Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with internship

How to find a local non-profit?

pecknpah — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:46:14 -0800

I am looking for a local non-profit in D.C., Chicago, Boston, or NYC that would be willing to work with me on a research project that my university will hopefully fund. Any help would be appreciated. The application for my grant is due at the end of February. I have been looking at various non-profits on Idealist and through various google searches, and have up pretty empty-handed in terms of finding good, reputable local groups that would be willing to have me.
This grant is meant to fund research (think: social engagement, not hard data) that would benefit the non-profit I would work with. The non-profit has to be connected in some way, then, to the research I’d be doing.

So, my questions are:

1. Do you know of any solid, local non-profits that are a great asset to their communities, and wouldn’t mind a college student tagging along for the summer? I am interested primarily in the area of poverty/hunger prevention, but I am willing to consider any project that sounds interesting and where I could reasonably help. If you know of a great group that isn’t in one of the cities I mentioned above, I would certainly be willing to consider it.

2. What types of projects could a college student actually make a difference with? Going door to door handing out surveys? Interviewing people? I’d rather not sit at a computer filling out excel spreadsheets all summer. I do that for my job anyway and I’d rather not spend my time doing more of that. Obviously, data entry is important to an organization, but I don’t want to submit a grant proposal to enter data. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you for your time! Please feel free to memail me, especially if you could help me brainstorm more in depth.

Anyone have experience with an animal-assisted therapy organization in NYC?

coffeeflavored — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:38:25 -0800

I want to be an animal-assisted therapist. I need to find AAT organizations in the New York City area that will take me on as a social work student intern. Have any leads? I'm a first-year social work student who loathes her current internship placement and wants to make sure her second-year placement goes well. I've always been interested in working with children affected with autism; since I'm a huge animal lover and strongly believe in their therapeutic benefits, I'd love to join the two interests.

A lot of social work schools offer placements in the animal-assisted therapy field, but I don't think that my school, NYU, is one of them. I'm going to have to do some legwork in securing an AAT placement on my own, except that I'm having difficulty finding ones in the New York City area. Does anyone here have any experience with any that I can contact? I keep accidentally contacting organizations that only use volunteers, not therapists. I can keep doing that indefinitely until I find something, but I could use some guidance in my search.

I'm pretty sure this is a long shot, but I have a greater chance of finding an answer here than anywhere else.

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!

Paid internships in London?

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:41:59 -0800

How do I find a professional paid internship or temporary position in London? I am an American college and law school graduate who would like to live and work temporarily (1-3 months) in London and be paid some stipend, however minimal. The particular field of work isn't important, but I would like it be a substantive job (not copying and filing, etc). How do I go about such a job search? I'm looking for specific websites, job agencies, etc. And does Craigslist work for finding a job there?

There MUST be some way for me to do student research ...

Xere — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:23:20 -0800

My college's biological sciences dept has run out of student internship/research positions. The professors have emailed me back, saying that they might have openings in the spring. But I want to do something now. What are my other options? I'm in Los Angeles. The career center doesn't have any external biology, microbiology, biochem internships listed, either. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get a position at a college I don't attend - after all, their priorities are their own students. Searching online comes up with jobs that requires me to have my bachelor's degree ... which I don't have yet. Am I doomed to have a weak resume?

I just want to work, for Christ's sake.

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:42:09 -0800

Why can't I find a job with my biochemistry bachelor's degree in Seattle, WA (grad school is most certainly on the agenda, but not for another couple of years)? What other options should I explore, and how do I go about it? Possibly unnecessary details:

I think my resume looks quite good for a recent (May) BA graduate: I have almost two years of academic molecular biology research under my belt (a year as a lab assistant, a year and a half doing research at a private research university in Houston, TX), I've won grants and trained other lab workers and all that is noted on my resume. I have also listed two other jobs (web developer, legal assistant) under a "positions held to finance education" section.

I've applied to 30-40 jobs (mostly entry-level academic research positions at the local U, institutes, and hospitals but also a few production jobs) and I've been called back for an interview once. I thought the interview went very well, but I never heard from them again.

I've also submitted my resume and interviewed with a biotech recruitment agency, but they've only sent my applications to two jobs over the last three months, and in both cases the company selected candidates with a year of production experience.

