[Krisa]

My son graduates in late ‘24 and is having the hardest time finding an internship in software engineering. Is there any advice that you can give a current student that may help them as they’re finishing their education?

The Fall Career Fair will be a big deal, he wants to be ready. We’re in the Midwest.

Thanks for an advice or info.

[Allison]

I graduated with a computer science degree 4 years ago and now I’m a mid-level engineer who works with interns. I also mentor college students outside of work. This recruitment cycle has been EXTREMELY rough. Companies are cutting back on interns, and lots of them have pulled back on hiring entry level devs altogether, because new engineers suck so many resources and don’t have much output. It sucks. One of the girls I mentor has four internships on her resume and is still struggling to land an entry level role.

I’m so grateful I graduated before covid, as the market for new devs has really changed. Just wanted to offer my sympathy to your son! It’s really rough out there.

[Elaine]

In my experience, career fairs were extremely beneficial. I recently graduated with a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from Iowa State. Many of my peers and I had great success from the ISU Engineering career fair. I would recommend him to research companies of interest that he wants to speak with during the fairs. Start with those he is less interested in to practice elevator pitches and communication before going to the companies he is more interested in. That way, he can be more comfortable and less likely to fumble words, etc. with positions he is the most interested in.

Unfortunately, many companies require previous internship experience, which makes it hard to get the first. My partner was in software engineering at ISU and he got this response a lot. However, he did get his first internship at the career fair because he impressed recruiters with interpersonal skills and asked questions on how he could improve his resume to look better for the specific company.

Alternatively, resume boosters can greatly increase his chances of landing more professional experience. Roles such as teaching assistants, lab assistants, freelance projects, etc. that can be hired through alternative means can greatly boost his chances of getting that first internship!

Sometimes getting the first professional experience requires a referral. This is also something to keep in mind if his peers have internship experience or if other connections can hook him up.

He should keep his head up, once he has some experience under his belt, it is far easier to get other roles. So, even positions or industries that he is not specifically interested in will still be beneficial because it is easy to pivot to something more suitable once he has some experience!

Hope everything goes well!

[Sylvia]

It may be late to look for an internship for the summer. Our company usually starts interviewing in the winter. However, government contractors are a good option.

[Jeff]

Try to find a small local software or IT company. Call and email and ask if they have any entry level or intern roles. Even if they say no, push to work as an unpaid intern or minimum wage. Look at advertised jobs for data input/processing jobs. Most of those can be automated and companies still seem slow to do it. Take that job and automate it.

[Mark]

While a lot of pure “tech” companies are laying off, a lot of normal companies are still hiring technical people. I am not sure where all your son has applied for internships but he might want to broaden his search if he is only looking in tech.

[James]

Look into temp agencies. Lots of companies will plus up staff for specific projects or pieces of projects where they just need extra bodies for a bit. I worked several college summers doing that (granted that was late 1900s) and got a good mix of experience without all the internship hassles.

[Rich]

Never too late to change or try another role. Computer engineers can do well. A quick search and I see government jobs for that. Other roles to consider: Cyber security engineers making 100K to 200K. Network and Systems engineers are similar.

[Teresa]

Check into your local government. The pay for intern is not much but the experience is what is needed anyway. The county government I work for hires college students for summer and other programs to help with the experience. It also helps us.

[Author]

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