i like to dig. Son is considering UA along with some engineering schools known for their research, internship and coop opportunities. Just wondering what people’s thoughts were on UA. Plenty of opportunities if you are tenacious enough to ferret them out yourself? Difficult to find? How supportive is admin in getting students into that kind of thing? I’d also love to hear from students and parents and what their kids did while at UA in that respect. Just looking for a “warm fuzzy” that even though UA isn’t in a major city where most opportunities lie, you can still find worthy opportunities there.
At any school, getting these opps can be a particular challenge for freshman. Frosh generally have mostly only taking Calc, Gen Chem and Frosh Eng’g program classes…they typically have NOT taken serious engineering courses, so a frosh’s value to a company is usually low. However, sometimes because of luck or connections, a frosh can get an internship or co-op.
with 4000+ students in engineering, it stands to reason that upperclassmen will be more attractive to employers.
Internship and co-ops are very different and sought by different students. Internships are typically summer opportunites, along with REU’s.
REUs are great. Students apply in the January timeframe. The programs are usually about 8-10 weeks long, housing is provided, and students are paid a weekly stipend.
Co-ops, because they require taking a semester off of school, are more likely being done by students who really need the money. Co-ops can be great, but if the desire is to graduate in four years, then the goal is usually to do internships.
I regularly post internship opps here on CC. I probably should be sticking them all onto ONE thread…and maybe I’ll go back and do that.
The HC, eng’g depts, and profs regularly post internship and research opps, and the school hosts job/co-op/and internship fairs, but no one is holding anyone’s hand…the student needs to be pro-active, have his resume ready, and show up (looking professional)
Cummings Research Park, the second largest research park in the nation, is in the state. There are co-op and internship opps there.
I’m lazy. What is your student’s major, OP?
I realize not for freshmen but later…was just curious. Engineering.
My son is looking into co-op (engineering). UA appears to have a very active, well-established co-op program with many, many opportunities. The Career Center also knows that many parents are concerned about UA helping students find more internship opportunities. I think things will only improve as we go along!
What branch of engineering? The reason I ask is that some branches of engineering do not lend themselves well to a co-op, where you take semesters off school.
@amy9988 for summer or during a semester?
Your son is a current frosh so he would be a rising soph, correct? That can be more difficult. Many companies give preference to rising juniors and seniors due to “experience” and the number/type of classes taken. Those who’ve only completed frosh year usually don’t have many eng’g or CS classes under their belts.
for those seeking semester co-ops…keep in mind that your housing selection at Bama (off-campus apt?) will likely have a 12 month lease, so co-oping somewhere else could be an issue if you have a housing commitment here.
For others…here is REU info. Search for an appropriate REU here.
mom2: He’s going through the process this time mainly for the experience; not really expecting to get something at this point. He would be interested in one for Spring 2016 or Summer 2016 (summer preferred).
My experience with Cummings Research Park is that most internship opportunities are for computer science and computer engineering majors. DS is a junior electrical major, and has yet to see a listing for an appropriate internship at CRP. Disappointing in that regard, though it looks like CRP firms do recruit and hire other engineering majors for entry level jobs.
You know how good UA is at recruiting football players and honors students. They have recently starting applying their recruiting prowess toward employers. They took one of their successful regional recruiters and made him head of alumni and organizational relations. His job is to recruit employers and honors college alumni to hire UA students. It’s a work in progress, but a step in the right direction.
@amy9998 where will he be living next year?
@Chardo You must have hit a bad experience because there are EE and MechE internships at CRP, NASA, and Redstone Army base.
And Redstone Arsenal would be perfect:-) My dad lives 10 minutes away. Mechanical engineering is my son’s current interest:-) Good discussion topics.
^^^
Yes, my older son did an internship on Redstone Arsenal …it was great!
Chardo, take a look at the UAH page. I posted the listing of the many companies that will be recruiting this Wednesday. Perhaps this will give your son ideas for internships/coops/jobs. My younger son is just a freshman there, but I am encouraging him to attend. He probably will not land an internship this summer, but he can see what businesses require for future summers.
He’s about to accept an offer with a great company, internship would be in New Orleans area. His only hesitation is the work wouldn’t be exactly what he wants (though still electrical). Company has other locations doing more of what he likes (or thinks he likes), and they tell him he can still be considered for those. Foot in the door.
Looked at that UAH list. Again, mostly computer science jobs. I have looked at the career pages of all the big names at CRP, and most of the listings for their Huntsville location are computer related. Even the listings for electrical in Huntsville are mostly computer coding type jobs. Nothing wrong with that, it seems to be the specialty of the area.
@chardo He should still take the position. It may not be exactly what he wants, but he’s still young…
What year is your son
He’s current junior. I expect he will take it. He can always back out if his dream job comes along. He texted me yesterday that he saw our Yankees are playing in Houston around my birthday, and he might want to go if he takes that job. I take that as a sign.
He must think Houston is around the corner from New Orleans…
^^^ lol…actually, the drive isn’t bad …it does take about 4 hours, but it’s not a bad drive.
My son is a current junior ME major, working in Houston, TX at his second co-op rotation. He loves the opportunity to experience another city (we live in Dayton, OH), and he loves the alternating work/school schedule. Yes, figuring out the sublease for the off-campus apartment is a hassle, but the benefits of the co-op program far outweigh this hassle for us.
While my son will not graduate “on time” in May of 2016, he will graduate in December of 2016…one semester “late”. However, his resume will include 3 semesters of co-op with a national company, one summer of internship, and a decent (not stellar, but decent!) GPA. My son only looked at colleges with strong, or at least decent co-op programs…not for the money, but for the work experience. While the money is GREAT, the immediate work experience upon graduation is priceless while job hunting, imho.
Also, many co-op employers are “grooming” their students for job offers upon graduation…another positive!