Is this an ordinary workplace experience for an intern?

Question

I'm nearing the completion of my internship in a tech company in a small town. The hours are good and the pay is decent, so in that sense, I'm immensely grateful.

But I have terrible imposter syndrome. I feel that I'm competent for my job, but culturally / socially I don't fit in at all. Since the office is half remote, the day I joined, the entire office was silent, and I was extremely isolated. My boss, who was there that day, was too busy to talk to me beyond a few words.

Since then, my work has been fairly isolated like that as well. I spend upwards of nearly the entire day working solo without seemingly talking with anybody. I join the team for lunch, with lasts less than 9 minutes as everybody rushes to eat and then immediately go back to work. Nobody talks in the office unless they want to report on their work-progress, but they don't seem particularly stressed either. It's as if they just don't want to be friends with each other. I've tried talking with them and it's like talking to a brick wall. It goes nowhere.

I have a distinct feeling something happened to these people, but I can't tell, because they just don't talk. Over the course of my internship I've undergone tremendous imposter syndrome because sometimes I felt like it was me (there is a cultural difference in terms of ethnicity, race / my team is not very diverse).

It doesn't help that everytime a full-time joins, my boss sends a memo to the entire team, but when I joined there was zero fanfare. I end today and the week has been uneventful as expected.

I've done some good work, so I'm happy about that, but I'm really mixed about my experiences.

Is this representative of tech companies? I'm graduating soon and I get really scared thinking that this depressing, isolated life could be my future.

tl;dr : nobody at work socializes and I have imposter syndrome because of it; I've heard tech is stereotypically antisocial, is this representative of tech?

Edit: Thank you everyone for your advice, warm comments, and reassurance. I'm glad to hear that this isn't the norm in the industry. I'm thinking when I look for full time I'll try digging a little deeper into company culture next time. Hoping for the best! :)

Answer 1

Every company is different. Sorry that this company failed in the purpose of having an internship program.

You should have been able to expect to learn from them some basics of the industry and their style of working environment. You also should have expected to gain comfort and confidence in working in your field.

It sounds like you didn't get those things from them.

As you go forward and interview with other companies attempt to learn more about their culture. Glassdoor, etc. can help.

Bottomline is no, this isn't what to expect. Yes, it happens sometimes.

Answer 2

Workplaces can act like sieves that select for persons with a particular nature.

It appears that, sometime in the past, a pall fell over this office/company and people became turtles with their heads pulled into their shells. As others have come and perhaps moved on over the years, those who felt comfortable with the distance between co-workers stayed and those who sought social engagement "at the office" sought-out greener pastures.

Remember that Goldilocks is just a fairytale. You'll find yourself in places where the beds are "just right!", but the soup is always too hot (or too cold.)

In other words: no. It's not always the same.
And try to remember that you will not always be the same as you are now.

Answer 3

Is this representative of tech companies?

No.

Most companies have a very open and friendly work environment. IT workers usually chat, talk, and socialize with one another during a few quick breaks throughout the whole work days (as long as the chats are not too loud and do not bother someone, and they do not take too much time away from doing the real work).

Socializing between coworkers builds better work relationship, and improves the collaboration between team members and teams. Therefore, it also increases the productivity, and enhances quality of the products.

In addition, those little fun and friendly chats during the quick breaks will also reduce your stress due to hard work on tough projects, and give you a refreshing mindset to tackle difficult problems when you get back to your desk. It will definitely help you come up with better solutions for your projects.

Socializing with coworkers is better for your mental health in the long run.

The legendary Greek philosopher Aristotle once said: “Man is by nature a social animal."

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The work culture at your current company is not the common culture in the IT industry (at least not in the US in my experience).