<p>My son asked my opinion about something and I told him that I wasn't sure, but would ask other students/parents on CC. He is finishing up his sophomore year as an EE major at a large public university. He is a great student and has a 4.0 so far. At this point, he has no plans for graduate school after graduation (he wants to graduate, work as an engineer for a few years, and then do a distance MBA program). I don't care either way - I think both options are great.</p>
<p>He has a well-paying summer internship lined up in a couple of months with a company in an industry that he likes and in a city that he loves. If you were to ask him right now, he would love to get an employment offer from this company down the road. This company is a large corporation and does have a strong reputation for hiring many of their interns upon graduation.</p>
<p>So here's my/his question......at his advising session yesterday, his advisor (head of the EE department) really pushed hard for my son to consider doing summer research at the university next summer instead of a second summer internship. If my son plans on working right after graduation, isn't the second summer internship more important than research especially if he hopes to receive an offer from this particular internship company? His advisor is great, but is definitely trying to steer him toward graduate school. Finances are not really a concern either way. Would appreciate others' opinions. Thanks!</p>
<p>The internship is much more important if your son is set on graduate school. The advisor is likely trying to get him into the lab so that he can try and convince him to stay for graduate school instead given his high GPA. I’d definitely support doing research as an undergraduate, but there shouldn’t be a reason to do it over the summer. Have your son get his first taste of it during the actual school year to see if he likes it and save the summers for internships, which are more valuable to industry. If he ends up liking the research and starts to lean toward graduate school, then it would be time to consider staying on as a researcher for the summer, but even then probably not necessary.</p>
<p>Yes, if your son wants to work after graduation and he would love to get a job offer from this company, than doing an internship there would be a very good opportunity. To be honest, it seems like a no-brainer, unless your son really wants to get research experience. If the alternative is to get research experience at his current university, he could easily do this during the school year (or not at all, if he’s interested in working in industry, rather than academia).</p>
<p>That’s my thinking too, boneh3ad. His advisor told him that a “variety of experiences” (i.e., internship and research) on his resume would be more valuable than straight internship experience when job-hunting.</p>
<p>He probably won’t have time to do research during the school year, unfortunately (he transferred in so he is taking heavy loads each semester to make sure that he can graduate on time). But, maybe he will be able to fit something in his schedule research-oriented during the school year that is very part-time…worth asking about anyway.</p>
<p>If he is interested in research he should be able to squeeze it in during a semester. Undergraduates do it all the time at many different schools, so if he is motivated to get the experience, he will find a way to get it. Usually if an undergraduate can put in 10 hours per week or so during the semester, he or she can be useful and get decent experience.</p>
<p>The internship sounds much more appealing to me than research experience, given your description of your son’s plans and interests. (I’ve worked as an engineering manager for many years, most of which in industry research labs.)</p>
<p>DS did research after freshman year, since no job offers (and the research came with free housing). Then he did internship the next summer for a big company. He plans internship with start-up this summer, for more variety. Variety can be a good thing. But based on OP’s input… I’d say go for the Internship encore! </p>
<p>I will offer a minor dissent from the above. While I agree that internships are in general far more important than research to someone set on industry and that the advisor is probably hoping to steer your son towards grad school, it should be noted that some positions in industry, especially those that want the 4.00 GPA students, really do like research experience.</p>
<p>Remember that the field of engineering has a lot of different roles, and research and design are two of the big areas that look for top engineering students. They are some of the best paying areas, but they have high expectations for technical skills, and there are few ways to hone one’s technical chops than by working in research.</p>
<p>I would suggest that you ask your son what kind of jobs he wants as an engineer, before he goes to get that MBA. If he wants to spend that time designing innovative products then he should make sure to get some research experience before he graduates. It does not have to be over the summer, but from experience I will say that full-time over the summer is different than part-time over the school year, and can give better preparation for and understanding of what life in research or design can be like.</p>