<p>Hey guys I am a 14 y/o about to start my freshman year of high school and I will be 15 at the beginning of 2014 , I am a straight A student wanting to get into a top college, and I really want to go into the field of engineering when I grow up. I was wondering if any of you could give me advice as to going on that track throughout high school as to what types of internships(unpaid is fine) or jobs I could do to prep me for college? Also if any of you could advise me on what other things I could do to prep for college and for getting into a good uni that would be awesome! :)</p>
<p>There wouldn’t be any engineering related internships for high school… You could try to see if you could get a lowly administrative job at an engineering firm, perhaps, but that’s about as close as you’re going to get as far as working goes. Most places don’t give hs students technical jobs.</p>
<p>For school? Take AP in Math and Science (try to test out of it, it’ll help lessen the heavy courseload), actually, just take AP everything (or dual enrollment, if your school offers it). Engineering has a lot of work in college and getting rid of the unnecessary classes like ENG 101 (at least to the major coursework, anyway) would be an advantage to you. The straight A’s, particularly in math and science are most important, but don’t forget English and history.</p>
<p>But like most universities, you want to look like a well-rounded student. That’s what they all want, regardless of what major. Participate in some sports, do some community service, participate in hobbies, try to win some awards, and take leadership roles in clubs. If you do all of this, you’ll gain admission practically everywhere with the snap of your fingers.</p>
<p>What kind of engineering are you trying to get into? Getting an internship doing Mech.E is probably harder netting one in CS. I got a paid software engineer internship with a Fortune 500 company in high school, which definitely helped me stand out in my college applications.</p>
<p>Don’t be put down if you can’t find one–it’s only impressive to adcoms because it’s rare and hard to do. It’s hard to obtain skills that a company would want to gainfully employ as a high school student, regardless of the field. It’s often harder to convince a company that your skills are legitimate. </p>
<p>Here’s what I’d do to increase my chances of getting an internship:
Cultivate a level of skill that your average college freshman/sophomore might have in the field of engineering you’re looking at. For example, if you’re looking at computer science, be at least at the level of AP CompSci, but preferably past it.
Start looking for places that you think might employ you. Don’t limit your list to local companies–also include local universities. Create a LinkedIn profile with your skills. Start contacting professors, managers, etc at the places you want to work. Also, don’t ignore connections you might have. If your best friend’s dad is a manager at so-and-so, connect with him.
During this search, don’t just sit around and do nothing. You have to demonstrate your skills are legitimate to be taken seriously. Create a home project that utilizes skills relevant to your field. Build your resume with engineering competitions/awards, advanced engineering classes, etc. Maybe start a club for engineering at your school, or become involved with it if it already exists. Take up a job (even if unrelated). It’s better to have some job experience than none. Also consider summer programs like RSI and MITES.</p>
<p>If you’ve done all this and it’s junior year and you still don’t have an internship offer, know this: you are now already a very promising candidate for any engineering department (so long as you’ve kept your grades up). You’ll have demonstrated passion and skill in whichever field you want to pursue, with pretty impressive ECs/grades. For top schools, applications will still be a crapshoot, as they always are. But you’ll stand out from the crowd more than your average applicant.</p>
<p>You should try the SCA. They have great internships where you do some actual building in parks. Sometimes paths, sometimes a small building, stairs. It’s great hands on work. Not easy, and you can go to some amazing places. My child went to Alaska last summer, some came to NYC to rehabilitate park areas after Hurricane Sandy. They take 15 year olds. Here’s the link–<a href=“https://www.thesca.org/serve/national-crews”>https://www.thesca.org/serve/national-crews</a></p>
<p>Just like BeachyPeachy said, try finding administrative work at an engineering firm. I know hs students who got really close to their employers in the field in which they want to go and it has really helped in college. You’re not going to be doing any engineering related work, but you’ll have a greater understanding of the industry. But the most important thing is school. Take as much AP as you can.</p>