<p>Hi,
I've just accepted my offer at Purdue University (Main Campus) for it's Aero/Astro Engineering Program for Fall 2013. I'm currently in my Senior Year of high school (IB Diploma) and I'm an Indian Citizen residing in India.
I'm really keen in getting into an internship or a co-op program from any company in my field (Aero) once I'm in college and I was just wondering about the limitations that I'd have as a Non-US Citizen.
I know for sure that NASA and other government (DoD) Organizations do not offer internships or jobs, for that matter to Non-US Citizens very easily. But I'm not really sure about the private companies such as Boeing or SpaceX.
What would my chances at getting such an Internship be? Should I be looking for an Internship in Engineering generally or am I being too specific about wanting one only in Aerospace?) Also, what sort of GPA and Extra-Curricular Involvement would I require for getting into one? Would they require my High School GPA?
Thank you for your time!</p>
<p>I would just look for an internship in engineering and not just in aerospace. The bigger companies like Boeing and LM may be more open to hiring those with visas? But the aerospace industry is limited already. I’d say just keep your options open.</p>
<p>My son is a 2nd semester freshman pre-Aero and just had his first co-op interview last week which he felt went very well. (That’s the best part to me - he was so excited about how well it went regardless of whether he gets an offer, he was pleased with the interview.) He is on spring break this week and has not heard anything from the company so he’s not sure if he will get an offer but it is a large company more in line with Mechanical Engineering. Although, some of the other aero students recommended students take an engineering co-op when it’s a good company and it is related to aero in some way, especially if you start as a freshman or summer after freshman year because you have later summers/semesters to intern with an aero company in his desired astronautics track and you then have engineering work experience on your resume. It seems they believe if its a good company - take the opportunity offered, especially if it’s an internship which is only 1 term whereas co-ops lock you in for 3 alternating semesters.</p>
<p>On a side note - he was also an IB student and the main interviewer (older gentleman) did not know what the IB program was (I guess career services suggested it be on his resume) but the other interviewer (kind of a 2 person panel) was a younger previous co-op and he was very familiar with the workload of IB Diploma students and was explaining the dedication it takes to succeed in the program to the older gentleman. Who knows - that could be a selling point even in college. </p>