<p>Ok I'm entering Cornell this fall for engineering and I'm thinking of getting a summer internship. As in next summer - after my freshman year (yes I realise that I might be thinking about that a little too early). Anyway:</p>
<p>1) Whens the best time of the academic year to go and start talking to whatever department at Cornell that handles internships about a summer position somewhere? </p>
<p>2) Is it possible to get an internship for the entire summer vacation (all three months)? </p>
<p>3) If I get an internship on campus, will they provide housing? </p>
<p>4) Do I get paid (which I doubt since I'll only be a freshman)? If so, how much on average can I earn?</p>
<p>5) I'm an international student; did that just make you think twice about your answers to the above questions? If so, why does being international suck for me? I ask this because there is absolutely no chance that being int. can actually be a good thing. </p>
<p>6) If there are any engineering majors out there, what sort of internships can I land after my freshman year?</p>
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<li><p>Start talking to career services as soon as you can. They can do resume critiques and help you get ready for the career fairs in the fall and spring.</p></li>
<li><p>Most internships will want you for at least 10 (most likely 12) weeks.</p></li>
<li><p>No</p></li>
<li><p>Depends what company you work for. </p></li>
<li><p>It will be harder to get an internship. Many, Many companies hire exclusively us citizens (for security reasons) and many more limit it to citizens, perm. residents, and those with work visas. </p></li>
<li><p>I got a research internship at a university after my freshman year. That's probably your best shot, most companies look for older students.</p></li>
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<ol>
<li><p>Your major is Engineering; more likely than not you will get paid decently well for your internship. But as poster above says, it really depends on who you work for.</p></li>
<li><p>Why do you say "there is absolutely no chance that being int. can actually be a good thing"? Many companies these days look for people who can bring diverse perspectives to their work. As an international you have that. True, Cornell's online job/internship application portal (CornellTrak) allows employers to block your ability to apply if you aren't a citizen <em>if the employers want to do that</em>, but some of the largest firms like Google allow int'ls to apply. I'm an international, and I'm VERY happy with the internship I landed this summer. </p></li>
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<p>Just one more thing to add, not sure which path in engineering you want to pursue because people do anything from research to i-banking so company policies obviously differ. Don't let your status get you down even before applying. :)</p>
<p>Well thanks; I'll try not to think too much about the disadvantages of being int. Anyway I'll probably be going in for Mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>One more question. If I do get a paid internship on campus or elsewhere, I guess I'll have to pay for housing and other expenses - so will I actually make a profit over the summer? Tell me about your experiences. And feel free to give me any other advice on internships.</p>
<p>I've actually never gotten an internship on campus. I think they properly call anything related to the actual Cornell campus a "job"/part time job. </p>
<p>Internship experiences? Did one in Asia, doing one in Europe this summer. Always take the initiative to learn because everyone else at work has a lot of things to do so you gotta think for yourself. That way, you'll be able to learn a lot even if just by sitting in on meetings and doing things for others at work.</p>
<p>I'd do an internship off campus. They will probably pay better.</p>
<p>I did a nice bio research internship a couple of years ago. They paid for plane tickets in and out of the place. They had a driver pick me up from the airport. They gave me free housing in newly built fully furnished apartments (and I mean fully furnished, everything from queen-sized beds to brand new pots/pans to hangers to electric can openers to alarm clock; I didn't have to buy anything). They also took us out to lunch at least once a week. And they gave us a car to use for the summer and reimbursed us for every penny that we spent on gas/tolls even for our weekend trips. And I still got $4000 on top of that for my 10 weeks of work, ended in a publication on a poster that was presented at a national conference.</p>
<p>Here's where it pays to go to a school with accomplished professors: A little into my internship, I found out that my PI had specifically requested me out of all the interns because he had met my Cornell PI (who wrote one of my recs for the internship) at a conference.</p>
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[quote]
Here's where it pays to go to a school with accomplished professors.
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<p>Agreed. I am amazed at some of the pull my professors have. Even in fields where you don't think that they would have pull.</p>
<p>@norcalguy - wow, it looks like they really rolled out the red carpet for you.
But I'm guessing I would have to get to know the professors really well for them to write a recommendation for me.....right?</p>
<p>For those who've done engineering internships, what exactly do these internships entail? I'm sure as a freshman or a sophomore, they won't let you handle anything important so what exactly do you do?</p>
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@norcalguy - wow, it looks like they really rolled out the red carpet for you. But I'm guessing I would have to get to know the professors really well for them to write a recommendation for me.....right?
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<p>In an optimal situation, yes, you would know your letter writer very well. But, I've never really gotten to know my professors very well. It's just not my thing. But, they try their best to write your rec anyway. I've never had a professor turn me down for a LOR. </p>
<p>I would definitely suggest an off-campus internship to an on-campus job. The pay is generally much better. The other three interns that summer were all chicks so I'd drop by their apartment conveniently every night around dinner time. They ended up feeding me for a summer and only asked for $80 in return so I was able to save up enough money to fund my trip to Africa the following winter break.</p>
<p>as an international, you will need a work visa which is different than a student visa (typically, a "F-1" visa). As a general rule, you will need a US employer to sponsor your work visa, but suggest you contact career services and ask if they can help with that process.</p>
<p>Also, I think off-campus work will have an impact on your OPT time so consider that before you work off-campus. This only applies to internationals--we are granted a cumulative total of 29 months to work while here on the F-1 visa. Many intls want to stay in the states after graduating so they try to save these 29 months for full-time work instead of using them up for internships.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if I've explained this issue clearly so take a look at this:
Cornell</a> University ISSO: Information for F-1 Students</p>