NTU Student, Jervis, is Such an Overachiever, He Did 8 Internships in 4.5 Years of University

Most university students face challenges coping with the workload, and some can’t even fathom the idea of taking on an internship. However, 25-year-old Jervis (shouldn’t be related to…erm, Tony Stark, because that’s Jarvis) is built differently.

In only four-and-a-half years, he managed to complete not one, not two, but eight internships.

The computer science graduate from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) also attained a first-class honours degree.

Here’s how he did it.

And no, he isn’t a ChatGPT.

NTU’s Jervis Tells All on TikTok

In a TikTok video uploaded onto his account on 1 June, Jervis talked about how he managed to stay productive as a student.

@jerv.isThis is how one of Amazon’s leadership principles resonates a lot with me♬ original sound – jervis – Jervis

One of his best semesters saw him interning full-time at tech giant Amazon while achieving a 5.0 GPA.

According to a screenshot he shared, he even attained an A+ for one module.

The same semester, he attained five Amazon Web Services (AWS) certificates and logged new personal records at the gym.

How did he achieve this seemingly impossible feat?

Jervis felt that the key to his achievements was to have a bias for action.

If you didn’t know, “bias for action” is Amazon’s leadership principle.

He said, “When I have a lot on my plate, I tend to overthink, and if I overthink throughout the day, I waste a lot of time.

“So I overthink because I think that there’s always a ‘perfect plan’ or a ‘best plan’ that I should follow, but because I keep planning too much, I always end up doing nothing.

“So I found that what works for me was to have a plan in the morning and then just do it. Just trust in the plan that your morning self made and not overthink about it across the rest of the day.”

Nike would’ve been proud of him.

Jervis Completed Eight Internships

In a separate TikTok video, Jervis shared a list of internships he had completed as a student at NTU.

@jerv.is Replying to @aqilahamni99 Here’s my sample of internship pays in Singapore back when I was a computer science student #computerscience #student #softwareengineer ♬ Lo-fi hip hop

He also listed the position he took and the pay he was given.

His first internship was as a product engineering intern at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where he earned $1,500 per month.

In the second semester of his second year in university, he worked as a quantitative development Intern at a start-up company called Alphien, where he was given $2,200 per month.

In the summer after Year 2, he worked at Shopee as a product management intern in the data team and was paid $1,200 monthly.

In the first semester of his third year, he worked at BMW as a data science intern and received a monthly allowance of $1,000.

In the semester following that, he worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the professional services team as a cloud architect and earned $3,000 per month.

He noted that as an intern at AWS, he received other benefits like free AWS certificates. 

He attained five certificates, namely the Cloud Practitioner certificate with its three associate sets and a Security Speciality certificate.

In the summer after Year 3, he worked as a summer tech analyst at Credit Suisse and earned a whopping $6,300 monthly.

After that, he worked remotely as a software engineer at Mercari, a second-hand marketplace application in Japan, earning around $4,000 monthly.

In the summer after Year 4, he interned at Meta as an enterprise engineering intern and earned $5,700 monthly.

He also received $4,000 per month in allowances. 

Furthermore, he received life benefits that amounted to $670.

Jervis noted that he could not complete an internship in the second semester of Year 4 as he went for an exchange programme in Sweden.

How dare he.

How Jervis Pulled It Off

Jervis has since garnered attention on TikTok for his excellent attitude (and maybe his similar to…ChatGPT?).

In one TikTok video, he talked about how he managed to work and study simultaneously.

@jerv.is Replying to @yh312 I believe it’s about having the confidence to apply for internships. #softwareengineer #student #internship ♬ original sound – jervis – Jervis

Jervis noted that he had been working full-time from the second semester of his second year in university until the first semester of his fourth year.

However, the secret to juggling work and school may differ from what you expect.

He said, “I believe that it is having the confidence to actually apply for internships.”

He added, “After you apply and if you do get to the interviews, then you can let them know that you want to work and study at the same time.”

He highlighted the importance of showcasing one’s ability to manage time during the interviews.

He said, “I can’t speak for all companies, but the companies that hired me knew that I wanted to work and study at the same time and still hired me.”

What Jervis is Doing Now

Nowadays, Jervis posts tips for those looking to enter the world of tech on his TikTok account.

Besides giving tips for tech interviews, he has also offered insights into creating portfolio sites and resumes.

@jerv.is Replying to @getlostwithari This tip is probably not useful if you want to get an internship at Meta now. But maybe for other big companies! Tip for #computerscience students looking for #softwareengineer #internship ♬ original sound – jervis – Jervis

Since graduating from NTU, he has moved to Japan alone and sometimes posts videos about his adventures in Japan.

A recent TikTok uploaded on 3 June noted his loneliness at being in a new country that speaks an unfamiliar language.

@jerv.is Replying to @reaven_g ♬ New Home by Austin Farwell – GetBy

However, he is determined to log happy moments in his gratitude journal.

This goes to show how much an AI—I mean, a person, can achieve as long as one is driven enough.