<p>How are Engineering Internship and Coop opportunities at Bama? Do a lot of
companies recruit? Do a lot of students take advantage? Are particular
industries or engineering fields in demand?</p>
<p>Since the state of Alabama is home to many, many high tech companies, there are numerous co-op and internship opportunities. </p>
<p>Which eng’g discipline is your concern? </p>
<p>Keep in mind that Alabama is home to Cummings Research Park, the second largest research park in the nation. [Huntsville</a> Alabama USA - Companies in CRP - Alphabetical List](<a href=“http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/new_exp/crp/companies/alphabetical_list.html]Huntsville”>http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/new_exp/crp/companies/alphabetical_list.html) </p>
<p>The US. Army also hires a number of student engineers for summer internships at Redstone Arsenal. There are other companies as well.</p>
<p>[Cooperative</a> Education at The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://coop.eng.ua.edu/]Cooperative”>http://coop.eng.ua.edu/)</p>
<p>The co-op program seems to be really good. My son gets almost daily emails about companies coming to campus. They soon have a couple interview days set up for students who want co-op positions. On our second campus tour, we met with someone in the co-op office who was very enthusiastic and eager to get students to participate.</p>
<p>Internships seem to be another matter. I’m not sure why internships and co-ops are handled by two different campus offices, I can’t imaging employers really want to have to work with two different offices on campus. </p>
<p>On our first campus tour, I asked both our honors ambassador and the engineering prof we spoke with about internships and they both looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language that they didn’t understand. The prof’s best advice was those students that have personal connections somewhere might be able to find an internship.</p>
<p>My son went to the job fair that was just held and specifically approached the companies that had noted they were looking for interns, but when he spoke to me later he said that all but 1 of them told him they were only interested in co-op students.</p>
<p>From what I’ve experienced, if you are not interested in a co-op, you will probably need to take some iniative and find your own position. I’ve found several websites that advertise available internships.</p>
<p>In my experience, the lack of emphasis on internships is the biggest weakness we’ve experienced in the engineering program.</p>
<p>i agree. most students would be interested in an internship, but not so interested in a co-op which delays graduation for a year. i am sure internships exist because i know plenty of kids at other schools who work at summer internships. pretty sure most were obtained through school and not outside contacts.</p>
<p>I think the info may depend on:</p>
<p>which Eng’g discipline you’re in
how pro-active you are about finding out.
reading the emails about these opps</p>
<p>Between summer internships and summer REUs, there are a good number of opps, but a student can’t expect them to fall into their laps.</p>
<p>My kids did both REUs and summer internships. They preferred the REUs because they included travel costs, housing, along with a pretty good pay.</p>
<p>would a student be able to fit in the summer lab and also an reu?</p>
<p>we are trying to figure out a plan for this summer.</p>
<p>*would a student be able to fit in the summer lab and also an reu?
*</p>
<p>Since each REU has its own schedule, number of weeks, start/end dates, you’d have to look at which ones fit your schedule. </p>
<p>Also, there are at least 2-3 schedules for the summer ChemE lab, so you’d have to coordinate depending on which REU works out.</p>
<p>It amazes me that internships are not as popular for engineers as they are for other majors.</p>
<p>Also, apply to co-ops and internships at companies that do not recruit at UA. Many of the internships I’ve interviewed for were at companies that do not recruit at UA and thus I had to find them by myself. This is especially the case if you want a co-op or internship with a company in your home region.</p>
<p>Do ask people you know if their companies are hiring for interns, co-ops, or full-time positions. They may even get a referral bonus if your student gets hired. Back in high school, I got several engineering job offers from very good companies through one of my extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Engineering is such a practical field that anyone without some kind of hands on experience when they graduate is going to be at a serious disadvantage when trying to get a job.</p>
<p>When looking at schools, we toured Purdue multiple times. The program that really caught my attention at Purdue was their EPICs program. Any engineering students, including freshman could enroll in the for credit course. A community or non-profit org would present an engineering problem to the class. The students would then work in groups to develop a solution to the problem and create a professional proposal to present to the organization. The organization would then evaluate and choose one of the proposals. The class would then work together to implement the solution. What an AWESOME way for students to get practical experience and something to put on their resumes!</p>
