Internships as a UF Engineer

<p>Hi guys,
I've narrowed down my college selection to 2 choices: UF and the honors college at UCF. I am definitely leaning towards UF because of how established it is, and because the campus is beautiful. I was just wondering how it is getting internships as an engineering student. I know at UCF they have connections with companies such as Lockheed, but I haven't heard of anything like that with UF. Is it difficult to get an internship as a UF engineer, even in cities such as Orlando? I figure it isn't since UF is such a reputable school, but I'm not sure.</p>

<p>Any help is appreciated, thanks!</p>

<p>It’s hard to get an internship, no matter what school you attend. UF doesn’t have the same “type” of formal agreement as UCF has with Lockheed. It’s one of the pluses for UCF’s program (as is it’s location in Orlando). However, UF has better Alumni connections and job placement resources. All things being equal, it’s likely a bit easier landing an internship at UF as more companies recruit at UF. </p>

<p>However, it’s really up to you to GET an internship and that means finding out what companies what (skill/knowledge wise) and applying/interviewing to a lot of positions. A lot of positions…</p>

<p>I’m sure I’ll have to apply to plenty, but thank you! Do you know of anywhere online that shows what companies recruit at UF?</p>

<p>Both schools have career fairs where recruiters come and you have a chance to speak with them. Both have many from different places.</p>

<p>I graduated in 2012 and was in the same exact position that you’re in now. I was accepted into UCF and their Burnetts honor college as well as UF. UCF gave me a ■■■■ ton of money and would basically be paying me to go to school there. I shared the same exact concerns that you are experiencing now. I was worried that the location of UF was not very advantageous for engineering majors. </p>

<p>As an Electrical Engineering major I ultimately ended up picking UF. I do not regret this decision for one second in any way. UF has the #1 career placement program in the country. As an engineer at UF you will not have any problem finding a job or an internship. I get multiple emails weekly notifying me of internship and job opportunities. Dozens of times a semester tech companies will come and give a presentation that you can go to and meet the recruiters. </p>

<p>As mentioned before career fair happens once a semester and any company who is worth their salt is there. Lockheed, Northrop, P&G, Phillips are only a few big names that come.</p>

<p>I was just recently offered an internship this summer working for Northrop Grumman IN ORLANDO. So thinking that UCF has better connections than UF is certainly not true.</p>

<p>I was actually registered and signed up at UCF, had my dorm and everything, but at the last minute I decided to change to UF despite them not offering any scholarships or incentives. That is probably the best decision I have ever made in my life. Don’t get me wrong UCF is a great school, being from Orlando myself I know a lot of people that go there and often spend my time there over summers. The atmosphere of both schools is just completely different. UCF students seem to have an almost indifferent attitude about their school and a good chunk of students wear UF/FSU/Miami gear around campus. When you choose to go to the University of Florida, you join something bigger than yourself, the Gator Nation. This has helped me out in more ways than just school.</p>

<p>Good luck on your choice!</p>

<p>@flip5923 Sounds like I’m in the same position you were! I also would be going to UCF for free, but UF would also be inexpensive considering I have prepaid in-state tuition. I’m honestly not taking the money into account too much, my only concern is the internships. I feel the same way about the students at both schools, and I definitely feel that I would fit in at UF more than UCF. Thank you for sharing! You definitely made me comfortable with the job placement and internship opportunities at UF. How were the class sizes as an engineer? I know that the basics such as calc 1 are big, but do the classes get smaller as you get into more specific courses?</p>

<p>Son had three internships while at UF over the course of undergrad and grad school. Regarding Lockheed: Interns are recruited nationally. The “UCF connection” that is mentioned is actually for the “College Work-Study Experience” and is run thru the State and has nothing to do with the Intern program (which is far more lucrative in terms of follow-on job offers).</p>

<p>Lockeed Martin is always one of the top 10 recruiters at UF, for whatever reason…</p>

<p>Yea I completely agree, money shouldn’t be a factor when it comes to choosing a college, but a lot of times it is. If all you’re concerned over is internships then you have nothing to worry about. Like others have said UF is one of the most heavily recruited universities for engineers in the south. Only Georgia Tech really rivals us in terms of quality and recruitment. UCF has a pretty strong engineering college as well and obviously benefits from location. Companies are willing to drive an extra couple hours to get stronger candidates. </p>

<p>A family friend works for Lockheed as a manger in their optics department and I asked him the same question when I was deciding. He told me that most companies recruit from all schools and it really doesn’t make a huge difference about what school you go to. What matter is what you do at school.</p>

<p>All of your gen ed classes(Chem 1, Physics 1&2, Calc series) are all huge lecture hall classes with 100-300+ people in them. This is my last semester working on my gen ed and critical tracking courses so I haven’t gotten too deep into the EE courses yet but class size does shrink dramatically the higher up you go.</p>