The people I've had look over my resume say it looks good. My cover letter, I think, is also quite decent—and I tailor it to each job I apply—so I don't think that's the problem.

I have a very, very long foreign name (I graduated from high school and college in the USA) that most people can't pronounce. Everyone I've asked so far doesn't think that it's an issue in the sciences. If it matters, I'm a white woman, but my name does not give that away.

Questions:

Is there anything I should be doing that I am not?

What about getting an internship after graduating, or even doing unpaid work at a lab for the experience? None of these would be advertised, so can I directly solicit labs for something like that (I have no connections in this city either)? How awkward and unusual would it be coming from a someone with a degree?

Alternatively, I would love to do lab or quality control work in a local or nearby brewery or winery, but very few such positions ever come up. Can I directly approach companies with my resume, and how would I best do that?

Thanks, hivemind. Not having a job is driving me crazy.

Throwaway email: researchjobseeker@gmail.com

Anonymous because I don't want my entire employment history linked to my name.

Intern wants up

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:45:29 -0800

Are there any special rules or points of etiquette to be followed when applying for a job internally? More specifically, as an intern? I’ve got about a month left in an internship that’s going well so far. An internal job opportunity has recently come up in a different department. As an internal applicant, is there anything special I need to consider? Obviously I should notify my manger first, but how do I bring it up? Do I still address the cover letter to Mr. Smith, HR Director, even though I see him every day and call him Johnny? (Silly questions I know, but I’m strangely nervous about this process!)

Also, there is talk of another entry-level position opening in the future, in a department that I am closer to. I would prefer to work there, since I already know the people. I will still apply for the now-available position, but should I talk to the department director about this possible opening and my chances? What do I say?

Any other advice about internal job applications or transitioning from intern to employee are appreciated. Thanks, Metafilter.

Work to be done?

puckish — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:41:58 -0800

I was excited about volunteering here -- now I'm just demoralized. How to get back on track and do something meaningful for the next two weeks I'm here? I'm living away from home for a month to work on a volunteer project with a group in Philadelphia that I like a whole lot. I'd planned this for awhile, and was really looking forward to it, but now it looks like things are kind of grinding to a halt, and I'm not sure whether to stick it out or just go.The project involves campaign / advocacy work, which I've never done before, but which I was excited to learn about.

I was set to come work on a project back in June, but there was a lot of miscommunication on the front end about what we were going to do, and when it was going to happen, --- compounded with not being able to find housing, and just having a lot of stuff happen in the meantime. I don't live in Philly or have any friends here, and am basically living off savings, which made the whole process really unpleasant and stressful

Basically, I wound up deciding to stay for less time (through July), and do a smaller scale project, since we got started a little late. I'm halfway through, and I feel like what I'm working on just doesn't matter very much. The person I'm working with has basically dropped all the stuff we were originally going to work on --- so now I'm checking in with someone on a project that kind of doesn't exist, and which is largely peripheral to the actual work that's going on. (It's basically emailing a bunch of people to get them to sign a letter to support a bill that's coming up for a vote -- but it's targeted to a pretty small group, and not so central to what's actually going on)

This is all well and good -- mostly, I wanted to come here to learn a little bit about the organization -- but I'd like to be helping out in a more direct way, since I'm here for another few weeks. I asked today if there was any more immediate campaign work that needed to be done that I could help with, and basically got blown off --- the woman I was going to be working with basically said they were going to handle things on their end --- which makes it even harder to justify being here, since there's no actual "work" to be done.

That's a long explanation. Any suggestions for how to fix this? Should I just go? I'm pretty lonely anyway, and not having any real work to do isn't making me crazy! Alternately, is there a better way to approach them, to figure out useful ways to be involved? I don't know anything about campaign work (that was kind of the point of me coming here) so I'm a little lost as to projects I can suggest --- any feedback would be helpful here!

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Where are all the interns at?

gagoumot — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:39:21 -0800

My company needs a Fall intern in DC. The program we've become reliant upon has let us down. Where do we start looking? We have only had three interns prior to this and were all sourced through a relationship with a university. They didn't come through for us this year - not enough applicants to fill all the positions and we drew the short straw. Fall is our busiest/coolest time and really need an intern. Where should we look?

