I’m a high school junior in the process of looking for what to do over the summer of 2017 (next summer). Right now I am trying to weigh several options.
As the title suggests, I’m interested in engineering and will probably pursue engineering in college. I also live in the NYC Metropolitan area, so I do have a lot of options when it comes to finding internships etc.
I’m wondering, in your opinions, would it be better for me to work over the summer as an intern at a large engineering company (already have a few in mind, will be in contact with them soon), or attend a summer program (e.g. the robotics program at Cornell).
Which is more advantageous for me to have on my resume? What do colleges value more? Future employers?
I’d like to hear as many opinions as possible, and please do give your honest thoughts. I understand that people shouldn’t do things just for the sake of building their resume for college, but it is a valid criteria to consider.
Having either on your resume already puts you ahead of the vast majority of students at the vast majority of schools. I’d say do whichever you think you will enjoy more and will be less of a hassle.
For the purposes of getting admission into college, either is fine, as long as you can talk about what you get out of it, rather than seeming like you did it only because you think it makes you look good to them. Colleges don’t like the “check the box” kind of attitude. In summary, your choice of which activity should be for you, not for them.
Future employers typically only care about what you have done while in college.
@boneh3ad I may be wrong, but I was always under the impression that most kids entering higher-ranked engineering programs had some combination of work experience in the field, either in the industry or university (program). I may be just overestimating everybody else though.
@umcoe16 From your profile pic and name I assume you’re a Michigan Engineering alum? That’s one of the schools I’m looking into! May I ask if you had any personal experiences with internships or summer programs? How did you feel about them in your experience?
@hungryteenager That’s great to hear. If you would, can you discuss what sort of work you did in general? Where was the internship? How was the work environment like? I’m just curious since I haven’t had an internship like this before.
@colorado_mom I’ve already contacted a company in NYC, and they said that they’re interested and will probably be able to take me as a part time intern (3-4 days a week) next summer. I haven’t signed anything or things of that matter yet.
I understand that students shouldn’t just “check the box” for applications, but in general, but which do you guys feel will be valued more/be viewed in higher regard? I know a ton of kids who do summer programs, and as I come to understand it, it has become a staple of sorts for college apps. However, I also know a quite a lot of people who have “work experiences” but didn’t actually do meaningful work (organizing files, coffee runs, etc. lol).
Because of this, I’m just concerned that summer programs and internships have been ‘diluted’ among all the resumes out there, if you know what I mean.
On that note, do you guys know of any companies or organizations that are recruiting HS interns? What about some good summer engineering programs?
There is an advantage to getting as many industry samplings as possible… to learn what you do like and more importantly what you don’t like. I hope the internship works out.
Entering highly-ranked programs? No. Perhaps at the tippy top programs like MIT where you need something special to stand out, but the vast majority of students entering college for the first time have next to no experience whatsoever, even in engineering. Usually the best they can muster are clubs that may be available at their high school or programs at nearby colleges since most engineering companies don’t heavily hire high school interns. There are always exceptions.
That said, the vast majority of students finishing at highly-ranked programs (or really most programs) will have some sort of internship and/or research experience. It’s important to get that experience. Also, most companies aren’t going to care about the experience you had as a high school student. They care about the experience you have in connection with your undergraduate studies in engineering and as a result of those studies (i.e. how you’ve applied those studies already).
@IsoDidact I did attend some engineering related summer camps as a high school student, did some simple technical work at a very small local company in my area, but did not do any sort of “real engineering” work. From what I notice, mostly all engineering programs educate you as if you have absolutely no engineering experience going in. Thus, you are not behind or in the minority if you are one of those who go into an engineering school with no engineering experience.
@IsoDidact I did some design verification work for a government contractor on some transceiver boards they were building.
It was a really great opportunity because I actually did contribute some (which I wasn’t sure if I was going to), and to go through the process of doing design revisions and fixing issues with the products. Plus it worked out really nicely because the boards moved to the next development phase by the time I ended, so it was really great to see the project move forward.
The difference between an internship and an intro-level class is that a good internship will introduce you to how engineers work with hardware errors and non-idealities, while you’ll typically have to wait at least a year to get into those engineering problems via pure coursework, and it’s super valuable to get that perspective early on.
At my first internship at big corporation (30+ years ago), I only had 2 years coursework so not much practical experience. In the afternoons I did testing in the lab (when equipment was free). In mornings I did various things including making copies of E-sized (huge) design drawings. That was fun because I got to see examples of many part designs. Two years later I actually went back to same group for my real job. At the interview, it was very easy to honestly say I enjoyed working on those products.
