<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am second year CS major at UCSD. I have a 3.2 and am trying my level-best to score an internship for this summer...I could definitely use this learning experience (and money). I have applied to a bunch of companies so far (close to 50)...but I only heard back from 2 or so. I want to know:</p>
<p>is my GPA too low for a good internship? This will be my first internship btw.</p>
<p>what are some key things I should highlight in my resume?</p>
<p>where is a good place to look for internships? I've been trying career fairs, emails from our school's list serv, and also soliciting some company websites.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your input!</p>
<p>I’m a first year CS major at a non-prestigious school. I started applying for summer internships 2 weeks ago, and I have already gotten 2 offers (paid).</p>
<p>For local companies, 3.2 is not bad. The main thing is your skills. Don’t you have personal projects? Websites, github account, Facebook apps, Mobile apps? I don’t really know if they give software development positions to those who have no real-life coding experience.</p>
<p>I have been coding since high school. So, I basically put all the names of my websites, iPhone and Android app names I made, and a link to my github account.</p>
<p>Maybe you should apply for non-programming technical positions if it’s your first time?</p>
<hr>
<p>The best place to look for internships would be your department’s website. There’s a little section called, “Where do our graduates work?” There are list of companies. I applied to those companies. You should try the same.</p>
<p>Does your school have career fairs? Most companies will grant some interview (whether phone screen first, or tech interview right away) when they see you blazing with passion with the skills that they are looking for, as long as you aren’t failing all your classes. A 3.2 isn’t bad. Most companies look for experience, while some like Google look at both GPA <em>and</em> experience.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Your GPA seems to be okay. The only large tech company, I think has pretty high requirements is (3.5 preferred)-- Garmin.
You probably don’t have enough technical background for the positions you are applying for. Only you know if you do. So check companies for positions that requires less, or positions like Project Manager Internship with tech companies. Or look for a tech part-time job (or internship) with a local company for summer. Or get enough programming background with classes this spring and work on multiple relatively tough projects this summer. </p>
<p>Somethings you should have or highlight on your resume: your programming skills, try to get a personal website (if you donot already have one). Carli seems like a tech state. if you are brown check minority internships or organizations like NSBE (it doesnt’t matter if you aren’t) still check.</p>
<p>Being a 2nd year student, it may be tough to get an internship with a large company because of limited classes,(you need to take more classes). Even an interview with such companies are pretty tough considering the tech questions they ask. I have a GPA higher than 3.5, I never thought of studying CS till I came to college, I am a sophomore, and I have done a few interviews (mainly because of my GPA not my CS classes/background). I could not get an internship because I don’t have enough tech background.
I did an interview with Amazon, the questions asked are about Data Structures and other stuffs, I have not taken a class about. I did one with hy-vee, garmin etc. they all said they needed someone with more tech background, so this summer I probably will just take classes, and get a part-time tech related job (to put on my resume).</p>