<p>I know when I enrolled in college ‘a few’ years ago as an eduation major that we were required to enroll in courses each semester, first to observe, then to assist, then to student teach. I know when my younger sister was in a business program that she had the opportunity to take a for credit course where 1 day per week she went to a local business to have a hands on experience.</p>
<p>Companies want to hire graduates with experience, but someone has to give them the chance to get that experience. </p>
<p>Personally, I believe in being VERY proactive and although my son is still in the second month of his freshman year, I’ve already started looking for opportunities to recommend to him. There are already companies advertising intern positions for summer 2013. I have already located a company less than 30 miles from our home looking for interns for next summer and sent him the information on how to apply. </p>
<p>For us ‘helicopter parents’, I’m not too worried, but there are a lot of students out there without that guidance and they don’t know how, where, or when to start looking for opportunities. I’d like to see UA spend as much effort recruiting businesses with opportunities as they do recruiting students.</p>
<p>I heard/read somewhere that UA is an extremely attractive place for businesses to recruit because of the number of OOS students. Not only will businesses find students from whatever region they may be located in, but also these students have showed that they have a willingness to relocate for the right opportunity. But when looking at the list of companies at the fall job fair or those looking for co-ops, they seem to be located in or trying to fill positions in the south-east. Hopefully as the OOS student population grows, UA will bring more businesses to campus that are recruiting on a more national scale.</p>
<p>It amazes me that internships are not as popular for engineers as they are for other majors.</p>
<p>I think they are. I wonder if it’s a semantics thing. I wonder if the eng’g majors aren’t calling their summer eng’g jobs “internships”??? Some people think “internships” are unpaid, so they don’t consider their paid “student engineer” job that they have in the summer as an “internship”. My kids didn’t call their summer jobs “internships” and I know that my relatives didn’t call their summer eng’g jobs “internships” either.</p>
<p>My computer science son (freshman) would like to find something for the summer but it looks like most of the internships are looking for juniors or seniors with knowledge of various programming languages that S hasn’t learned yet. </p>
<p>Do you know of any research opportunities that might be available for freshmen (rising sophomores) over the summer?</p>
<p>I agree that there are as many, if not more, internship opportunities available for engineering students, but I’m really not sure students know how to find them.</p>
<p>While the co-op office is just dedicated to co-ops and brings in companies specifically for co-ops and has students pre-register and keeps students informed, there is not a similar process for students interested in internships.</p>
<p>The few companies seeking interns go to the main career fair. I STRONGLY encouraged my son to attend as a freshman, just for the experience, so he is more comfortable in the atmosphere in later years, but how many freshman attend the fall career fairs and how many think it’s just for seniors looking to get jobs after they graduate?</p>
<p>Even there, as noted above, my son specifically approached businesses who said they were looking for interns and found that most were only interested in co-ops. While I understand that from a business perspecitive, you can’t teach a student much during a single summer and you’re paying them for that time when you are not getting a big ROI, it still takes someone willing to give the students that opportunity so that they can hire graduates with experience later.</p>
<p>Also how many students looking for summer 2013 internships have already started looking? My guess is VERY, VERY few, but there are already companies advertising positions. For students who wait until after spring break, chances are small that they are going to find something. Most companies will look to hire interns for next summer right after the holidays. But I’m not certain most students, especially young students, know they need to start applying in January or February for summer positions.</p>
<p>Also for my son, since we live in a rural area, chances are that he is going to have to be willing to live somewhere else for a summer to secure an internship. With co-ops that is anticipated and many companies even supply housing, but with internships that’s less common. Although many are well paid positions, students who may not be able to find opportunites close to their homes have to plan ahead to ensure they have a place to live that is going to allow them a short-term lease and be affordable with what they are earning. </p>
<p>I’d like to see UAs co-op office also offer internships. They seem to have established relationships with companies. They know how to work with the less experienced students. They communicate FREQUENTLY and keep students up to date. The career placement office that is currently the only on-campus resource for internships requires students to be MUCH more proactive and for young students who don’t know the hows, whens, and whys of the process, there seems to be too little guidance.</p>
<p>@RTRMom2</p>
<p>As for internships, not that any of these would be easy to get, but this is some of what I found in a quick search:</p>
