How to handle an unpopular intern who upstages me?












13















I am a senior developer who has been working solo on a long project for the past 2 years. I'm about 75% done.



Last week, my boss told me to work with one of our interns. He explained this intern has done poorly on every project, and spends most of his time goofing off online looking at cheeseburger recipes and modifying the Goosebumps Wiki fandom page. He told me to find something to keep him busy, because he's tired of seeing him do nothing all day.



I found a small piece of my large project to give him, and explained to him what I needed. 3 days later, he told me he was done, and went back to looking at cheeseburger recipes. I looked at his code and was shocked to see he had done literally the entire project that I had been working on. From scratch. I asked him if he had seen the code I already had done, and he said he didn't have access to it. When I told him that he was only supposed to work on a small piece of the project, he apologized and said he misunderstood.



I spent a day looking over his code and was amazed that he did everything way better than I have. Not only had he done all my work in a small fraction of the time, but it was cleaner, more concise (about 65% less code), performed better (about 4.5x faster), and had better tests.



I was about to run into my boss's office and tell him that we have a prodigy on our hands, but I realized that this puts me in an awkward position. When my boss realizes how much better this unpopular intern is than me, he'll probably think that I'm a very poor developer and will look for a way to get rid of me. (Company financials are tight, and there's rumors of upcoming layoffs). I'll have a hard time justifying my salary when this intern who makes barely above minimum wage easily outshined me.



However, I want to be fair to this intern. I'm really impressed with his work, and want to make sure he gets proper recognition and gets an offer for a full-time position. How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?










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  • 3





    Can you put some of those cheeseburger recipes here in the comments... Asking for a friend...

    – solarflare
    1 hour ago











  • @solarflare You no can haz.

    – chrylis
    11 mins ago
















13















I am a senior developer who has been working solo on a long project for the past 2 years. I'm about 75% done.



Last week, my boss told me to work with one of our interns. He explained this intern has done poorly on every project, and spends most of his time goofing off online looking at cheeseburger recipes and modifying the Goosebumps Wiki fandom page. He told me to find something to keep him busy, because he's tired of seeing him do nothing all day.



I found a small piece of my large project to give him, and explained to him what I needed. 3 days later, he told me he was done, and went back to looking at cheeseburger recipes. I looked at his code and was shocked to see he had done literally the entire project that I had been working on. From scratch. I asked him if he had seen the code I already had done, and he said he didn't have access to it. When I told him that he was only supposed to work on a small piece of the project, he apologized and said he misunderstood.



I spent a day looking over his code and was amazed that he did everything way better than I have. Not only had he done all my work in a small fraction of the time, but it was cleaner, more concise (about 65% less code), performed better (about 4.5x faster), and had better tests.



I was about to run into my boss's office and tell him that we have a prodigy on our hands, but I realized that this puts me in an awkward position. When my boss realizes how much better this unpopular intern is than me, he'll probably think that I'm a very poor developer and will look for a way to get rid of me. (Company financials are tight, and there's rumors of upcoming layoffs). I'll have a hard time justifying my salary when this intern who makes barely above minimum wage easily outshined me.



However, I want to be fair to this intern. I'm really impressed with his work, and want to make sure he gets proper recognition and gets an offer for a full-time position. How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?










share|improve this question







New contributor




John Gopher Boy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 3





    Can you put some of those cheeseburger recipes here in the comments... Asking for a friend...

    – solarflare
    1 hour ago











  • @solarflare You no can haz.

    – chrylis
    11 mins ago














13












13








13








I am a senior developer who has been working solo on a long project for the past 2 years. I'm about 75% done.



Last week, my boss told me to work with one of our interns. He explained this intern has done poorly on every project, and spends most of his time goofing off online looking at cheeseburger recipes and modifying the Goosebumps Wiki fandom page. He told me to find something to keep him busy, because he's tired of seeing him do nothing all day.



I found a small piece of my large project to give him, and explained to him what I needed. 3 days later, he told me he was done, and went back to looking at cheeseburger recipes. I looked at his code and was shocked to see he had done literally the entire project that I had been working on. From scratch. I asked him if he had seen the code I already had done, and he said he didn't have access to it. When I told him that he was only supposed to work on a small piece of the project, he apologized and said he misunderstood.



I spent a day looking over his code and was amazed that he did everything way better than I have. Not only had he done all my work in a small fraction of the time, but it was cleaner, more concise (about 65% less code), performed better (about 4.5x faster), and had better tests.



I was about to run into my boss's office and tell him that we have a prodigy on our hands, but I realized that this puts me in an awkward position. When my boss realizes how much better this unpopular intern is than me, he'll probably think that I'm a very poor developer and will look for a way to get rid of me. (Company financials are tight, and there's rumors of upcoming layoffs). I'll have a hard time justifying my salary when this intern who makes barely above minimum wage easily outshined me.



