This Is Very Specific: Does your sophomore in STEM at a T+15 have an internship for the summer?

[Anonymous]

My son (current physics soph at UMD) applied to a ton of summer internships and competition must be insane. For the one NSF-funded thing he applied for, the system crashed completely at like 8 pm the night it was due... so many students applying for so few positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry in advance, I don't know where else to ask. If your dc is at an ivy, ivy plus, or ivy adjacent, do they have something lined up? Is it basically over and it's time to get in with a professor? I thought this was the benefit of being at a top school, but seems like the career center fall back is to connect with an alum and they don't seem to respond. (seem is the operative word as I only talk to my dc about it). Is it unusually quiet? Is this common? Is it this year? Or has it always been this way? I didn't go to a top school so I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I thought this was supposed to be a benefit? Should I be offering any specific advice? Thanks

Just so I understand... he wants an internship when he will be a rising junior?

No, looking for this summer and is a sophomore currently. Thank you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry in advance, I don't know where else to ask. If your dc is at an ivy, ivy plus, or ivy adjacent, do they have something lined up? Is it basically over and it's time to get in with a professor? I thought this was the benefit of being at a top school, but seems like the career center fall back is to connect with an alum and they don't seem to respond. (seem is the operative word as I only talk to my dc about it). Is it unusually quiet? Is this common? Is it this year? Or has it always been this way? I didn't go to a top school so I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I thought this was supposed to be a benefit? Should I be offering any specific advice? Thanks

The way everyone talks about T15, figured they were handing out internships like candy. For $90k/year, that's what I would hope. My lowly UMD student has been able to secure for 3 summers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a pretty bad year across the board, because the economy sucks and trump is decimating research funding. I think if they're an engineering/CS major, it is pretty concerning to not have an internship right now. Pretty much all of DS's friends in physics are just now getting offers for research or have another month to wait (this is for rising seniors too!). As a sophomore, it is a good idea to just do research anyway- research often is applicable to industry projects, gets something down on the resume, and the experience will be very important if they are at all interested in graduate school.

Jesus Christ.

This is the reality. Trump has killed a lot of opportunities. Sorry it’s hard for you to hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a pretty bad year across the board, because the economy sucks and trump is decimating research funding. I think if they're an engineering/CS major, it is pretty concerning to not have an internship right now. Pretty much all of DS's friends in physics are just now getting offers for research or have another month to wait (this is for rising seniors too!). As a sophomore, it is a good idea to just do research anyway- research often is applicable to industry projects, gets something down on the resume, and the experience will be very important if they are at all interested in graduate school.

Jesus Christ.

This is the reality. Trump has killed a lot of opportunities. Sorry it’s hard for you to hear.

Nah… entry-level jobs just aren’t worth the money anymore. Companies are outsourcing them or replacing them with AI—it’s a fact. There’s no need to drag politics into it; it doesn’t matter who the president is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The market for entry level jobs is shifting so fast that most kids are going to have a very difficult time landing anything, internships or permanent jobs post graduation. If you sit in on some of the investor calls at the Fortune 100s, most have publicly said they're reevaluating the hiring and retention plans given the shifting landscape in AI. If you have connections, use it. Otherwise, all kids should think really creatively for what happens post graduation. Start planning now, even as a sophomore. Don't assume the Ivy/Ivy+ degrees automatically confirm employment status ... not in this sort of changing landscape.

This is the part I don’t understand. Some people keep bragging about the benefits of Ivy brands, but what I’ve heard tells a different story. It seems that those who are already well connected will do well wherever they go, including SLAC.

Yeah, people looking at outcomes for Ivy grads and thinking its because of the schools, but in reality its because of the families of the kids who go to those schools. So if the schools start admitting too many FGLI or rural kids, then the power of the networks goes down, because they are not bringing those family connections with them. It was like this 25 yrs ago at my Ivy. Alot of the FGLI or MC kids went the professional school route even out of an Ivy like MD or JD because that is less reliant on those connections.

[Anonymous]

Plenty of kids getting jobs in the energy industry from Texas Tech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The market for entry level jobs is shifting so fast that most kids are going to have a very difficult time landing anything, internships or permanent jobs post graduation. If you sit in on some of the investor calls at the Fortune 100s, most have publicly said they're reevaluating the hiring and retention plans given the shifting landscape in AI. If you have connections, use it. Otherwise, all kids should think really creatively for what happens post graduation. Start planning now, even as a sophomore. Don't assume the Ivy/Ivy+ degrees automatically confirm employment status ... not in this sort of changing landscape.

