Hello.
So I’ve been accepted to VT for Engineering and was wondering if anyone could give me insight on the internship and Job opportunities.
I’m an international (Indian) and will most probably take EE or CE from my second year.
I plan on doing lots of internships during my summer. How are the opportunities for Internationals? Is it incredibly tough to find…? Does the fact that I have the VT name make it better for me? What kind of internships and companies can I get?
I plan to pursue graduate and then get a job. What kind of Good paying jobs am I capable for…?
My criteria for Good job is primarily higher pay and better internship is primarily repute (so it looks good on the resume)
(All assuming I do well with my GPA…3.5-4.0 around)
Note - I have been accepted to IIT (Illinois), SUNY Stony brook, SUNY buffalo, Florida Tech also. From these is Virginia Tech going to be the best or will I find higher paying jobs / better internships elsewhere.
I am waiting for GT and Purdue also.
Thank you for taking time, reading this and helping me out. I appreciate it.
Cheers
All these universities are well known for their engineering programs and they all have internship opportunities for ther students. It might be slightly easier to have local internship opportunities if you are located in a major metropolitan area like New York or Chicago but if that is not a big deal places like VT, SUNY Buffalo and Florida Tech would be perfectly fine.
About whether it is hard as an international student to get internships, it is harder than for a domestic student because of immigration laws so you have to file for Curricular Practical Training. However, lost of students do this and it is a well-understood process. I see a lot of international students getting internships at IIT where I am a professor. The fact that there are 30% international undergraduates and 60% international graduate students at the university means that the career center and international office know how to deal with this. Other schools are similar, I am sure.
The kinds of jobs you are going to be competitive for depends a lot you, not so much the “repute” of your university. You have to do well in academics and get as much practical experience as possible to make yourself a strong candidate. As for pay, generally engineers are paid better than other majors coming out of university. The pay level most likely depends on your experience and the kind of job you are hired for.