<p>(This is last years announcement dated in January) [Google</a> Student Blog: Announcing the Google Freshman Engineering Practicum Internship - Apply Today!](<a href=“Google Student Blog: Announcing the Google Freshman Engineering Practicum Internship - Apply Today!”>Google Student Blog: Announcing the Google Freshman Engineering Practicum Internship - Apply Today!)</p>
<p>[Microsoft</a> University Careers - Explore Microsoft Program](<a href=“http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/internships-explore-microsoft.aspx]Microsoft”>http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/internships-explore-microsoft.aspx)</p>
<p>[College</a> Student Programs and Internships at the National Security Agency (NSA) - Student Programs](<a href=“http://www.nsa.gov/careers/opportunities_4_u/students/undergraduate/co-op.shtml]College”>National Security Agency Careers | Apply Now)</p>
<p>(deadline for summer 2013 is on Oct 15) <a href=“https://www.cia.gov/careers/student-opportunities/index.html[/url]”>https://www.cia.gov/careers/student-opportunities/index.html</a></p>
<p>Although this one has a lot of positions for upperclassmen, there are some opportunities for freshman and where I was able to find a local position for my son to apply for - [2012</a> Computer Science Internships](<a href=“http://www.internmatch.com/s/computer-science-internships]2012”>http://www.internmatch.com/s/computer-science-internships)</p>
<p>I would send an email to these folks and give these concerns about how students can learn about internships, etc. Include suggestions if you have any. </p>
<p>A more centralized place would be better. I think these things are known within Eng’g disciplines, but since sometimes there is “cross-over”, maybe a one-stop for all eng’g internships would be better.</p>
<p>STAFF
Nancy Holmes <a href=“mailto:nholmes@eng.ua.edu”>nholmes@eng.ua.edu</a>
Capstone Engineering Society Coordinator
Capstone Engineering Society
Dean’s Office
Send an e-mail<strong>|</strong>View profile
STAFF</p>
<p>Angela Jewell <a href=“mailto:ajewell@eng.ua.edu”>ajewell@eng.ua.edu</a>
Development Assistant
Capstone Engineering Society
Dean’s Office
Send an e-mail** |**View profile
STAFF</p>
<p>Adam Jones <a href=“mailto:acjones12@eng.ua.edu”>acjones12@eng.ua.edu</a>
Communications Specialist Senior
Dean’s Office
Send an e-mail<strong>|</strong>View profile
STAFF</p>
<p>Allen McClendon <a href=“mailto:ramcclendon@eng.ua.edu”>ramcclendon@eng.ua.edu</a>
Director, External Affairs and Development
Dean’s Office</p>
<p>Forgive my ignorance - What is REU?</p>
<p>Research Experiences for Undergraduates -</p>
<p>offered at many universities and some outside labs/government agencies</p>
<p>Generally includes housing and stipend and many include travel expenses</p>
<p>So the Co-op program. Is that one straight year, fall-summer-spring, out of school? Meaning does the program have to be consecutive semesters? I talked to my D about this and she doesn’t like the idea of full year out, would rather do internships\summer experience.<br>
We’ve talked to other schools and they actually stress Internships in Engineering. It’s a little off-putting that UA doesn’t seem to have a central source like they do for Co-op.</p>
<p>Co-ops generally require a 3 semester committment and alternate semesters. Many start in the summer, but some start in fall or spring.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>freshman year - on campus
summer - co-op
fall sophomore - on campus
spring sophomore - co-op
summer - on campus
fall junior - co-op
spring junior + senior year - on campus</p>
<p>so while it requires ‘a year’ out of school, it is not a consecutive year</p>
<p>any UA scholarships would apply only to the 8 semesters on campus and if living on campus, housing will work with you, but if living off campus, might have to locate a short term lease or sublet during the periods you are on co-op</p>
<p>I agree that co-ops aren’t for everyone and my son is in civil which is a very broad field and he doesn’t want to co-op because he would rather use internships to ‘try out’ different aspects of the field.</p>
<p>Sign up info for Co-op Day… </p>
<p>Remember, when you come in to sign up for interviews have 5 companies selected that you want to interview with.* We won’t have time to sit and explain who the companies are or what they do at the time of sign up so please go to our website at Company Information for information on all companies attending Interview Day.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Today is the first day to sign up for Co-op Interview Day</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Students Eligible To Participate In Sign Up Tomorrow, Tuesday, And Wednesday:</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>1.******** Upperclassmen with 30+ hours which do not include AP Credits</p>
<p>(Sophomore, Junior, Senior)</p>
<p>2.******** Graduate Students</p>
<p>3.******** First Semester Transfer Students</p>
<p>*From Other Colleges Transferring In</p>
<p>30+ Hours</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Who Is Not Eligible To Start Signing Up Tomorrow?</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>1.******** First Semester Freshmen</p>
<p>2.******** Freshmen With AP Credit Transfer</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Location Of Sign Up:</p>
<p>Co-op Office – 317 Houser Hall</p>
<p>Building Front Door Will Be Unlocked at 6:00 AM</p>
<p>Co-op Office Will Open At 7:00AM</p>
<hr>