Other pertinent details:
We'd like someone who would be somewhat interested in agricultural policy/regulatory work, but are realistic that this may be a small pool.
We pay $500 a month if they are full time, probably none if they were working part time and attending college. (I would fight this though - we all have been interns once.)
It is a great opportunity and our intern will get to do a lot more than stuff envelopes, answer phones, or make coffee.
We are committed to helping them find jobs in DC if that's what they want to do.
We aren't a Hill office.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Is it ok to ask for a phone interview rather than face to face if you have a legit reason?

Jason Land — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:05:20 -0800

Is it alright to ask for a phone interview instead of face to face because of the large distance between where I live and a possible job? I applied for a paid internship that's in San Francisco; I'm in San Diego. Here's the link to the job: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/wri/1159720767.html (it may be expiring soon). I put myself down for the Reporting Internship.

If I get called to schedule an interview, do recruiters seriously those who want to do their job interview over the phone seriously?

Last time I did this (I've been trying to get a job and move to SF), I had to book a last minute plane ticket for $220, round trip. I didn't get the job obviously and that impacted my wallet a little harder than I would have liked. I drive a gas guzzler, so I'd save only about $50 if I drive, but I'd have to reschedule/cancel some of my current jobs (free-lance journalism, web copyediting) in order to set aside time for the 8 hour drive.

This company had a call for interns for these exact positions last December. It's a 6 month cycle. I applied then, and when I did a follow-up email just to get an interview, they said that they were busy going through the 300 applications at the time.

I want to beat out those 1 in 75 odds, but I also don't want to drop work and another $160-220 for a long shot. For those of you who have gone through this sort of thing on the other side- collecting applications, sorting through them, making choices on who gets interview and hired, is it in my best interest to just suck it up and go to SF if I get an interview?

Where should I take 8 summer interns on an outing in Chicagoland?

mockjovial — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:08:30 -0800

Where should I take 8 summer interns on an outing in Chicagoland? As part of our college internship program, the company I work for typically has a sponsored outing (sometime in late June-early July) for students. It is usually on a weekday evening.

In the past, we've gone to Brookfield Zoo and to Second City. I am hoping that the hive mind can help me come up with a few more interesting options for this year. Thanks in advance!

How to prove I am the better (wo)man for the job?

shrimpsmalls — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:52:49 -0800

I began an internship at a very small commercial arts organization about a month ago. A week or so into the job, one of the 5 person staff left on good terms for another opportunity. Following her departure, the possibility of a full time position opening up (as replacement) was presented to myself and the other intern, mostly in a friendly manner to make sure we were both interested. Obviously, both of us were very enthusiastic about the opportunity. So here is my question... Given that the other intern and myself were hired the same week and have obviously both been deemed capable candidates, how do I appropriately assert myself as the better fit? I have volunteered to do extra projects and have done an impeccable job on the work given to me thus far, but I feel as though a small proactive step on my behalf is needed.

Also, I do have a M.A. as well as marketing/consultative sales experience, which is highly applicable to the position. The other intern (a very nice and intelligent guy) is straight out of school (ivy league), but doesn't have these extra credentials. I want to stress these qualifications, as well as my genuine interest in the position, to the director without seeming overly anxious or bothersome. Any ideas as to the best next proactive step???

Do I accept a Greenpeace Internship? But first, $4000 More Student Debt!

Risiko — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:58:50 -0800

I'm an Environmental Policy & Planning Major (3rd year). I've been applying to internships over the past weeks for Spring and Summer positions. Great news: I've already been accepted to Greenpeace's "Organizing Term" and I have two other positions I will soon hear a yes/no on for Spring. Bad News: The Greenpeace Organizing Term program will cost me $4000. The program itself is an intensive mix of activities, virtually on a full-time basis (for 2 months of summer, out of 3), including classroom trainings, expeditions to other states (as well as another country for meeting with other international activists), media trainings, and some readings. All of it is included with the cost (including flight/transport/food for a week). What to do? (More in the extended explanation): My Dilemma: I want to be a part of this program for several reasons. But the most salient ones are: (1) This seems like it would be excellent experience, whether I choose to go on a career of political advocacy or otherwise -- environmental consulting, or non-profit office-type work, or government agency type work, or what have you. I know that my public communication skills will undoubtedly improve through the program. By undertaking the program itself, it shows initiative and passion. The not only improves my skillset in a personal sense, but it enhances my job prospects post-graduation too. Moreoever, while only 15 people are accepted for the program each summer, "hundreds" (I'm told) have applied. Might there be a prestige factor that helps my future prospects? Keep in mind, I plan on relying on internships more than most because my GPA is relatively mediocre (I'm working hard to change that though) (2) But also importantly is that I know I'll learn a lot from the experience, and will therefore very likely enjoy it, in general. And, if I find that I don't like it, I will have learned something very useful about myself also, and plan for my future accordingly! (3) Frankly, I have a lot of passion for environmental protection, especially the more I've study it. My generation and even progressively more so, future generations, will have to work harder to protect what is here for us.