However, I want to be fair to this intern. I'm really impressed with his work, and want to make sure he gets proper recognition and gets an offer for a full-time position. How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?










share|improve this question







New contributor




John Gopher Boy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












I am a senior developer who has been working solo on a long project for the past 2 years. I'm about 75% done.



Last week, my boss told me to work with one of our interns. He explained this intern has done poorly on every project, and spends most of his time goofing off online looking at cheeseburger recipes and modifying the Goosebumps Wiki fandom page. He told me to find something to keep him busy, because he's tired of seeing him do nothing all day.



I found a small piece of my large project to give him, and explained to him what I needed. 3 days later, he told me he was done, and went back to looking at cheeseburger recipes. I looked at his code and was shocked to see he had done literally the entire project that I had been working on. From scratch. I asked him if he had seen the code I already had done, and he said he didn't have access to it. When I told him that he was only supposed to work on a small piece of the project, he apologized and said he misunderstood.



I spent a day looking over his code and was amazed that he did everything way better than I have. Not only had he done all my work in a small fraction of the time, but it was cleaner, more concise (about 65% less code), performed better (about 4.5x faster), and had better tests.



I was about to run into my boss's office and tell him that we have a prodigy on our hands, but I realized that this puts me in an awkward position. When my boss realizes how much better this unpopular intern is than me, he'll probably think that I'm a very poor developer and will look for a way to get rid of me. (Company financials are tight, and there's rumors of upcoming layoffs). I'll have a hard time justifying my salary when this intern who makes barely above minimum wage easily outshined me.



However, I want to be fair to this intern. I'm really impressed with his work, and want to make sure he gets proper recognition and gets an offer for a full-time position. How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?







professionalism internship






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asked 2 hours ago









John Gopher BoyJohn Gopher Boy

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  • 3





    Can you put some of those cheeseburger recipes here in the comments... Asking for a friend...

    – solarflare
    1 hour ago











  • @solarflare You no can haz.

    – chrylis
    11 mins ago














  • 3





    Can you put some of those cheeseburger recipes here in the comments... Asking for a friend...

    – solarflare
    1 hour ago











  • @solarflare You no can haz.

    – chrylis
    11 mins ago








3




3





Can you put some of those cheeseburger recipes here in the comments... Asking for a friend...

– solarflare
1 hour ago





Can you put some of those cheeseburger recipes here in the comments... Asking for a friend...

– solarflare
1 hour ago













@solarflare You no can haz.

– chrylis
11 mins ago





@solarflare You no can haz.

– chrylis
11 mins ago










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















7














Just give credit where it's due. It sounds like the guy deserves a chance that he's probably not going to get if you don't stick up for what he's done.



And don't worry too much about your job. From your boss's perspective, he probably doesn't care who writes the code so long as it works, and if the intern is unproductive except under your tutelage you've just made yourself doubly valuable.






share|improve this answer








New contributor




Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • I second this. Just because the intern is a prodigy doesn't meant he will succeed in a workplace where he has done poorly on all his projects. If the intern can only interact well with you then you might be in a much safer situation and you could also secure an important asset for your business.

    – Shadowzee
    1 hour ago



















5















How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?




Give him additional work. You should make sure what happened wasn’t a fluke. Perhaps nobody could motivate the intern in the past and you were lucky. Take it upon yourself to mentor the intern before you go to your boss.






share|improve this answer































    -1














    It sounds like you haven't been doing your job well enough and it's time for this new person to take over. As he is someone whose spent far less time than you working on your project, when your boss sees this, he will do the obvious and you will quickly find yourself transferred to a less desirable position or out of work. You have nobody to blame except yourself (and maybe the intern for making you realize this).



    Let the intern take over and take some time off to gain your skills back.






    share|improve this answer























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      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes








      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      7














      Just give credit where it's due. It sounds like the guy deserves a chance that he's probably not going to get if you don't stick up for what he's done.



      And don't worry too much about your job. From your boss's perspective, he probably doesn't care who writes the code so long as it works, and if the intern is unproductive except under your tutelage you've just made yourself doubly valuable.






      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.





















      • I second this. Just because the intern is a prodigy doesn't meant he will succeed in a workplace where he has done poorly on all his projects. If the intern can only interact well with you then you might be in a much safer situation and you could also secure an important asset for your business.

        – Shadowzee
        1 hour ago
















      7














      Just give credit where it's due. It sounds like the guy deserves a chance that he's probably not going to get if you don't stick up for what he's done.



      And don't worry too much about your job. From your boss's perspective, he probably doesn't care who writes the code so long as it works, and if the intern is unproductive except under your tutelage you've just made yourself doubly valuable.






      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.





















