<p>what are the pros/cons of doing research during the summer versus getting an internship at a company?</p>
<p>Well, if you want to work in industry they’re going to want to see work experience on your resume when you graduate. Research isn’t bad but isn’t as good as actual work experience.</p>
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<p>Research is usually considered more favorable for grad school. I’ve heard from company recruiters that they are more interested in past work experience. Companies are interested in research experience that is related to their interests, otherwise they don’t care for it.</p>
<p>Research groups, from my experience as an undergrad, are not too concerned if your research experience is in other fields. They just want to know that you are able to work independently and be able to complete a project. Research experience shows that you know the commitment involved in approaching a project and completing it. I assume this is true for a new grad student too.</p>
<p>I recommend that you experience both if you’re undecided on what you want to do after getting your degree. You might find out that you hate doing research or working in entry-level industry positions.</p>
<p>In my first and only industry internship with an aerospace company, I was doing data entry and document/powerpoint write-ups. Not very interesting. I did meet a couple of managers and networked so I have a better chance of at least interviewing for a job after graduating. I also learned what entry-level engineers do.</p>
<p>For summer research, I was given a project. I had to design, build, and test. Most of the work was done independently but I did have weekly meetings with my PI about my progress.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s what I meant to say. If you want to work in industry internship experience outweighs research experience. The other thing is that you can do research during school, and it isn’t usually possible to intern while also taking classes.</p>
<p>I have found that having an internship (at least a non cookie-cutter one) during sophomore year and summer research experience after junior year is a good combination if you want to be able to get good employment prospects and get into a good grad school.</p>
<p>Why limit yourself to only one or the other? This last Fall semester, I did a co-op. In the Spring, I’ll be doing research. And this next summer I’ll be doing an internship. You might as well try both, and get your taste for what you like doing better. </p>
<p>Internships/co-ops will give you great opportunities to network, and make a reputation for yourself for a future job. The aerospace company I co-oped for is implementing a strategy to only hire past co-ops/interns within that company for new college grad positions, I’ve heard of other companies in other industries doing similar things. Not to mention you make great money as a co-op/intern. Sometimes the work can seem menial, but that is the nature of a real-life job.</p>
<p>Research experience is essential if you are looking to go to a good grad school. It also helps with narrowing your field down to figure out what exactly you are interested in. It can earn you a little bit of money, but it’s really more beneficial to learn what your interests are and to get experience doing independent research. Who knows, maybe you’ll find something interesting that you’d like to pursue for grad school, as well as find a prof to be your mentor.</p>
<p>I agree with gstein… try to get both in. I spent on summer doing research and one summer doing an internship. Both really helped me figure out what I wanted to do and helped me decide research was not for me.</p>