<p>Mom, when I hire permanent employees, it is on merit. However the younger summer interns (HS and Freshman or Sophmores), it is usually with connections. So any connections that you have, use them.</p>
<p>That being said, I will always listen to a student who takes the initiative to call me, not e-mail, but who actually calls (not a skill a lot of young people are familiar with). Call the offices and find out who does the hiring, send them a resume via e-mail then follow up with a call. Be persistent, people admire persistent. Also, you should start early. I will start to think about summer interns just after Christmas, and have all the positions filled by the end of March.</p>
<p>Computer skills are essential; Autocad, or Revit, or Sketchup will go a long way towards making you productive in an office. I am afraid modelmaking is becoming something done by folks in China. Drafting and modelmaking are headed overseas, you must get further up the ladder. You are doing the right thing to get your son in an office for the summer, just be persistent. It will give him a true perspective on what he is learning in school.</p>
<p>rick</p>