I enjoy learning through working on my own side projects, especially when I can
use them to automate different tasks either for others or myself. My favorite
side projects lately have been writing chrome extensions (e.g. a HackerNews
feed and new-tab overrides with XKCD comics), web services (some of which you
use in CSE 154 later!), and web-based games (some of which you will see
inspiration for in labs :)).
Outside of education roles, I've had internships at companies big (Expedia) and
small (an e-commerce startup and a technology marketing agency). I would highly
recommend trying to experience working at companies of different sizes (regardless
of whether you hope to pursue a software engineering internship)! Startups can be
an especially rewarding experience if you like to learn and be challenged with
new problems each day.
Chrome Browser
Vim Text Editor
Chrome Inspector Tool