He built an Ubuntu OS clone and landed an Internship | Software Developer Stories Ep.1

Summary

A young Indian software developer, Vivek, built an Ubuntu operating system simulator using React as his portfolio website. It went viral, gaining over 60,000 visitors. As a result, Vivek received job and internship offers from 30 startups without formally applying or interviewing. He highlights how having impressive personal projects can help students and new developers stand out in a highly competitive market, attract recruiter attention, and secure jobs easier. Vivek ends up taking a paid internship offer at a startup gained from the viral portfolio.

Takeaways

• 😊 Vivek built an impressive Ubuntu clone using React that went viral and attracted a lot of attention
• 👨‍💻 The project helped Vivek land a paid internship and get job offers from over 30 startups
• 🔥 Spamming the project on communities like ReactJS and Web Dev helped drive 700-800 stars on GitHub
• 📈 The Ubuntu Twitter account tweeting it brought 60K visitors to Vivek's portfolio
• 💼 Cold emailing employees at FAANG companies got Vivek referrals for internships there
• 🤝 The 100ms startup founder called and directly offered Vivek an internship
• 💰 Darian highlights the value of an impressive portfolio for negotiating job offers
• 📚 Vivek learned quickly by building projects and freelancing after starting web dev during COVID
• 👎 Unpaid internships are common in India - Vivek avoided needing one with his project
• 🌟 The project made Vivek stand out from 50+ applicants for scarce internship spots

Q & A

How long did it take Vivek to build his Ubuntu portfolio project?

Vivek said it took him around 3 months total, but only 20-22 days of actual work spending 3-4 hours per day.

What programming languages and technologies did Vivek use to build his portfolio project?

Vivek used React, JavaScript, Tailwind CSS, Next.js and hosted it on GitHub Pages.

How many job offers did Vivek receive after launching his Ubuntu portfolio project?

Vivek said he received around 30 job offers from various startups after he launched his Ubuntu portfolio project.

What company did Vivek intern at and what did he work on?

Vivek interned at 100ms, a video SDK startup, where he worked on building dashboards using TypeScript, Storybook and React. He also worked on some back-end APIs using Django.

How many visitors has Vivek's portfolio site received so far?

As per Vivek, his portfolio site has received around 60,000 visitors so far after going viral on Twitter and GitHub.

How did Vivek get referrals at companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft?

Vivek reached out to employees at these companies on LinkedIn, showcased his portfolio project and asked for referrals to open internship positions.

What would Vivek have done if he hadn't built this impressive portfolio project?

Vivek says he likely would've had to do an unpaid internship to graduate, as those are common requirements for Indian students.

How long has Vivek been programming and how did he learn so quickly?

Vivek has been programming for about 1.5 years. He attributes his quick learning to building projects continuously and his 6 months of freelance web development work.

How did Vivek come up with the idea to build a Ubuntu UI clone?

Vivek got the inspiration from a friend who sent him a link to the Windows 97 clone project. He wanted to build something similar and decided on cloning Ubuntu OS.

What's the main lesson or takeaway from Vivek's experience?

The key takeaway is how an impressive personal project and portfolio can open doors and lead to job offers, internships and other opportunities that may not come through traditional applications.