Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Engineering and internship

How can I successfully land an internship as an engineering student?

This Is Reality — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:15:51 -0800

I'm an engineering student that's been applying for internships since the start of the year but with no offers. Can any MeFi members give me any advice on landing one and how to keep my motivation? I'm a third-year Chemical Engineering student in Canada with a huge interest in having a career in the oil and gas industry. Ideally, I was looking for a 16-month internship in oil but since the initial round of offers I've been applying for summer, 8 and 12 month work term positions as well. That being said, I've been applying to anything chemical engineering related and I've been having no success. My marks aren't terrible (B+ average) and my relevant experiences seem sufficient enough to land me some interviews, but I can never cross the line between being an applicant and the intern they want. I've been using the university's careers website, monster.ca and indeed.ca for job postings.

I've been shortlisted for every position I've been interviewed for but never chosen. Now, people including friends and classmates around me are getting internships and engineering summer jobs, and frankly I'm feeling absolutely depressed and worthless. Since I'm an out of town student, I've delayed my housing to the point that I'm going to have to find a temporary place for the summer and am probably going to have to live with strangers in the school year. I really wanted a year-long or at least a summer internship because I have no connections to the industry I want to work in and I see this as a way of getting my foot in the door.

I've had numerous mock interviews (they said I was good), resume checks (apparently my CLs and resumes are good to excellent) and phoned a few of the places I applied for to check in but it seems that no matter how much work I put in to it, I just end up disappointed. Now companies are closing up shop for student positions and I'm afraid that I just screwed myself over by trying so hard to get one for the next school year.

Can anyone who's been in my position, has done an internship or is an engineer in the oil and gas industry give me any advice on how I should proceed?

Am I allowed to be lazy?

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 08:36:37 -0800

I'm starting an unpaid internship (software/engineering-related) and I've been asked to pick my own hours. I get the impression that I'm expected to work less than full time. Can I say I'll work less than full time just because I feel like it? I was told I should come in "at least 3 days a week." But since I'm unemployed right now, I don't see why I shouldn't work full-time. To do otherwise would just be lazy, right?

On the other hand, the commute is really long, and since I'm not being paid anyway, I'd rather keep some time for personal projects I've been working on. But that doesn't seem like a reasonable excuse for working less.

I suppose I could also ask to work from home some of the time, but it may depend on computer security issues (I may not be allowed to bring any files home or access them remotely).

My questions are:
1. On what basis should I make this choice, given that my goal is just to learn and get some experience on my resume?
2. If I choose to work less than full-time, what is a non-dumb-sounding way to explain that to my employer? Or should I not attempt to explain it at all?

Best route to a nicer future

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:02:06 -0800

I'm about to finish second year of Software Engineering at my mid-tier Canadian university and have no intention of continuing any further. I'd like to transfer into one of the more prestigious colleges in the US, although getting in seems like a complete crapshoot given my current circumstances. What course of action can I take in the coming months that would greatly increase my chances of being accepted? tl;dr Summarized Backstory:

I've wanted to get away for several years now. My immediate family is slowly driving me insane with all their nonsense and drama. I've been battling with depression since junior year of high school and that took a major toll on my academics. Freshman year and a slight change of scenery helped somewhat, but the feelings of inadequacy and uselessness came right back. This combined with new-found freedom and doing all the wrong drugs at all the wrong time ensured that I would quite stupidly fuck myself over and end up with a nice string of C's and failing Calc II (none of this was ever revealed to my family).

I did manage to pull myself together and stop dicking around by late fall last year and have been working steadily to fix my GPA and develop good work habits. I've basically cut myself off from everyone around me and my only focus now is my coursework, which I enjoy very much. However, I have little happiness in my life beyond that. As much as I love my family, I absolutely cannot continue living with them. Right now I have no friends and no major accomplishments. I feel stifled and cloistered in this environment and want to get far away from here as soon as I can and start over fresh on my own terms.

Current Situation:

Getting my degree is vital. No question about that. My current school is quite decent and I don't want to waste all this time and effort applying somewhere that isn't any more renowned or more academically enriching. Currently looking at some of the top engineering schools in the US [Caltech, MIT, Stanford, CMU, etc.]. Other suggestions are appreciated.

My current GPA, after an atrocious first year stands at around 2.6/4.0. I expect it to be around 3.0 by the end of this year. I scored 2030 on the SATs I took back in 2007, if that might be of any relevance.

Transfer applications to all the schools I'm considering are due soon but I'm probably not even going to bother to get in for Fall '10 (unless someone can convince me otherwise).

Instead, What I'm considering is taking a semester or a year off. This is where you guys come in:

- What can or should I do during this time to maximize my chances of being accepted to my desired college?

