Alumni

Alumnus Says Internships are Good to Go

Dan Casey
B.S., Computer Science
Class of 2005

Job Title:
Software Engineer

Company:
Go Daddy

“Getting an internship is one of the absolute best things you can do,” says Dan Casey, computer science alumni class of 2005. Because, as Casey asserts, “the real world is nothing like college.”

Casey joined Go Daddy, an Internet domain name registrar, in 2004. The Go Daddy Group was founded in 1997 and now reports managing more than 17.3 million Internet addresses, currently more than any other domain registrar in the world. They provide a variety of registration and Web site hosting services that allow businesses and individuals to advance their online presence. Go Daddy achieved household name recognition status with its trailblazing Super Bowl XXXIX commercial.

Working on eCommerce at GoDaddy.com, Casey is responsible for multiple systems including Go Daddy’s Basket, Purchases, Fulfillment and supporting accounting software. His team works to guarantee that items can be put into Go Daddy’s cart and that customers can then purchase these items by filling in their order form.

Casey says that his internships at both Honeywell and Go Daddy helped to prepare him for the challenges he would face in the workplace. “The experience of taking constantly changing requirements from non-engineers is a real shocker when you are working on your first projects. You don’t get static requirements that you can plan all the pitfalls for.”

“Sometimes software engineering is like running through an Amazon jungle being chased by headhunters,” Casey said. “You are constantly battling requirement changes in your current project as well as handling the integration
of other teams with current code bases while still meeting deadlines.”

Fortunately, Casey’s education in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering trained him to
handle the subtleties and challenges of software engineering. He credits the work he did in CSE 360, Software Engineering, as well as his coursework in algorithms and operating systems as pivotal to his success in the workplace.

Casey recently decided to return to ASU and pursue his master’s degree in computer science. Go Daddy has a reimbursement plan for tuition and is working with him to fit classes into his schedule.

But Casey’s most important piece of advice to current and future students is, “Be sure you enjoy what you do.” While he admits to sometimes working long hours, Casey loves his job. “I go home everyday feeling like I have accomplished something and I am adding value to my company.”