<p>I am a freshman engineering computer science major at college and I have a a somewhat major decision coming up and I would appreciate any advice.</p>
<p>I have to make a decision regarding a potential internship verses taking more classes. This semester I have a very managable workload but I it has been a ton of work. However, a lot of this was adjustment and some poor initial time management. My GPA will not be super spectacular this semester, at least 3.0+, but not as high as I would like it. Next semester, I want to take a heavier workload in order to get a certain major/minor combination. This would be in addition to my 10 hour a week technical job on campus, research, in addition to some in depth extracurriculars.</p>
<p>However, today I was offered pretty much my dream internship. I get to do exactly what I want and get paid very well. It does require a commute, about a half-hour, but it is free on the city metro system. They want a minimum of ten hours a week but realistically I could see it easily reaching 15 to 20 hours. They are extremely flexible though and I could basically make my own hours.</p>
<p>Now clearly, I have a decision to make. This internship is an incredible opportunity yet I want to take more classes to fulfil an additional major/minor. I am also not interested in quitting my current campus job (although it only pays half as much as the internship) or research position due to convenience and interest. I am worried that my GPA will suffer from this combination. My question is whether it will be worth it.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>absolutely the internship. hands down.</p>
<p>You are still a freshmen, and maybe you will change your mind about double majoring. The internship will help you a lot for future prospects, as well as career aspirations. I happen to think it’s a waste of time to double major, unless you’re physics or math.</p>
<p>Agree if it is your “dream” internship - make it work. I don’t know if you have been to the career fairs yet or done many on line applications but I think most students find it very stressful. You are going to have to give up something so meet with your advisor, talk to older students in your major and your parents to figure out a balance. Congratulations and good luck next semester.</p>
<p>I’m going to take the other side here… there are a LOT of tech/programming jobs out there. It is very easy for comp sci majors to get sucked into working too much and not finish their degree (or end up on a 5 year+ plan, which is pretty costly these days). With your campus job, you could be working as much as 30 hours a week. That is too much. If you take the internship, at least quit your campus job. And honestly… if the internship is just a set of work activities you want to do, that may not be worth it. If it is a company you want to work for long term, then it at least makes some sense.</p>
<p>to the best of my knowledge, com sci has a very steep learning curve, after which is a cake walk to graduation. I don’t understand intparent’s thought process when stating that com sci majors can easily get sucked into working too much. The internship would make you MORE money, so you don’t have to work as much during school. Also, the first internship is very important, even if you’re not necessarily a good long term fit in the company. It doesn’t even matter that much what you will be doing. The point is, when a company looks at your resume in the future, they will be thoroughly impressed if they see you have 3 different internships in three different summers. On the other hand, it would be far less impressive to say “oh yea… I took classes. It was brutal…” And trust me, it will be brutal to take classes year round. I don’t recommend it.</p>
<p>I went to college for a year, got hired into industry, went to college on and off, started a company with a friend and worked on a lot of really great projects. I finished my first degree in my early 30s and didn’t have to pay for it.</p>
<p>I’ve always told my son - you can always go to school, but you can’t always get a job [that you really want]. In your case, I think that I’d try to make the internship work. You might see if they’ll pay some of your school costs so that it might make economic sense to take an extra semester.</p>