Community college courses to boost GPA? Summer courses at the institution I wish to attend? Cure cancer?

- Is this even a good plan? Is there something I should seriously consider or any alternate paths I should take?

This sort of thing would be best to know now.

I have accumulated a decent amount of savings, enough to support myself for a while, but would rather not dip into it at all, if possible. In fact the plan is to work or do a co-op/internship somewhere and pay off as much current and future student debt as possible.

Thanks in advance for all responses . Any and all input is welcome as this is rather huge.

(Anonymous as a few IRL people I know visit this site and I'd rather not have some of this information linked to my account.)

Structural Engineering Industrial Placements for U.S. Students

pianohands — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:05:38 -0800

What are my chances of getting an industrial placement internship in the UK? I'm a US citizen attending a US university majoring in structural engineering. Unfortunately, my program does not offer a lot of practical experience (no co-ops) or any guidance in securing internships (our career fair was a total bust this year with only two construction companies attending). While I've been scouring the internet in search of internships for the coming summer, I've seen several UK based firms that do industrial placements for a year. The descriptions are exactly what I'm looking for: basically taking a gap year to gain practical experience in structural design. However, most have connections to UK universities; I was already turned down by one company within a week of applying, for what I'm pretty sure was the fact that my home address is not in the UK. Do these companies (like ARUP and Laing O'Rourke) ever hire students from the US? Should I bother spending time on applying?

Other background information:

I'm currently a junior, so I would want to start either summer 2010 or earlier.

I have a fairly solid resume and GPA; I spent the last two summers doing research in civil engineering, as I was not experienced enough to have a design internship.

I've basically completed the design courses at my school. The CEE program is very small, about 20 people per year, so juniors and sophomores take the same classes alternating every year. I've done concrete and steel design, steel building design, and structural health monitoring.

Any personal experience, anecdotes, or advice would be much appreciated!

How do I set myself apart?

DMan — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:01:55 -0800

As a computer engineering student about to begin my sophomore year, what can I do on my own to distinguish myself from the scores of other kids in the field when it comes time to find an internship? If you look at my posting history, you'll see that I've asked a question or two about electronics and my major, Computer Engineering.

I'm about to begin my sophomore year in college, and I've been researching internships at various companies since in a year or so I'll be looking for one. One problem with the computer field in this regard is that it's very crowded--it seems like there's a ton of people studying computer science/engineering, both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

So I've determined that I need to do as much as I can to distinguish myself as someone in the field. I want to do things that will catch the eyes of employers and things that I can talk about in the interviews. Basically, I need to find things to do in my free time that will teach me a lot of practical information about the computer engineering field, and hopefully in the process complete a few major projects that will help my chances of landing a job later.

For reference, right now I have a pretty good foundation on C++/C#(about a year spent on this, altogether), and I know how to solder and understand very basic electronic circuits.

Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated!

A guy looking an internship

stratastar — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 13:05:41 -0800

Help a French- Moroccan Engineering Student Looking for Internship/ Coop in U.S. I have a French-Morrocan friend (he has lived in France all his life, although is not a French citizen *by choice*) who is a Mechanical and Production Engineering student at the University of Metz in France.

He is in the U.S. right now for vacation (for three more weeks between D.C. and New York), and is looking to find a five or six month (paid or non-paid) engineering internship/ coop in the United States for next year (he has had previous internships in Paris). He is not picky about area, although he may prefer San Fransico, Washington D.C. or New York.

He's a smart guy, fast learner, is fluent in French and Arabic but currently has ediocre english sklls (he can learn over this year), so what companies (presumably MNC's?) can take most advantage of him?

His university has not been particularly helpful, and this is not my field so I don't know where he can start. Thanks for any assistance.

Should I do an Engineering Internship in order to preserve my chances of getting a backup job that I may never do?

sdis — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 23:28:09 -0800

Should I do an Engineering Internship in order to preserve my chances of getting a backup job that I may never do, instead pursuing a career in music? I'm currently finishing two bachelors: A B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and a B.M. in Opera Performance. The opera thing grew from a hobby to something I really love and really seem to have a shot at. I used to really love Engineering, but I'm kind of losing my taste for it.

I'm going to pursue a career in music when I graduate in 2007. It will take me probably ~8 years to find out whether I can do it or not. (If a classical singer doesn't get any major engagements by the time they're 30, they're out of the running, typically).

I've been told (by various advisors) the following:
If the music thing doesn't work out, and I try to get an engineering job in 8 years, I'm going to have a very tough time. However, if I have an engineering internship, I somehow won't have a tough time, and they won't ask me/care why I'm 8 years behind.

My questions:
1) Is this true? Are internships that valuable? If so, why?
2) Does research count? How different are research and internships on this purely practical level of 'Can I get a job more easily in the future?'