I do a lot of writing for IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer, where my latest article covers a bunch of internships and fellowships that students can take advantage of in the summer of 2010.These are great opportunities, but why did I write about them in November? Easy: the application deadlines are just a couple of weeks away.
Internships and other work-experience programs are just about the most valuable things you can add to your resume before you graduate and start searching for a full-time job. They put you in the real world, give you the perspective of the workplace, allow you to meet valuable contacts, and let you try new things. Plus, they don't last forever, so you always enter an internship with an end-game in mind.
But fitting an internship into your college schedule can be difficult at best. I remember needing to heavily rejigger my course schedule so I could fit an internship into my senior year, and even then, I still wish I'd picked one that offered at least a tiny stipend. The cost of getting to the internship twice a week sucked so much money from my starving-student wallet that I could barely afford to eat that semester!
But man, was it all worth it. I'm still in contact with some of the people I met on my internship, and I put the lessons I learned to practice on an almost daily basis.
So anyway, early planning... Companies that have regular intern programs can't accept an unlimited number of students. They might take one or two at a time, and often start taking applications months in advance. If there's a company in your neighborhood you really want to intern for, chances are there are a hundred other students salivating for that opportunity, too. Which means you'd better get your application in before them. Like, now.
You can start your search at Experience.com, where you can use the job-search feature to specifically look for internships.
So don't delay. Start thinking about it, and then get moving!
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