^^^^ This. Many of my daughter’s friends (she’s a current senior), who struggled to find an internship, are still finding full time jobs after graduation. For some, it took up to 6 months, but they all landed decent jobs. Clearly having an internship was a big plus for those looking for jobs, but you can get by without it. Especially if you’re involved in a design team or job related research.
As others have said, most internships are limited to juniors or seniors. Expect a lot of rejections.It is possible to find something as a freshman/sophomore, but you have to apply to a wide range (and number) of jobs. However, even if you don’t get an internship, it’s well worth the effort. It will help you develop your resume and interviewing skills, and will help you learn what employers are looking for. You’ll be much better prepared to find that critical internship your junior year.
Root cause scenario going on. It is easier for those who’ve had internships to find jobs not just because they had internships but also because they were the top candidates. The top candidates were also the ones who had an easier time to find internships.
@HPuck35 Agree. Adding that university research assistant experience, especially the knowledge of how to follow a protocol and operating industry specific test equipment helps and can be a replacement for previous internship experience.
One of the things I would like to see in an applicant was some kind of assurance that they had the temperament to work an 8 hour day. Life, for a student, can be a series of study sessions and classes with some free time in between. Quite different when you work for 4 hours, take a lunch break and then another 4 hours. University research experience can just as easily show that temperament just as well as an internship.
“I would not have wanted them to take an unpaid engineering internship but that’s just me.” - I have not heard of unpaid engineering internships (except at non-profits, where it is legal).
@colorado_mom , @Much2learn said her daughter has accepted an unpaid internship from a “large, brand name company”, after not receiving an offer for a paid one. So, it must be happening in engineering?
^^^ I am a little puzzled by this as well. I believe unpaid internships are illegal, unless offered by nonprofits. It might be some kind of shadowing an engineer or something similar, but not internship.
I am pretty sure it is legal. There is just much more to it than I explained in the post. Thanks for looking out for my daughter and me though. I do appreciate that.
The unpaid internship is in Singapore. The company offered her university a deal whereby they would take a small group of engineering student interns (4 - 6) for the summer. The students are technically paid a very modest stipend for expenses ($500 or $1,000 for the summer). However, the company provides the students with housing, and flights to get there and back. The internship is also specifically in her major of material science engineering.
Additionally, our daughter also knows students that went in prior years and had a positive experience. There are a significant number of applicants and she was fortunate to be chosen as a sophomore.
Since it is a large brand name US company with professional HR and legal staff, and the school is a top 50 university, I am sure that it is legal.
@Much2learn - That sounds like a good opportunity. (Probably it’s a special program, not needing to conform to US laws. Or co-op… that I think can be unpaid if for credit). Our son did research after freshman year, at his own campus - it was $8(?)/hr, but it also included free housing. In his junior year, he spent a semester in Singapore. He’s really glad he did it.