Thanks for your replies to my postings.
My son is in college and doing Physics + Math double Major and completed his Freshman year. He is not able to find internships opportunities thru his college web portal.
What are the other resources to look for his internship opportunities?
Thanks for sharing.
For this summer? Or for next year?
Most paid internships in tech. (the only area I really know about that relates) are after junior year and sometimes after sophomore year. Companies use them for screening for hiring.
Non-profits, such as service and arts organizations, may have some. In our area, craigslist and hireculture.org (state cultural council) are the best resources. Also he can ask directly, but it is a little late.
DS just by luck got an internship as a rising sophomore, but it was really just a lucky accident. Your son is not alone.
During the school year, there are probably various events scheduled where employers look for potential interns. In addition to that, your son should talk to upperclassmen who have interned this summer; a recommendation to the employer is in everyone’s interests (assuming that they hold a good opinion of his capabilities).
IME, there will be more internships that play off his math strengths than his physics. Tell him not to back away from internships that generally hire juniors – it is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
Good luck to him next year.
It is pretty challenging to get an internship after freshman year. Not impossible, but much easier after sophomore year when more academic work has been completed. It is pretty late to find anything for this summer, is that what he is trying to do? Sometime research jobs area available on campus, but again… it is awfully late for this summer to be looking. Most of the hiring for these positions is done by April, with a few exceptions.
Contact his mentor at school and career services office.
What do you mean by “his mentor at school”? Maybe you mean academic advisor? That person isn’t likely to be any help. At some schools they might be a math or physics prof, but not always, especially for a freshman.
I agree about the career services office, but I am thinking that the OP means that when she says the college web portal (most career services offices have tools on their website to look for internships). An in-person visit (if he is on campus right now) could help. For next year, he should stop in and see them around October. They can help him fix up his resume, and give him leads on job fairs on campus and other resources for next summer.
Try the NSF summer REU list, and the American Mathematical Society summer REU list. These are competitive but are options for next summer potentially. Most take only rising juniors or seniors.
How about a regular job?
My kids have been fortunate to have had internships after freshman year but were obtained through connections ( they made on their own) outside of school.
Are there job fairs at his school? Many U’s (especially those heavy in tech) have fall and spring fairs that cover both internships and full time positions. The fall fairs can be as early as September and may have more internship opportunities than the spring fair. They are often major/career events - one for CS engineering, a different one for Civil E’s , ME’s have their own - that type thing. I know a lot of physics and math majors go to the engineering job fairs and have good success. Barring that, check with career services and see what they suggest, hopefully it’s more than just looking at on line listings. Also my son had good luck talking with profs in his major which companies they had industry connections with and the profs volunteered to make calls there for him. Got several interviews that way (but that was after he’d had a fair amount of course work in his major and profs knew him well). And yes, he did have an internship opportunity for summer after freshman year, but he’s in an engineering field currently in demand in our area. He got that opportunity from the fall job fair - a company he interviewed with didn’t have an opening for him but passed his resume to another local company that had a spot.
He should message all of the professors he had over the past year and tell them he’s looking. My daughter did this after her first and second years in college and always landed something.
The DOE has summer internships for science students. He can apply to them for next summer.
https://science.energy.gov/wdts/suli/
He should also check with his academic adviser. Some schools offer guaranteed summer research or internship opportunities to all students on the Dean’s List.
At many schools there are professor/mentors that play a major role in the student’s life, especially in the sciences. They work with the student, career services and bring their own networking to assist a student.
Yes, but you can’t just assume a student has one, especially if they just finished frosh year at a large school.
After freshman year my son worked on campus doing research in his major. The following two summers he did internships that he got through REU. He has a mentor at his college and would consult with him regarding internship opportunities, etc.
D is currently doing a paid internship in Germany Sponsored by the government, I think it’s DAAD. They pay enough to cover living expenses but we had to pay for transportation. She applied during her freshman year and was accepted in part because she has a bunch of AP credits that gives her “senior standing”
@MLM Do you mind giving more details? How was housing handled? Did your son stay in a dorm open for the summer? Was a formal on campus program that lasted like 10 weeks and was it paid?
I think, @Dolemite , the details vary by program. All offer housing, travel, board, stipend or some combo of those.
Obviously but I’m asking about the experience her son as it sounded less formal than something like UPenns Summer Undergraduate Internship Program or CHOP’s Summer Student Research Colloquium which I’m looking at for my D for next summer.
Since she will be a rising Sophomore at that time I don’t think she’ll be able to get one of those opportunities but I hope to help find her something in Philly less formal since she won’t need housing.