<p>I know it's late, but I'm completely out of options now. I am a second year mechanical engineering student with a fairly decent GPA (3.5). I've applied to almost 200 engineering internships since March 2012, got 10 interviews, and no offer. I have a good amount of experience from student engineering groups and my on campus job, so I thought I would have an offer by now but I never realized the job market was this competitive. Could anyone provide me with some advice?</p>
<p>I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but if you’ve had 10 interviews and no offers, it probably boils down to your interviewing skills. Does your career seminar have any interviewing seminars or mock interviews you could attend to get some feedback?</p>
<p>That said, it is still only your second year, I know a lot of students that didn’t get anything their second year because companies were looking for third years.</p>
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<p>200 is ridiculously high, and 10 interviews is a lot, too.</p>
<p>You should email some of your professors for research opportunities.</p>
<p>Three of my interviewers were kind enough to provide me with some feedback. They have told me I interviewed well, but they all told me I wasn’t offered the job because the internship position was cancelled due to budget cuts. I tried to ask them if there were unpaid internships, but they all told me that their company cannot perform contract work without paying. It really sucked because it killed my hope of getting an internship for the summer. As for the other 7 interviewers, I received NO response.</p>
<p>Some of my friends got internships easily because their family members work for some company, but I don’t have any family members living in the US, other than my parents. I just want to now if I’m the only one like this, considering that I don’t have any connections with the industry. I just didn’t know the job market was this bad.</p>
<p>I’m a bit hesitant to ask my professors for research at this time because it’s almost the end of school. Anyone want to provide me with further advice?</p>
<p>I would just ask your professors, I can understand your hesitancy but really the worst they could do is say no. Maybe explain your situation, so it doesn’t seem like you waited until the last minute to set up summer plans. </p>
<p>I’m sort of in the same position as you, but I waited a really long time to try to set up my summer plans. I was trying to do an internship in DC (I go to school in DC) but decided I will most likely intern abroad instead. However, even this late into summer I have found several paid internship openings and had interest in my resume. I pretty much found everything through my school’s career center, have you tried talking to them? It helped a lot meeting with someone in person. Are you only looking for internships in your area? Maybe if you looked in other cities that would help (assuming you’re willing to relocate.)</p>
<p>Have you also tried applying for typical college-kid summer jobs? Internships aren’t necessary, especially for sophomores…</p>
<p>How common is it for rising juniors (like me) to get summer internships? If I don’t hear back anything by next week, I might as well just do summer school.</p>
<p>Son is rising junior and no internships, even though applied to many positions in H’s own company. He’s beating the sidewalk going from retail to retail right now. New Panera Bread opening down the road, and he’s hoping to get a job as a baker on the graveyard shift. Seemed promising when he presented his resume and shook hands with the people taking the apps, but still no call yet. It is just awful out there. Only person we know here who has a job got it through his uncle who runs a summer camp.</p>