My son mentioned that some defense contractors (Lockheed Martin, Collins) still have open internship positions. One of his classmates just accepted a Lockheed Martin intern position.
3 Likes
If your kids are interested in finance careers (investment banking, corporate banking, asset management, etc), the big banks have started recruiting for summer 2025 internships. So they need to start getting their applications in.
3 Likes
S22 hasnāt had any bites yet on internship possibilities ā one friend at a PR firm took his resume but found that they only hire rising seniors. And he just learned that the whole intramural program has been canceled for the summer, so he wonāt have his league job to fall back on. Not a panic situation, but it would be good for him to make some money over the summer ā in part because he needs to pay us back for the unexpectedly expensive plane tickets for his spring-break trip to London. Hopefully something will work out.
7 Likes
It seems like a tough year for summer internships. Kids I know around here are struggling to find something,too. S22 has had a few interviews, but no luck finding anything new. He has the option to return to the same place as last year, so he will do that. Hopefully next summer is an easier experience.
7 Likes
D22 is also still in summer internship search mode. She has applied to (and gotten āno thank yousā) a lot of fancy big name organizations in DC, where I feel you really need to know somebody to get in. Her resume is competitive but I donāt think she ever had a shot at those. I applaud her for trying anyway.
It seems that new internships in her field are still getting posted, so she keeps applying. Iām sure she could get a local unpaid internship but thatās her last resort.
On the positive side, I completed CSS and FAFSA yesterday 
9 Likes
In a weird twist for my D22, she has a consulting internship lined up for 2025, but hasnāt found anything for this summer. Sheās CompSci and would like to do something in that area (e.g. software engineering) this year before moving to consulting the next summer, so that she could compare the two types of jobs.
I think she is trying to find something for this summer thru Google Summer of Code. Does anyone know anyone who has done GSoC?
She was accepted to the study abroad she wanted for next year. Super exciting times!
10 Likes
D22 is super excited to have a summer research position in an organic chemistry lab. Sheās hoping to start the foundations for her chemistry thesis, which makes sense because she has to do a thesis for each major, and the dance thesis has two components.
9 Likes
In case you didnāt know this like me, tell your children/yourself:
LinkedIn Private mode viewing so that when you check out someoneās LinkedIn page, it doesnāt show your name
donāt need Premium account
ā
ā
Note: With a Premium account, you can browse in private mode and still see the list of people who viewed your profile in the last 90 days. This isnāt possible with a Basic (free) account. However, we always respect a memberās privacy settings, so even with a Premium account, you canāt view the names of private mode viewers of your own profile.
10 Likes
D22 received an internship offer today!!!
It was a place where sheād previously interviewed, but was not originally offered an internship. They had an unexpected intern vacancy and contacted her last week to see if she was still interested - she had another interview earlier this week and the job offer came today.
Sheās so excited! DH and I are so relieved ā¦
34 Likes
My son finally got a research opportunity this week. Phew! I am proud of him- another skill heās had to learn is persistenceš
26 Likes
Congrats on the new opportunities! Pleased to report that my S22 also received an internship offer, at a prominent ad agency. Should be a great experience for him, and heās excited about it. Also exciting: He and his friends have secured an off-campus apartment in the East Village, starting May 10. DW and I are moving apartments as well two weeks later, so itāll be a busy but ultimately rewarding time.
18 Likes
I am happy to report that my kid managed to find a professor for her research thesis, and she will be getting internship credits this quarter at her professorās lab. I believe it will mostly involve analyzing someone elseās data, but still an exciting intro to research.
My kid seems to be focused right now on following an academic pathway.
Knowing how competitive and difficult that road is, I am wondering if I should be encouraging her to get an industry internship at some point as well or if I should just let her be.
12 Likes
I could have written the same thing/questions!
2 Likes
If only we had a magic ball to see future outcomes!
Honestly, I am a little wary of academia. My husband pursued it in a different country in a different field. He ended up somewhat disillusioned about all the internal politics, and switched to industry in his 40s. Things donāt look much better here in the US or in her field from my outsiderās view.
3 Likes
I think industry vs research is less important for a sophomore internship than for a junior internship. A research experience is valuable especially if you also have an industry internship on the resume. Also, it depends on the story that your kid is trying to tell to potential recruiters and grad school down the line.
Son had the same decision to make for this summer. Industry internship vs. internship at a very well known research institution. He had previously interned at a start-up after freshman year and wanted to gain the research experience just in case grad school becomes more appealing. His industry offer was with a bank and his research internship was related to energy markets design/trading/pricing. He chose the research option because he also saw how he could tell the story from an industry lens.
Personally, If I was choosing between the two, I would choose the industry internship most of the time unless there is a clear goal to pursue grad school. That said, doing a research internship is better than not doing anything and especially if the student is a rising junior. The next internship cycle is the most critical.
3 Likes
I agree. He definitely wants to at least get a Masterās but are going to nudge him for industry experience next year.
2 Likes
The issue my kid has is that she most likely will have to spend next summer at her universityās marine lab as part of her thesis.
I think best case scenario is that she can get industry experience during the her senior year, but I donāt think there are nearly as many internships during the school year as during summer.
2 Likes
S22 has also not had much success with applications for internships or research positions. He could have stayed in his current lab for the summer and received a stipend. But he does not want to stay in L.A. this summer. He did end up creating his own opportunity in our hometown by reaching out to a neighbor who owns a small A.I. focused company. The owner offered part time summer employment to shadow him and see what it it takes to run your own tech company, while also acting as his research asst to identify other A.I. product opportunities. Wonāt be much money but he should learn a lot.
11 Likes
S22 is set on following the academic pathway, though I hope he decides to go to industry after the grad school.
He got accepted into 4 REUs in late Feb/early March and will spend 8 weeks working on a research closely related to the topic of his main interest. He isnāt thrilled with the location of the REU, but the topic fits him exceptionally well. He arranged to do a thesis with one of his favorite professors next year, likely over two semesters.
This year, heās taking care of his move out and renting a storage with his friends. Last year, I had to find a company that would store his stuff, which worked fine for the pick up, but significantly less so for the drop off before the fall semester started (a couple of day delay, no consideration for his availability, etc.).
8 Likes
Funnily enough, my kid had a casual conversation today with her thesis professor about grad school, industry, etc.
My kid was saying that they talked about sometimes getting tired of research but being kind of stuck because then youāre overqualified.
This terrified my kid, but she also said that she feels that if she tried industry/government/national labs first she might run out of motivation to go back to grad school later.
2 Likes