Lots of engineering students get jobs early in senior year.
Both of my poli sci majors had summer internships, paid or unpaid, plus lots of coordination with career services office, mentors, networking, alumni etc.
One wanted to go into business-related field and had a business-related internship summer before senior year (not the sort which makes permanent offers after the internship). He started applying for jobs in the fall of senior year, interviewing, learning what he was a good fit for, and what he was not, and got an offer in late winter/early spring. Other kid wanted to work in politics ā a field which hires right before the job starts. So, while he could do lots of research/information gathering etc., he didnāt really interview for paying jobs until after graduation. However, heād had multiple unpaid internships in various political roles during the school year and summers to prepare him for post-grad job search.
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As others have said this is not true. Students in all majors can work in skill building jobs during all college summers. Many students have to do significant leg work to find these opportunities starting freshman yearā¦working with someone in the schoolās career center to put together a resume and target specific types of jobs/companies, creating a LinkedIn profile, networking with alumni, job shadowing, volunteering, building their network of professional contacts, and the like. They continue those activities all throughout college. As they gain experience, more opportunities become available.
It would be helpful if you told us your senior kidās major and any work experience they do have.
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My college student had a paid internship the summer after freshman year (in research), and has an industry internship lined-up the summer after her sophomore year. She is a sophomore engineering student (not CS). Both these opportunities was something she pursued. She wanted working experience both in a research environment and in industry to help set her sails. Not sure where sheās heading, but experience is what she was looking for. To the OP, Iām happy to share more information on the application process if it would be of interest to you.
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How did your daughter get the industry internship opportunity? Can you share?
So the schoolās career center is the first place to prepare for the future job opportunity, right?
How did your two boys get their internship, by the career services office, mentors, networking or alumni and which one you think the most effective?
Please donāt take this as demeaning or trivializing those accomplishments. They are indeed things to be very proud of. Itās meant to clarify for the OP.
It is a bit easier for women to get early opportunities than it is for men. SWE has a lot to do with this. It is primarily based on the historical inequity within engineering and industry leaders making moves to rectify that.
Most male students donāt land positions with heavy hitter companies until after their third year.
@compiler, my son was a bit of an exception. He is a Mechanical Engineer. Although not at big name companies, he had a mini-internship spring break of first year and then during the summer after every year. His first ārealā opportunity though wasnāt until his third summer.
His first job was with a competitor of a company my uncle owned. He sent them an email letting them know he said to reach out and had an offer in 30 minutes.
His first two summers were spent at a local firm working for someone I knew personally.
After his third year he interned at an aerospace company. He met them at the job fair.
He found his first job at the job fair too.
He did have interviews and offers from companies he found on Indeed too. Handshake was in its infancy at the time.
After a couple of years, headhunters started seeking him out.
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I will send you a private message in the morning. 
My daughter is not a part of SWE. And many of her male colleagues enjoyed similar accomplishments. But I guess they truly earned them.
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If you are in a major with an internship culture with kids getting jobs or internships early, you can have your kidsā friends refer you at companies they got jobs at. This works. My son both got referrals from other kids, and gave referrals to other kids ā often peers or juniors, or even seniors on occasion.
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My D was also not part of SWE when she landed her first internship or her co op.
She was at the career center during orientation of her freshman year, as encouraged by her advisor, went to every job fair and busted her tail making sure she took the right classes to boost her resume. Her male friends who did the same also found internships after freshman year.
To the OP - yes your child should start at career services at his university ASAP. Itās honestly a bit late in the game for some majors so he shouldnāt wait.
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@compiler really, three things would help all of us give you better advice.
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What a career field is this?
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What has your student done already in terms of the job search?
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Has your student had employment while in college during the academic year and/or summers, and if so, what was that employment?
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Iām not claiming that everyone who got an early position got it through SWE. On many campuses thought they are very organized and proactive, and thus one of the reasons that women have early success.
Thereās anything wrong with it in my eyes. Forever up to and including the present it has been the opposite where unwritten biases kept women out of careers and jobs, and caused them to advance at slower rates. To rectify that is important.
Context to the go get internships rally cry is needed though. Itās not easy early on.
This is a small sample, but in this study 75% of the people that had more than one internship were female.
It does not need to be an internship, folks!
Someone who temped as a file clerk, administrative assistant, researcher, assistant editor, etc. (and probably made minimum wage) has an edge over someone who has never worked before. Iāve had candidates who have successfully demonstrated āIāll do whatever it takes to get the job doneā with a description of staying in the office until midnight because he/she was the only person who knew how to fix a balky excel or could edit an ungainly Powerpoint before the boss had a big meeting.
But if the OP could clarify what kind of job the kid is looking for, we can all be more helpful!
Does not need to be an internship with a fancy title. It can be a plain vanilla job.
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Very true. I have seen students just in my family have a wide variety of coops, internships, part time jobs, summer jobs, and research experience (sometimes for example there are ways to count a research effort as an upper level course while you are in university, gaining academic credit). In some cases I knew what a daughter was doing, but did not know whether it was a coop or an internship or a part time job (nor am I quite clear on what the difference is). The experience was valuable however it was obtained. Some of it was as āfancyā as cleaning up after cows, but this was still of some value.
Even something like a job as a waiter or waitress or scooping ice cream in a cafeteria has some value. For example this shows the ability to show up on time and be responsible at work. It also shows the ability to work with the public (who are usually pleasant, but not always). Working with the public is useful in a wide variety of jobs.
Also, if a student gets to the point of being a senior in university with no work experience (and no internship or research or coop experience) all is not lost. You get whatever job is available after graduation, gain experience, and work your way up.
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It really was most of them, over a period of time.
The student interested in politics did not go through career services at all. He identified the offices and organizations he was interested in, sent his cover letter and resume for school year internships, and worked 10-15 hours week each semester. He networked the heck out of those internships, building relationships and a reputation, and relied on that network for his post-grad job. As it turned out, he got his post-grad job by circling back to the hiring person for one job which he didnāt get, to ask if they had advice about how to improve. That person said, ācome to think of it, thereās another position youād be great for. Are you interested in x?ā He was, and started several days later.
The business kid had āregularā paid summer jobs, being a camp counselor kind of thing, until the summer before his senior year. He had been diligent about going to career services events, meet-and-greets, informational meetings etc. during the school year before that. The spring of junior year, he relied almost exclusively on career services online tools for internships and jobs. That summer, he worked in an entrepreneurship role, learned an enormous amount about what he was good at, not so good at, and what he enjoyed. Came back to campus in the fall of senior year and started applying widely to business positions ā finance, analyst, wealth management, everything. Got deep into the interview process, but no offers. Reached out to some alums heād networked with to ask for advice, got some suggestions about how to adjust his search, and then got his post-grad job quickly after he made that adjustment.
For both of them, it was a multi-year process of discovery and networking. Neither of them had a major that showed ācareer readinessā ā they werenāt accounting majors, or business majors specializing in block chain. So they relied on building their network, educating themselves about the roles out there, applying widely, being prepared for disappointment and frustration. But each of them had a fantastic experience in their early years, and the skills they developed as undergrads, in terms of analysis, communication, organization ā all helped them succeed in their fields.
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Agree with both of these!
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āIt is a bit easier for women to get early opportunities than it is for men.ā Do you all agree that a girl is easier than boy to get hired job before or after graduation, especially majoring in engineering and science? Can anyone explain why?
Yes, I totally agree. I mean, thatās why women vastly outnumber men in engineering and science positions!
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