On the other hand, I don't want to be a part of the program for the following reason: I don't have the money. Nor do my parents. Trust me, I've pleaded. Moreover, I have almost nothing to my name (despite that I am a sprendthrift compared with most of my peers.) I've worked part-time for part of my college experience. My student debt scares me but my parents have pledged do cut it down dramatically from where it will stand, so I am hopeful. So they're doing all they reasonably can already. Nor can extended family help, as far as I'm aware, but I plan to find out anyway for certain, through 'fundraising' that Greenpeace suggests financially-strapped acceptees to undertake. I've never independently fundraised before, but it'll be a learning opportunity. I'm hoping to scrounge $500 (with wide error margins) that way. Maybe I could do more, who knows -- but my relatives are middle class, and they're getting hit like everybody is now. I can also work part-time from March-May, so that'll net me $1000 more. Beyond that, I've been looking for scholarships through my University and otherwise. The program doesn't qualify for what's available, and there isn't much available right now anyway (says my University Counselor). So there is a big gap. I'm still exploring options, but that leaves me at a shortfall.

So.

I thought some sager advice, over and above my parent's significant uneasiness about it, might be out there.

Which path do you suggest?

Undergraduate clinical psychology experience?

DeucesHigh — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:47:17 -0800

I'm a junior in college looking for clinical psychology experience in the Philadelphia area for this summer, especially in and around the Main Line. Where should I inquire? I have looked at my college for resources, but they're very research-oriented so I haven't gotten any leads. I've also done a few searches on here for Psy.D information but nothing has come up on the experiences that people have had before entering those programs.

I'm pretty open as to what kind of setting but definitely am interested in the counseling rather than research field. I'm stumped on where to start looking. Also, what sort of duties are given to undergrads? Specific places to inquire would be welcome! Also, any insight on whether clinical experience is suggested before Psy.D programs would be helpful--I do want to get experience and make sure I like it anyway but I'm getting conflicting information as to its necessity.

--Ms. DeucesHigh

Who gets my money and how much are they going to take?

zachlipton — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:37:26 -0800

ILiveEverywhereAndNowhereFilter: In 2008, I attended school in New York, worked a three month summer internship in Washington state, and maintained permanent residency in California. Given this, where do I file my state taxes? The vast majority of my income for the year was from the internship. Washington has no state income tax, so ideally I'd like to avoid owing California tax on this income. Very little income was earned in New York, and I have not filed a New York return in the past.

I spent maybe two months total in California through the course of the year. However, I believe I probably maintained California residency, as I hold a CA license, served jury duty in CA (evicted a crazy lady, oh joy), and voted absentee in CA elections. I lived in temporary housing in WA for three months, and spent the rest of the year at school in NY.

With these factors in place, where do I file my taxes? Can I legitimately say I was a part-time Washington resident and thus not pay California taxes on my Washington income? Thanks for helping to sort this out.

Internship vs. Job

ttyn — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:06:19 -0800

Please explain to me the difference between an internship and a part-time job? I'm very lucky to have a 20hr/week job that I both enjoy and is pretty research-oriented and in a field close enough to what I want to do (mathematics, statistics, info systems). I like my job and I don't think there's any reason for me to leave until I graduate in 2 years.

I constantly get emails from my department advertising internship opportunities for a semester or a summer.

Should I pay attention to them? Am I a better candidate for something or other if I had an "internship"?

Starting an internship.