      • I second this. Just because the intern is a prodigy doesn't meant he will succeed in a workplace where he has done poorly on all his projects. If the intern can only interact well with you then you might be in a much safer situation and you could also secure an important asset for your business.

        – Shadowzee
        1 hour ago














      7












      7








      7







      Just give credit where it's due. It sounds like the guy deserves a chance that he's probably not going to get if you don't stick up for what he's done.



      And don't worry too much about your job. From your boss's perspective, he probably doesn't care who writes the code so long as it works, and if the intern is unproductive except under your tutelage you've just made yourself doubly valuable.






      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.










      Just give credit where it's due. It sounds like the guy deserves a chance that he's probably not going to get if you don't stick up for what he's done.



      And don't worry too much about your job. From your boss's perspective, he probably doesn't care who writes the code so long as it works, and if the intern is unproductive except under your tutelage you've just made yourself doubly valuable.







      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer






      New contributor




      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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      answered 1 hour ago









      Matthew BarberMatthew Barber

      712




      712




      New contributor




      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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      New contributor





      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






      Matthew Barber is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.













      • I second this. Just because the intern is a prodigy doesn't meant he will succeed in a workplace where he has done poorly on all his projects. If the intern can only interact well with you then you might be in a much safer situation and you could also secure an important asset for your business.

        – Shadowzee
        1 hour ago



















      • I second this. Just because the intern is a prodigy doesn't meant he will succeed in a workplace where he has done poorly on all his projects. If the intern can only interact well with you then you might be in a much safer situation and you could also secure an important asset for your business.

        – Shadowzee
        1 hour ago

















      I second this. Just because the intern is a prodigy doesn't meant he will succeed in a workplace where he has done poorly on all his projects. If the intern can only interact well with you then you might be in a much safer situation and you could also secure an important asset for your business.

      – Shadowzee
      1 hour ago





      I second this. Just because the intern is a prodigy doesn't meant he will succeed in a workplace where he has done poorly on all his projects. If the intern can only interact well with you then you might be in a much safer situation and you could also secure an important asset for your business.

      – Shadowzee
      1 hour ago













      5















      How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?




      Give him additional work. You should make sure what happened wasn’t a fluke. Perhaps nobody could motivate the intern in the past and you were lucky. Take it upon yourself to mentor the intern before you go to your boss.






      share|improve this answer




























        5















        How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?




        Give him additional work. You should make sure what happened wasn’t a fluke. Perhaps nobody could motivate the intern in the past and you were lucky. Take it upon yourself to mentor the intern before you go to your boss.






        share|improve this answer


























          5












          5








          5








          How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?




          Give him additional work. You should make sure what happened wasn’t a fluke. Perhaps nobody could motivate the intern in the past and you were lucky. Take it upon yourself to mentor the intern before you go to your boss.






          share|improve this answer














          How can I approach this situation and give this intern his fair due, without putting my own job in jeopardy?




          Give him additional work. You should make sure what happened wasn’t a fluke. Perhaps nobody could motivate the intern in the past and you were lucky. Take it upon yourself to mentor the intern before you go to your boss.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 1 hour ago









          RamhoundRamhound

          4551410




          4551410























              -1














              It sounds like you haven't been doing your job well enough and it's time for this new person to take over. As he is someone whose spent far less time than you working on your project, when your boss sees this, he will do the obvious and you will quickly find yourself transferred to a less desirable position or out of work. You have nobody to blame except yourself (and maybe the intern for making you realize this).



              Let the intern take over and take some time off to gain your skills back.






              share|improve this answer




























                -1














                It sounds like you haven't been doing your job well enough and it's time for this new person to take over. As he is someone whose spent far less time than you working on your project, when your boss sees this, he will do the obvious and you will quickly find yourself transferred to a less desirable position or out of work. You have nobody to blame except yourself (and maybe the intern for making you realize this).



                Let the intern take over and take some time off to gain your skills back.






                share|improve this answer


























                  -1












                  -1








                  -1







                  It sounds like you haven't been doing your job well enough and it's time for this new person to take over. As he is someone whose spent far less time than you working on your project, when your boss sees this, he will do the obvious and you will quickly find yourself transferred to a less desirable position or out of work. You have nobody to blame except yourself (and maybe the intern for making you realize this).



                  Let the intern take over and take some time off to gain your skills back.






                  share|improve this answer













                  It sounds like you haven't been doing your job well enough and it's time for this new person to take over. As he is someone whose spent far less time than you working on your project, when your boss sees this, he will do the obvious and you will quickly find yourself transferred to a less desirable position or out of work. You have nobody to blame except yourself (and maybe the intern for making you realize this).



                  Let the intern take over and take some time off to gain your skills back.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 1 hour ago









                  Anous B KingAnous B King

                  404




                  404






















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