<p>Hi everyone,
I'm currently at that time in high school where applying to internships is a priority. I'm looking for internships in the engineering field because it seems interesting but I really have 0 experience. I have good grades but whenever I read the descriptions of these programs and it says something like "students will be assigned a research project" I get pretty nervous as I imagine myself being in a lab with no clue where to begin (i'm more accustomed to the study then test routine). I realize that i'm not guaranteed admission but i'm afraid of even applying :( Are interning students given sufficient guidance? Any other advice for a junior doubting her capabilities?</p>
<p>There is a time in high school where applying to internships is a priority?</p>
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<p>Seconded, lol.</p>
<p>Internships (if you somehow land one as a high schooler) help, but the majority of people don’t have an internship until college.</p>
<p>At least one internship or summer research project is important once in college.</p>
<p>what would you offer to someone doing engineering if you know nothing about engineering?</p>
<p>I don’t know about you guys, but a lot if not all of my peers here in the Ivy League (at Penn) have had some sort of paid summer research internship (if they’re in science), or perhaps even a paid marketing or advertising internship (if they’re in business), etc. Heck, I even know a girl who’s interested in journalism/media, and had a paid internship with a regional newspaper. A majority of these internships occurred before we applied/were admitted to Penn. So, I’d say that there is <strong>definitely</strong> a time in high school where applying to internships is a priority, especially if you want to increase the amount of long-term, meaningful work experience you have under your belt, while boosting those Ivy League admissions odds :p</p>
<p>practice practice practice.</p>
<p>this is one of the more silly threads i’ve seen on CC. i think you may be unclear on what an internship actually is, because there is little to nothing meaningful that a high schooler can contribute to a business, aside from flipping burgers or operating a cash register</p>
<p>“there is little to nothing meaningful that a high schooler can contribute to a business”</p>
<p>Absolute nonsense. When I was in high school, I served as a paid marketing intern for a start-up ergonomics company, and was able to design an entire marketing campaign for their new/premier product, in addition to helping the company with website design and development.</p>
<p>I see where all of you are coming from but I do mean internships along the lines of what Hardworking21 is talking about- boosting work experience, expressing interest in a field of study etc. Thanks for the comments!</p>
<p>stanford has summer research internships for high school students. just google it</p>
<p>Internships in engineering are usually done your junior year of college. Most places I know require Junior or Senior level status and at least a 3.0 GPA because there is nothing a high schooler can really do in the engineering field without learning half the degree firsthand.</p>
<p>You can read all these people’s replies, but only an engineering student such as myself can talk to you about engineering internships. I can guarantee you that a marketing internship like what hardworking21 is referring to is NOTHING like an engineering internship.</p>
<p>“I can guarantee you that a marketing internship like what hardworking21 is referring to is NOTHING like an engineering internship.” </p>
<p>Yeah, I’d agree with that. </p>
<p>Bottom line, though, is to try to get as many internships as possible!</p>
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<p>[shaking my head] … this is why companies feel that they can hire unpaid interns to do work for them. Somehow, people think that an internship is better than a job.</p>
<p>Especially for the purposes of college admissions, an “internship” is hardly better than a job. Why? Because admissions officers aren’t blind or stupid: a meaningful internship for a high school student is about as common as a winning Power Ball ticket.</p>
<p>chrisw, we are talking about the engineering field here. You are giving the kid very bad advice. This is coming from an engineer…</p>
<p>Engineering demands lots of internship experience because it’s a very technical field with lots of hands-on/practical application. Nearly all engineering internships are paid…very well I might add.</p>
<p>I HIGHLY recommend as many internships as possible while in college. Once you graduate as an engineer with lots of internship experience, that makes it easier for you to land a job and make almost double what the other college graduates make.</p>
<p>Most other degrees value high GPA’s and less on work experience. Engineering demands at least a 3.0 and most imporantly, ENGINEERING RELATED INTERNSHIPS!!!</p>
<p>“A meaningful internship for a high school student is about as common as a winning Power Ball ticket.”</p>
<p>Absolute nonsense. I had an interest in science, so I served as a paid research intern at a premier lab in Chicago, where I not only ran my own project, but created a multi-media presentation that presented my results in a unique and thoughtful manner. This presentation is still being used by the lab today as a means of demonstrating what bright, hardworking high school students can do. </p>
<p>Another friend of mine is interested in journalism, and served as a paid summer intern for the Chicago Tribune, where she learned about what’s made the newspaper company so successful thus far, developed/enhanced her writing skills, etc. [So, none of the stereotypical “make copies, fetch coffee, etc.”] </p>
<p>You mean to tell me that working as a cashier at Burger King is a better job than either of the two I’ve mentioned before? Sheer nonsense.</p>
<p>I’m not saying all internships are top notch, high quality, etc, and I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to just get the run-of-the-mill minimum wage job (I had one in high school for 2 years). But if you really have a desire to learn the skills vital to the industry you’re interning in (science research, marketing, journalism, etc.), and the internship offers you the opportunity to gain these skills, then an internship is most definitely better than a job.</p>