Dasmall07 — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:45:18 -0800

I want to get an internship with a record label. I dont have a degree or experience. What can I do???

What (for him) to do?

tmcw — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:51:28 -0800

ForA(Best)FriendFilter: What can a smart, idealistic kid do out of college in the DC area which relates to law & the study of the constitution? One of my very good friends is graduating college this year (as am I) and has lots of interests (law, rights, environmental), but can't find any actual work which will let him let loose with his intellectual power. Is there anything like this (especially in DC?) deets inside.

So, one of his big things is the Constitution: he isn't conservative as far as holding it as biblical truth; rather he's very interested in it becoming better understood and more commonly used in law - to this end, he started a student group at his school (Pomona College) for reading the constitution, one bit at a time. It's been quite popular.

Next up is essentially rights-type-stuff: Gay rights, especially. Then comes environmental policy, urban planning (public transportation, etc.) Working on improving the political process, like MoveOn or Real Clear Politics...

He's a Philosophy/Politics/Economics major, and a very hard worker when he's passionate about what he's doing.

I see the journalism industry has crashed around you. Please hire me?

elisabethjw — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:30:26 -0800

I'm a sophomore in college looking for a journalism or public relations internship in NYC this summer. (I know, right?) So where am I going wrong? I do realize the journalism industry has gone down the toilet lately.

I have living arrangements in New York this summer, and am searching for a job to complement my apartment. I will happily accept an unpaid internship in either public relations/marketing or magazine/web journalism. I have experience in both areas -- probably less experience in marketing (I interned at an ad agency last summer, but I study journalism at a very well-known j-school and am an editor at one of the big campus publications).

So I will basically offer myself up for free (or for pay, I mean, but I can't be picky) to any publication or agency that will hire me. Unfortunately, it seems every other fledgling journalism student will do the same. I don't want to operate under the presumption that I will land an internship at any of the "big" NY magazine/web corps, so I'm looking for something a little...different.

Craigslist has so far been a crapshoot (not just for me, but for others applying past years). The jobs posted to our school's job board tend to be highly competitive. Where else is there to look? I have no "ins" in the NY media world, as I'm from nowheresville in the Midwest. Are there any small (web)magazines (along the lines of Time Out NY) who may be looking for free labor that you could direct me towards? Could cold emails to smaller publications help me, or would they just be relegated to the "never-answered" bin?

In case I haven't been succinct:
* Are there any alternative venues/methods to finding either journalism or marketing/pr summer internships in NY?
* What small (web)magazines might hire summer interns? And are cold emails welcome?
* Or is it just simply too early to look? I know several people who have already landed summer internships, and the school HIGHLY encourages us to find one ASAP -- but if I keep ruthlessly applying to Craigslist postings, etc., is there a decent chance I will find an "employment match"?

Other than bringing me Diet Coke and giving me foot massages, of course.

Medieval Maven — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:40:33 -0800

We have an intern. Now what? So, we run a teeny tiny nonprofit - we're talking less than $5,000 per year. There is a guy - a friend of a friend - who wants to do his internship to finish his MFA in our area, and he has an interest in nonprofits and marketing, as well as experience with grants. We are not entirely sure what to do with him beyond our initial brainstorm:

Performing some market analysis for us including what other theatre companies are in our area, what they charge on average per ticket, what plays they have performed recently, etc.

Identifying our customer base and how we can expand it.

Search for applicable grants and write/help us write grant applications.

Arts Management Internship help?

BlackStrapMolasses — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:43:32 -0800

Graduate student: Looking for a summer internship anywhere in the US or Canada to enrich MS in Arts Management degree. Do you have any suggestions of favorite museums (large or small), galleries, or even independent grass-roots arts organizations? I'm currently a graduate student pursuing an MS in Arts Management. Part of my curriculum requires a summer internship. I'm going to apply to all of the larger museums, but I'm sure that there are smaller galleries and groups out there that may not be showing up in the first few pages of a google search.

My background (undergrad) is in fine arts. I currently work for a small gallery, and have experience in a large corporation's private collection. I'm interested mostly in modern art, but also have an inclination to portraiture, American art, Canadian art, and certain fiber/folk arts. Basically anything 2D fine arts related.

I've also studied abroad in Moscow. Although I haven't had a chance to work on my language skills, the interest is still there.

