Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 23:46     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:He should ask at the career ctr at school—I was amazed that my kid’s school offered funding to turn an otherwise-unpaid internship into a paid internship! Asking sooner rather than later is better for institutional funding


Seconding
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 23:46     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:DS needs a job this summer after finishing his Freshman year but would really like to work somewhere that will contribute to his education instead of a typical teenage job like lifeguarding or retail/food services. He's a double major in engineering/finance. All of the internships he is finding in his field are limited to rising juniors or seniors. He's talked to people in his department and looked at job websites.

Is an internship in one of these areas a thing for underclassmen or does he really need to wait? And if he has to wait, where are kids getting jobs that offer them a little more stimulation?

Paid research with a professor is one of the easier options to secure for freshman, as they do not mind havibg freshman. Research in a field of interest is great for the resume for all types of majors, though paid positions are easier to find in stem. However the savvy kids began asking profs in the fall and applying to other unis in Nov-Dec.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 21:33     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:CS is a different animal since you don’t need a degree to get a job. You can teach yourself to code or even just prompt AI to do it for you.


Yes. You should do that. Teach yourself to code and prompt AI to do that. Good luck. That is what H1B people do, correct?

Not one of those H1B people. But you sound like a loser who is probably much less skilled and paid than those H1B people you despise.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 21:29     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
He should ask at the career ctr at school—I was amazed that my kid’s school offered funding to turn an otherwise-unpaid internship into a paid internship! Asking sooner rather than later is better for institutional funding
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 21:28     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
OP, is he using his college career services office? That's how my UVA kid found their internships.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 18:33     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:CS is a different animal since you don’t need a degree to get a job. You can teach yourself to code or even just prompt AI to do it for you.


Yes. You should do that. Teach yourself to code and prompt AI to do that. Good luck. That is what H1B people do, correct?
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 15:42     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Have your child get a low-wage job where they have to deal with irritable customers and demanding managers (and often patronizing parents). The value cannot be overstated. They'll learn a great deal about how the world works, how to conduct themselves professionally, and, often, how not to act.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 15:37     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DS needs a job this summer after finishing his Freshman year but would really like to work somewhere that will contribute to his education instead of a typical teenage job like lifeguarding or retail/food services. He's a double major in engineering/finance. All of the internships he is finding in his field are limited to rising juniors or seniors. He's talked to people in his department and looked at job websites.

Is an internship in one of these areas a thing for underclassmen or does he really need to wait? And if he has to wait, where are kids getting jobs that offer them a little more stimulation?

After freshman year, my son was able to get one a job as a "research intern" through UMD and their partnership with NOAA. Unfortunately I think the program was DOGED.


My D D continued a HS interns at NIST. Also gone I believe.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 15:06     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
CS is a different animal since you don’t need a degree to get a job. You can teach yourself to code or even just prompt AI to do it for you.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 15:06     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:DS needs a job this summer after finishing his Freshman year but would really like to work somewhere that will contribute to his education instead of a typical teenage job like lifeguarding or retail/food services. He's a double major in engineering/finance. All of the internships he is finding in his field are limited to rising juniors or seniors. He's talked to people in his department and looked at job websites.

Is an internship in one of these areas a thing for underclassmen or does he really need to wait? And if he has to wait, where are kids getting jobs that offer them a little more stimulation?

After freshman year, my son was able to get one a job as a "research intern" through UMD and their partnership with NOAA. Unfortunately I think the program was DOGED.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 14:53     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The only kids I know who had a career-related internship after freshman year got them through family connections (including my DS). DS's was only part time so he also worked retail.

Any job after freshman year is great and can demonstrate skills like customer service that apply to lots of higher level jobs. I used to hire interns for my department and always preferred students who had some "basic" jobs on their resume.


Agreed.

It's not out of the question for students to have a real internship the summer after freshman year, but they're hard to get. I also recommend tapping into whatever contacts you have. And if nothing is working out, get a retail or camp job and do a great job with it.



WRONG! My kids- CS, got internships starting with after freshman year, and my wife and I are not in the STEM field at all, nor do we know anyone.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 14:16     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The only kids I know who had a career-related internship after freshman year got them through family connections (including my DS). DS's was only part time so he also worked retail.

Any job after freshman year is great and can demonstrate skills like customer service that apply to lots of higher level jobs. I used to hire interns for my department and always preferred students who had some "basic" jobs on their resume.


Agreed.

It's not out of the question for students to have a real internship the summer after freshman year, but they're hard to get. I also recommend tapping into whatever contacts you have. And if nothing is working out, get a retail or camp job and do a great job with it.


+1 freshman summer (and the prior summer) my son was a camp counselor leading a group of 5-6 year old boys. He's a pro at keeping his head in chaos and dealing with challenging individuals, that's a valuable skill that was discussed in later interviews - along with his great on-campus experience in his major.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 14:00     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
Anonymous wrote:The only kids I know who had a career-related internship after freshman year got them through family connections (including my DS). DS's was only part time so he also worked retail.

Any job after freshman year is great and can demonstrate skills like customer service that apply to lots of higher level jobs. I used to hire interns for my department and always preferred students who had some "basic" jobs on their resume.


Agreed.

It's not out of the question for students to have a real internship the summer after freshman year, but they're hard to get. I also recommend tapping into whatever contacts you have. And if nothing is working out, get a retail or camp job and do a great job with it.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 13:13     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
The only kids I know who had a career-related internship after freshman year got them through family connections (including my DS). DS's was only part time so he also worked retail.

Any job after freshman year is great and can demonstrate skills like customer service that apply to lots of higher level jobs. I used to hire interns for my department and always preferred students who had some "basic" jobs on their resume.
Anonymous
Post 02/18/2026 13:02     Subject: Internships for students finishing Freshman year
DS needs a job this summer after finishing his Freshman year but would really like to work somewhere that will contribute to his education instead of a typical teenage job like lifeguarding or retail/food services. He's a double major in engineering/finance. All of the internships he is finding in his field are limited to rising juniors or seniors. He's talked to people in his department and looked at job websites.

Is an internship in one of these areas a thing for underclassmen or does he really need to wait? And if he has to wait, where are kids getting jobs that offer them a little more stimulation?