To follow up with the stolen passport. He got into Canada and will happily spend the weekend with his frat buddies. He reported the passport stolen and will apply for a new one asap when he gets back!
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How will he get back ? He found a passport bypass ?
He has a friend in Canada he can stay with and we are prepared to contact the Embassy in Montreal. It is not ideal but he was willing to take the chance. As he said, there’s worse cities to be stuck in.
ETA: And did I mention he is my most stubborn and bullheaded child? He would not listen to anything I said.
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He made it back into the country. All is well. He loves big cities!
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This x 1000!!! Mine lives in the house and is missing that the house was place to “go to” and then come back to dorms. Now he is there all the time and misses the ability to come and go.
My ex dropped s23 off at my house at 330am. After a quick hug and letting him cuddle the dog I am back in bed!
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No twins home for Thanksgiving this year, they are spending the weekend in Madrid. Since arriving in Copenhagen they have made the most of being in Europe. Both have visited Bergen, Budapest, Vienna and Prague. Econ twin has also been to Bratislava, Paris, Lyon and Marseille. CS twin was in NYC for about 40 hours for a Meet the Interns event for his internship next summer. After the end of classes they will be going to England and Italy. They are having an amazing adventure - all their classes are pass/fail so fingers crossed, but the memories will last a lifetime. CS twin has had some bumps with anxiety and gut issues and has scheduled Spring classes so he’ll have time to see doctors and hopefully get things under control.
Industrial/Organization Grad student was home all summer helping me with my Mom’s hospice care and cleaning out her apartment after her passing. He was unable to get an internship (plan had been a federal gov’t internship) and switched his search to full-time job and decided to master out. He was offerred a job in early September, but do to background check and physical required on site, he just recieved his start date this week, December 8. He will be moving into an apartment in Fl on Monday (been staying at an AirB&B waiting for conditional offer to become offer). He’ll be working in HR department for a law enforcement agency.
So very thankful both older boys have fulltime employment and twins both have summer internships lined up - will only be seeing oldest for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving to all and give your kids an extra hug.
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D25 has applied for about 35 internships, two pre-screening interviews in September but no follow up interviews. Lots of rejections. I think it is because she has a generic math major and engineering concentration. And not a more specific major like finance or a specific type of engineering. The concentration takes all pre-recs for an engineering masters. Physics, some comp-sci…. She has work and leadership experience and a 4.0 GPA. I did not think it would be this difficult to find something. She’s hoping to stay in our city but may have to branch out. She is also applying for the DOD SMART scholarship. Maybe she has a chance at that. She wasn’t planning on grad school but may have to rethink that, and how to finance it as we will have no money left to help. Any suggestions?
Math is a great major. What kind of jobs is she applying for?
I think there’s a few things at play.
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She’s a second year - correct? It’s not impossible but not easy to find a job.
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If she’s going for engineering gigs, it’s unlikely - St. Olaf is not ABET accredited. Is she going for engineering roles?
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It’s 2025 - and the world is tough. But 35 job apps s is not enough. She needs to do them every day - to get well over 100 - and all over - and she needs to be open to what type of job - whether an actuary or at a beer distributorship or a manufacturing plant or a city, etc. There are internships that come late - my son had two his first year - both came late - like April. One was in engineering but one was in customer service at a tech company. You need to be flexible (geographically and job duty wise). btw - that she got interviews (plural) on 35 apps is great!!! Do we know how she interviews? Is she nervous? Does she answer the questions asked? Some kids benefit from using a system like STAR - Situation, Task, Action, Result - to keep them focused in behavioral interviews. She has had great challenges she can talk about - her school transfer, as an example (which is the result). She may interview well - just wondering - but that she got a few on 35 apps is actually quite good.
I would set up an indeed search for math + summer internship and leave the location blank. Then have it email you daily - and every day you’ll get new internships. If they’re interesting, apply - three a day. Yes you’ll be over 100, 150 and most will be rejections - but it’s very very early - and you’ll see companies filling them, even in April. You get into a cycle - every day, three apps.
In the end, getting experience in something is better than having nothing.
It’s worked for my son, daughter and for numerous kids I’ve mentored.
It’s tougher now, assuming what everyone is saying is true, so give yourself the best odds and get your name out there at even more places.
Now, not all will have housing - but some will.
Most now have Smart Apply - so you need to be signed in and you simply upload your resume. I put a few below (I went to the company’s website.
Also, I put a few companies below where my son had success -
She’s got to become a sales person - a door knocker - selling the product - her - - and in outside sales, you have to remember - every no is one step closer to a yes. That’s a reality so many are missing - I sell vehicles for my living (to dealers). To get the job, I had to sell myself…my education, experience, background, etc. She’s got to do the same.
My nephew got a job in rural MN as an accountant. He was so confident he was going to get it. Why? He said - 8 people applied on linkedin - i guess they showed the counts. If it was in Minneapolis, I’m sure they’d have had more.
Your daughter needs a place to live and a job - the where doesn’t matter because it’s 10-12 weeks - it’s not forever - and that makes next year that much easier.
My way isn’t efficient but it has worked for numerous kids on this website - when you have a product adaptable to many places (i.e. open to all), rule #1 in sales is #s -how many did I apply to (that’s from my outside sales career b4 grad school). The more doors you knock on, the better your chances - which is why I say to set up a job search tool. I’m not saying apply to any job but if they sound of remote interest to her, it’s worth an app - remember 3 a day…you get into a cycle.