I wouldn't pass up a great opportunity at a larger museum, but I'm more interested in smaller, independent, niche, or downright strange galleries.

I'm currently in western PA, and am willing to pretty much travel anywhere. I'd really like to stay out of the South and maybe even midwest, as I'm hoping to also use this experience to network and hopefully find a permanent job after graduation, and I haven't really had any great experiences in either area (I know! everyone loves Chicago!). But I'd also not nix a great idea because of location.

I'd also prefer a mid-sized metropolitan area.

My curriculum is largely quantitative, so I'm pretty certain now that I'd much rather be on a programming or administrative side of the business, as opposed to development or finance.

phew, I tried to provide as much info as possible. But basically, if you know of any great galleries or arts organization that you are partial to, please let me know. I put more faith into "work of mouth" than popular consensus.

What jobs are linguists good at, and who will give me one for the summer?

nebulawindphone — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:45:10 -0800

What jobs are linguists good at, and who will give me one for the summer? I'm two years into a Ph.D. in linguistics, and I'm weighing my options for the coming summer. One thing I'm wondering about is the possibility of getting some kind of internship.

Now, there aren't many companies out there that are explicitly looking for linguists. (The LINGUIST list has an internship board with all of three posts anywhere in the world; my department couldn't give me any leads at all.) But I have a hunch there are lots of individual ones out there that I'd be good for. Software company doing internationalization, or working on a natural language processing project? Big-ass library cataloguing books in umpteen languages? Hearing-aid manufacturer doing R&D? I don't even know — I'm pulling these out of my ass — but I'm sure someone on MetaFilter does.

So — where should I be looking?

The fine print: aside from English, I don't know any one language well enough to translate, teach or do bilingual customer service. I can program well, but neither brilliantly nor quickly. I'm a US citizen, but a job someplace out of the country would be totally fucking badass.

[Internship Filter] Help me find a programming internship (computer science student) over summer break!

Javed_Ahamed — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:37:02 -0800

[Internship Filter] Help me find a programming internship (computer science student) over summer break! Hey guys I am a 2nd year computer science student at the University of Maryland and I am just getting around to looking for a summer coding internship to help get some experience. The problem is I have no idea how to start looking/how to distinguish myself from the crowd. Not really sure what to put on my resume or what to do to prepare for interviews either. The problem is I have no real experience to begin with, which is why I am searching for a internship so I am not sure what to put on my resume... So far i just have little odd things here and there from high school, most of it not even related to programming.

The two or three interviews I have gotten, I have mostly been rejected due to "no prior experiences" or because I haven't taken junior and senior level classes like data structures or algorithms.

I know everyone says to "make something" so you stand out and while I experiment with new things almost constantly I can't seem to make the jump right now to just starting to make something as I do not know where to start.

In summary do you guys have any advice you can give me to help snag a programming summer internship, and to help stand out from the crowd? Thanks a bunch!

Help me find an internship in Oregon!

thatbrunette — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 13:16:54 -0800

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.

What should a math grad do for a year?

alligatorman — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:29:44 -0800

I'll graduate with a BS in mathematics in June. I plan on taking exactly one year off before entering a PhD program. What should I do during this time off, and what steps should I be taking now? I'm taking a year off because I feel my application will be much stronger at the end of this year.

I would like to strengthen it by finding a temporary, paid job (internship?) in industry that lets me work alongside applied mathematicians, and that would look fairly impressive to graduate programs.

My university is holding a career fair next month, which I plan on attending, but I feel like those companies are more interested in hiring for the long-term.

I'm also having trouble finding companies that hire college graduates for internship programs. It seems most require the student to continue attending school after finishing the work. (Regrettably, my last few summers were not very productive.)

Are there any programs or companies that cater towards students with plans similar to mine? I know taking a year off is common. What do students do during this time, besides travel? How can I make the most out of this break, and when should I start looking?

Some possibly-relevant information:
a) I am not interested in finance, accounting, or actuarial science.
b) My main interest is discrete mathematics, though I can be flexible.
c) I can program, and have experience using scientific software.
d) I do not plan on staying in academia if I do get a doctorate degree, so just a masters is also a path that is being considered.

Any advice/ideas would be greatly appreciated!