This is the part I don’t understand. Some people keep bragging about the benefits of Ivy brands, but what I’ve heard tells a different story. It seems that those who are already well connected will do well wherever they go, including SLAC.

The benefits of the Ivy title or top school title is access to really good education, resources, and research. Our kid was in a top biochem lab and that position as a RA got him a job almost immediately in pharma. It’s more about what you choose to do and how personable you are tha 100% school choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The market for entry level jobs is shifting so fast that most kids are going to have a very difficult time landing anything, internships or permanent jobs post graduation. If you sit in on some of the investor calls at the Fortune 100s, most have publicly said they're reevaluating the hiring and retention plans given the shifting landscape in AI. If you have connections, use it. Otherwise, all kids should think really creatively for what happens post graduation. Start planning now, even as a sophomore. Don't assume the Ivy/Ivy+ degrees automatically confirm employment status ... not in this sort of changing landscape.

This is the part I don’t understand. Some people keep bragging about the benefits of Ivy brands, but what I’ve heard tells a different story. It seems that those who are already well connected will do well wherever they go, including SLAC.

The benefits of the Ivy title or top school title is access to really good education, resources, and research. Our kid was in a top biochem lab and that position as a RA got him a job almost immediately in pharma. It’s more about what you choose to do and how personable you are tha 100% school choice.

What you described is also available at several state flagship universities with good reputations. It isn’t exclusive to the Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry in advance, I don't know where else to ask. If your dc is at an ivy, ivy plus, or ivy adjacent, do they have something lined up? Is it basically over and it's time to get in with a professor? I thought this was the benefit of being at a top school, but seems like the career center fall back is to connect with an alum and they don't seem to respond. (seem is the operative word as I only talk to my dc about it). Is it unusually quiet? Is this common? Is it this year? Or has it always been this way? I didn't go to a top school so I'm not trying to be obnoxious, I thought this was supposed to be a benefit? Should I be offering any specific advice? Thanks

Just so I understand... he wants an internship when he will be a rising junior?

No, looking for this summer and is a sophomore currently. Thank you

Currently a sophomore. That would make him a rising junior this summer.

[Anonymous]

i'm a prof at a T10 engineering school and have talked to about 15 rising juniors. None have company internships. Several are doing research jobs. Companies want rising seniors generally, rising sophomores in my experience would only get an internship with strong direct family connections. this is nothing new....though competition for internships is getting fierce. The only student I personally know who did such an internship last summer did it in China with direct family connections.

[Anonymous]

UChicago. Math major. Current junior. Quant trading internship in NYC this summer. Had 4 offers and chose this one.

[Anonymous]

DC’s ivy almost everyone has an engineering or physics internship lined up, and most non-stem students do as well. spring of sophomore year. About half did some sort of stem research or job after freshman year. DC has good friends at ivy+ and stem and non stem have career-related positions secured.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a pretty bad year across the board, because the economy sucks and trump is decimating research funding. I think if they're an engineering/CS major, it is pretty concerning to not have an internship right now. Pretty much all of DS's friends in physics are just now getting offers for research or have another month to wait (this is for rising seniors too!). As a sophomore, it is a good idea to just do research anyway- research often is applicable to industry projects, gets something down on the resume, and the experience will be very important if they are at all interested in graduate school.

Jesus Christ.

This is the reality. Trump has killed a lot of opportunities. Sorry it’s hard for you to hear.

Nah… entry-level jobs just aren’t worth the money anymore. Companies are outsourcing them or replacing them with AI—it’s a fact. There’s no need to drag politics into it; it doesn’t matter who the president is.

Of course it matters who the president is.

The current president promised his AI cronies massive deregulation and has delivered for them. One action he's taken relevant to this conversation: he signed an executive order reversing Biden era restrictions, removing safeguards that were a threat to labor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i'm a prof at a T10 engineering school and have talked to about 15 rising juniors. None have company internships. Several are doing research jobs. Companies want rising seniors generally, rising sophomores in my experience would only get an internship with strong direct family connections. this is nothing new....though competition for internships is getting fierce. The only student I personally know who did such an internship last summer did it in China with direct family connections.

Paid research jobs are the key for after freshman and after sophomore. There are many and professors help connect often. Corporate/industry jobs are more common after junior yr, though many students choose to stay in paid research positions (gov or academic)