all over the world, including the United States and India. “It’s a very diverse team, but everyone’s really easy to speak to,” he says. “If I were to message someone they’d be happy to message back and hop in a call with me and chat.”

For Tyler, Atsign’s internship offered an invaluable opportunity beyond his home in Bermuda to sharpen his technical skills. When asked whether he envisions himself developing apps in the future, he says, “So far I’m really enjoying [this internship], so I’m sure I’ll be happy doing it later.”

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Tyler is currently enrolled in a data science program at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. To learn more about him and his experiences, check out his LinkedIn here.