Help me find an internship in Oregon!

November 1, 2008 1:16 PM

Help me find an internship in Oregon! I am not sure of my next move, at this point.

I live in a small town in Oregon, about an hour from Salem and an hour from Portland. My majors are Economics and Mathematics, and I would be so thrilled to find an internship in strategy consulting, RND, finance...the problem is the commute. I'm carless, and while the bus ride to Salem is manageable (40 minutes each way), the one to Portland is less so (2 hours each way). I've tried my professors as resources, and the career department is on a lookout, but the pickings are pretty slim it would seem. I'm reaching out to the Hive Mind for any possible connections that may be there! Any suggestions for expanding my search would be greatly appreciated, I've never interned before.

posted by thatbrunette to work & money (6 comments total)

it would be helpful to know what level you are in school and what kind of internship you are looking for, are you talking about something for next summer? this is the right time to be applying for those but unless you have a special reason you need to stay in your present location for the summer i would strongly suggest looking at companies that interest you and would look good on your resume. normally they will pay for your housing for the summer.

If you are looking for a internship that lets you work = < part time while you are going to classes too you might have a hard time. in my experience they are much more rare but if you really want it just start researching nearby companies and try to find people from them to talk to.
posted by humanawho at 2:20 PM on November 1, 2008

The obvious answer in Salem would be government orgs that assist small businesses. There are a few associated with the state government offices in town and more located here to be near government offices. I don't know any specifics but I see press releases from them occasionally for networking events.

I assume by your description you are in Monmouth. Is there a bus that goes to Corvallis? More businesses there are accustom to using interns with the university being in town.
posted by asterisk at 3:02 PM on November 1, 2008

In McMinnville, actually. Thanks for the government suggestion asterisk, that's another avenue I can research! I think getting to Corvallis might be possible too, I'll look into it.

Humanawho, I'm a junior in credits, but it's a little strange because I'm both a double major and a transfer student. I've got a year left in any case. :)
posted by thatbrunette at 3:34 PM on November 1, 2008

Hah, I had an inkling you were at Linfield. Portland is a better bet than Salem. Buy a car, if at all possible. I drove into Portland for a part-time radio job regularly during my senior year. Of course, gas was way cheaper 20 years ago.

How is Linfield nowadays?
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:03 PM on November 1, 2008

Hmm...Intel in Hillsboro maybe, if you can get there. Big enough to have all sorts of positions (not just computer geekery). Also might be more likely to be hiring through the current financial mess.
posted by madmethods at 8:34 PM on November 1, 2008

It's hard enough to find an internship in a large city like Los Angeles. You have to make yourself flexible. I second the idea of buying a car.

If you're graduating within a year, it's crucial to get some sort of related experience before you graduate. Seriously. Crucial. When you graduate, thousands of people across the country with the same degrees and no experience will be graduating. You have to have the advantage of experience from an internship to make yourself stand out.

If you can, look into the job fairs at other colleges. I know nothing about McMinnville, or even Oregon in general, but if you're close by, you have little to lose by attending other school's job fairs (unless they check IDs to make sure you go there. And then what? They turn you away--big deal). I recently attended job fairs at two other large universities near my school (as well as my own school's).

You can't limit yourself to your immediate geographic location. You sound like you're unsure of what you're looking for, too. Strategy consulting? If you mean management consulting, check out the big consulting firms. They're competitive, though. Finance? What kind of econ are you studying? Public policy, derivatives and securities, or accounting? R&D? Research and development of what?

Also, keep in mind the economy is in the dumper. What about government employment at the city and county level? Check out McMinnville's city employment (and there's the HR lady you can call and bug right there on the page) and Yamhill County's Employment page. In Southern California, a lot of the cities, counties, and public utilities hire student interns; maybe they do there, too. Just call them and ask. And then call them again. And again. Until they get sick of you. Then they'll have to hire you.
posted by rybreadmed at 1:00 AM on November 2, 2008