OP here: Very helpful responses. Thanks! He did do robotics in high school and had an internship in HS at a local web development company. He will take data structures first year. But, he will need to make the most of his contacts. He will be at a public, decently ranked for CS (but not top tier).

Anonymous wrote:What can a student do now or soon to increase odds of getting an internship after freshman year? Student will start college in the fall and is a CS major. I understand it can be harder for freshman to get internships. Are there any specific CS classes that are more helpful than others at this point? He placed out of the intro classes and will be taking data structures/discrete math.

Do organizations start looking in the fall at all for the following summers?

He, of course, will work with career services once he gets to school.

Which school? That makes a big difference. Pretty much every kid I know from an ivy type school got a CS internship. Much harder for public school kids. Anecdotal, of course.
DS (goes to a highly ranked OOS public) applied to over 100 companies after freshman year, probably interviewed with 10 or so and offered internships at 3. He did not do data structures in freshman year.

Anonymous wrote:Think about it from the employer's persepctive...what does a rising sophomore have to offer in the context of hiring college graduates?

Answer: Not a lot.

Well, if they understand data structures or algorithms, they have a decent shot of getting good offers. If they are new to CS, then probably not without some introduction or connection.

I have a kid in a top 15 college majoring in CS who just finished first year. Its very tough to get a summer internship as a rising sophomore. No matter what classes you take as a freshman (or HS), its very difficult to compete with rising juniors and seniors which the vast majority of companies prefer. My kid did eventually land a CS internship in a non-tech company but only because someone dropped out in the last minute.

Think about it from the employer's persepctive...what does a rising sophomore have to offer in the context of hiring college graduates?

Answer: Not a lot.

I would focus on start ups who could use the free labor. The likelihood of an internship at a FAANG or top tier consulting firm is completely non-existent without serious contacts.

My friend's kid was a top HS student, majoring in Com Sci. After her first year of college, she went back to life guarding. This year, however, she had several employers fighting over her and she decided to work for MITRE.

So, it really is true that companies are more interested in comsci students after their 2nd or 3rd yr of college. Doing a regular job after your freshman year is not going to hold you back.

Anonymous wrote:Very hard for first years (rising sophomores) to get substantive internships in CS or tech in general. DS just finished first year with top grades at top school. Every first year he knows who got a summer internship they got through parental connections (arm twisting) or as part of DEI oriented program. It feels like a continuation of the college admissions process with legacy / DEI focus. Most internships are oriented toward rising juniors and seniors. Kid is working on 2024 internship programs and waiting tables this summer. Not aggrieved but simply reality.

+1

Very hard to get internships going into sophomore year without parent connections or diversity cohort programs. I’d recommend contacting small companies that may not pay as well or not have a defined program - especially if friends or acquaintances of parents. Another option is teaching at STEM summer camps so they have a better chance for Junior or Senior summer. Depending on the school too, they could do research at their schools. This also is a bit competitive depending on looking my for paid vs. unpaid. I’ve seen CS students help in other departments such as Bio to help with their CS needs.

They need to start applying for internships in the fall and continue all the way through March-April. DD is a rising sophomore, has a CS internship this summer and already signed an offer for summer 2024 (at a different company). She sent numerous applications starting last fall.

Another option is to work at a coding camp over the summer. They will at least earn some money and it will look better in resume than working at an ice cream shop. TIC camp is one I know hires college CS majors for its summer camps but I am sure there are others.

Gotta know someone. Did he do robotics in HS? Could see if any of the mentors will hire him next summer. Do you have an uncle that works somewhere relevant? Etc, etc....

If they know quite a bit of coding, they can pursue personal projects (on github, if I recall - sorry, just a parent not in the industry).

Other than that, the situation is as the PPs explained. Don't expect internships after freshman year. And this year, pickings may have been a little slim after sophomore year as well; not sure.

Very hard for first years (rising sophomores) to get substantive internships in CS or tech in general. DS just finished first year with top grades at top school. Every first year he knows who got a summer internship they got through parental connections (arm twisting) or as part of DEI oriented program. It feels like a continuation of the college admissions process with legacy / DEI focus. Most internships are oriented toward rising juniors and seniors. Kid is working on 2024 internship programs and waiting tables this summer. Not aggrieved but simply reality.

Most of the Cs majors I’ve known didn’t get good internships until between sophomore and junior year.

Anonymous wrote:What can a student do now or soon to increase odds of getting an internship after freshman year? Student will start college in the fall and is a CS major. I understand it can be harder for freshman to get internships. Are there any specific CS classes that are more helpful than others at this point? He placed out of the intro classes and will be taking data structures/discrete math.

Do organizations start looking in the fall at all for the following summers?

He, of course, will work with career services once he gets to school.

Depending on what school they're attending there might be a job fair. Large schools have one in the Fall and in the Spring where recruiters come to the university, collect resumes, and interview students onsite. Some schools may even have job fairs just for CS and for Engineering as a whole, separately. Companies pay a fair amount of money to direct access to students. Plus, they should be on the lookout whenever company representatives (typically alumni) return to campus to give talks.

Another thing that may help is to showcase projects they've done on their resume, ideally with a public URL.

What can a student do now or soon to increase odds of getting an internship after freshman year? Student will start college in the fall and is a CS major. I understand it can be harder for freshman to get internships. Are there any specific CS classes that are more helpful than others at this point? He placed out of the intro classes and will be taking data structures/discrete math.

Do organizations start looking in the fall at all for the following summers?

He, of course, will work with career services once he gets to school.