Here’s two to look at: Corning came after my son for a few jobs - because who wants to go to Corning NY (they paid housing). ABB offered him a customer service job and then full time job - he accepted neither - but thinking outside the box - they have HR, Sales/Marketing, data analysis (powerbi) and more - that she’d be qualified for. You need to look at companies, areas - jump around - but 35 internships and a few introductory interviews bodes well for eventual success. The unknown is - how she performs on the interviews - but getting a few from 35 is outstanding!!! That’s something to be happy about, not bummed about.
Also, she can just look at the career websites of larger companies (they’ll tend to provide living expense) and make sure she’s getting emails from handshake and working with her career center.
The school itself has its 2025 job board out - bravo!! They show, for Math, 51% employed full time, 5% part time and, 44% grad school. How many are included in the # I don’t know - the % of total majors but to get those stats, it has to have some substance. You can ask. But they show counts which I listed below. btw - I just saw a note that they’re including kids with jobs by graduation but not still seeking.
Where does the school report math majors are working?? So look at their websites for internships, google the company name + St. Olaf on linked in and find out who is there? Where did they intern? Reach out to them…dig deep - it’s not a known school so some may shy from that but clearly these companies don’t.
4 are at Epic Systmes
1 is at Ameriprise, 3M, Atuvava Bakery, GEG, Chrstiopher Strom Architects, FlatIrons Dragagos, iSprine Clinics, SPS Commerce, Tokyo Electron, Think Small, Turnberry Solutions
First Destination Dashboard – Piper Center for Vocation and Career
Explore career opportunities at ABB | Job openings
Summer Internship- Marketing and Communications - Type One Energy
Summer Internship- Project Management - Type One Energy
It’s on Smart Apply but BMS re is looking for an actuarial intern in Dallas…Math and Actuary are a great fit. So is Southern Farm Bureau in Jackson, MS and many more.
I put in indeed actuarial intern + mathematics + summer 2026 - and many pop up.
Put in a few different job search topics and get several feeds sent to you daily.
Good luck.
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I’ll add - in my industry, Toyota is the gold standard. Most OEMs, if not all, hire summer interns (sometimes via minority or low income programs) but Toyota hires every year. I put these links in another thread.
I’m sure many jobs are ghost but I highly doubt these are - I am connected to people there and will ask but I’m confident. But everyone applies to them - they are very popular. But if you don’t try…
STEM Co-op & Internship Opportunities in Plano, Texas, 75024 | College & Trainee Programs at Toyota’
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Wow! Thanks for the long and detailed response. I will pass it along to her. She’s actually a Junior now officially and will graduate in 2027, so the semester off and transferring did not end up hurting her. I don’t know her process as I only hear what she shares, I know she hasn’t had much spare time and plans to knock out a bunch over Christmas break.
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My son is also trying to get a summer internship without a lot of luck. He’s an aerospace engineer with a pretty high GPA, and good but not great experience. It’s pretty tough out there… his problem is he’s only applied to a couple dozen internships specifically looking for a pretty narrow job with space startups. He’ll have to rework his resume over the winter break and cast a wider net. But according to him, he’s not alone in his hunt. Most of his friends have not had any great offers either.
He has a backup in that the professor at ASU told him he can always come back and work for her for a summer, paid. So that’s good, but he wants to try out industry to see how he likes it.
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It’s early for engineering internships and yes he needs to widen the search. Has he set up a daily indeed search that emails him openings (ok, alleged openings).
btw - an old poster who checks in with me on pm from time to time just reported his Rutgers non bus major got a job in investments at a former NYC firm now in Nashville - a rotational program. He’s chosen not to post anymore so I won’t put more detail unless he wants to.
So there is hiring taking place.
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The internship market appears to be pretty tough out there for engineering kids. My son had one last summer as a sophomore that went well and it is possible that he might go back again next summer. But he does not want to work for a federal contractor given what is going on in that space. So far he has applied to 50+ positions. Had 2 interviews (1 was coop) and was ghosted after both. Not even a thanks but no thanks. I think he is a bit embarrassed about the whole situation. On top, the lab he is in has stopped paying him due to lack of research funds! So now he is looking for a part-time job too. I privately reached out to a friend of mine who is in HR at a chemical company. He said that hiring was restricted to essential positions only but strangely enough, lots of job postings on the internet. My wife and I have decided to let him fight through it. If he does not get an internship next summer then he will have to sort things out moving forward. Add skills, including improving interviewing skills. Hoping things work out for your daughter and my son. Hang in there.
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S23 comes back this weekend after 4 months in Ireland! He’s had a wonderful semester abroad and made many friends from Ireland and with other students from across the EU; he travelled through Ireland, joined clubs and sports, and squeezed in a cheap trip to Paris for a few days, sleeping in a youth hostel. (Always had so much more to say about everything but his classes 
)
He’s sad to leave but also very excited to come home to a comfortable bed and to have home cooked meals again. Student housing abroad isn’t as nice as his dorms, and it’s “self catering” so he needed to walk 25-35 minutes to the shops and budget, plan, and cook for months. (Good lessons to learn!)
Crossing my fingers that his entry back into the US is smooth and without delay.
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S23 who goes to Cuse drove a friend home to NJ and plans to pop into NYC for the first time. We are hoping he has a safe drive home back to the IL/WI border this weekend. As always the ER nurse in me gets worried, but I am so excited for him to be spreading his wings and exploring the world!
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