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A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

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Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#11

Post by AlexeyMK »

philco wrote: post #5
jff wrote: post #3

I didn't see this on there, so let me add: There is no reason, in the year 2012, for a CS or engineering student to take an unpaid internship. Depending where you go, you can expect over $20/hour as a student intern--if you're doing work of real value, you deserve to be paid!

...really? It's not about the money..it's about the experience. Granted, an internship that pays you + gives you the experience you're seeking is a jackpot, but I would always rank experience over money. I worked 20 hours a week in college (and my summers) mostly for free, and I don't regret a second of it. Learned more through those opportunities than anything that would have paid me.

Philip - unpaid internships are not inherently evil, but the market for tech interns is strong enough that most everybody should be able to find a paying internship. It's a different standard in tech - the only interns not being paid are the ones nobody told better.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#12

Post by C0D34RCH3R »

philco wrote: post #5
jff wrote: post #3

I didn't see this on there, so let me add: There is no reason, in the year 2012, for a CS or engineering student to take an unpaid internship. Depending where you go, you can expect over $20/hour as a student intern--if you're doing work of real value, you deserve to be paid!

...really? It's not about the money..it's about the experience. Granted, an internship that pays you + gives you the experience you're seeking is a jackpot, but I would always rank experience over money. I worked 20 hours a week in college (and my summers) mostly for free, and I don't regret a second of it. Learned more through those opportunities than anything that would have paid me.

That's a pretty general assumption thinking you would learn less at a paying position. Not all of us can live at home with mommy, we have bills to pay. There are also older people, wanting to change careers, that need to provide for their families. People need to stop taking unpaid internships so companies stop thinking they can get away with it. They make money off your work so you deserve to be paid for it. If they don't pay you then they are taking advantage of you, and if you allow that then your just a tool.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#14

Post by rgbrgb »

philco wrote: post #5
jff wrote: post #3

I didn't see this on there, so let me add: There is no reason, in the year 2012, for a CS or engineering student to take an unpaid internship. Depending where you go, you can expect over $20/hour as a student intern--if you're doing work of real value, you deserve to be paid!

...really? It's not about the money..it's about the experience. Granted, an internship that pays you + gives you the experience you're seeking is a jackpot, but I would always rank experience over money. I worked 20 hours a week in college (and my summers) mostly for free, and I don't regret a second of it. Learned more through those opportunities than anything that would have paid me.

When were you in college? These days nearly everyone I've seen is paying for interns. Kids from top schools are looking at $15-20k offers from Google and Amazon and at least $10k or so from startups in the Bay and NYC.

The one shop I've seen who didn't pay for interns was in upstate NY and only recruited from a small college nearby. It was hard to take them seriously with just that but when they said they didn't pay, the top students with options just walked away.

Not only are interns doing work but they're being trained and inducted into a company that they have a very high likelihood of returning to. It is a big win for the company if they can try you out at a discounted rate before hiring you full time.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#15

Post by AdamTReineke »

MaxGabriel wrote: post #13

Can someone describe what level of programming competence is needed for internships? I am really intimidated about applying and think I might drag a team down

You can't get hired if you don't apply. They'll flush out your skills in the interview and, if they hire you, they'll find a place where you can use the skills you have (and learn more!). I landed an internship after my data structures course.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#16

Post by dryicerx »

philco wrote: post #5
jff wrote: post #3

I didn't see this on there, so let me add: There is no reason, in the year 2012, for a CS or engineering student to take an unpaid internship. Depending where you go, you can expect over $20/hour as a student intern--if you're doing work of real value, you deserve to be paid!

...really? It's not about the money..it's about the experience. Granted, an internship that pays you + gives you the experience you're seeking is a jackpot, but I would always rank experience over money. I worked 20 hours a week in college (and my summers) mostly for free, and I don't regret a second of it. Learned more through those opportunities than anything that would have paid me.

You're right in that it's about experience and not about the money, BUT if it's a tech company that can't properly compensate, it should be a big red light.

All the internships I've done and folks I knew in CS/CE/EE, I don't recall anyone having an unpaid internship.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#17

Post by AdamTReineke »

reso wrote: post #4

I'll add that if you do multiple internships, do them at multiple places. At this point in your career, getting breadth of experience is far more valuable than depth.

It's a really good way to evaluate different styles of companies. I've interned at a 7 person web dev shop, 70 person tech company writing custom software for the big 4 accounting firms, HUGE manufacturing/design company in the process control industry, and I find out today if I got an internship at Microsoft.

My experiences between working for a tech company and a physical product company were vastly different. Likewise, working for a new web dev startup (no SVN, no bug tracking, solo projects) and a mature company (yes SVN and error tracking, group projects) were vastly different.

When I graduate, I'll have a good idea the size and style of company I want to work for, plus I'll know the questions to ask to make sure it fits the dream job I have imagined.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#18

Post by nickbarnwell »

MaxGabriel wrote: post #13

Can someone describe what level of programming competence is needed for internships? I am really intimidated about applying and think I might drag a team down

The most important thing to remember is you can't be hired if you don't apply. I'm a freshman in university now and had my internship between Junior and Senior year of HS, and I certainly wasn't qualified for it when I started, though the hiring company seemed to disagree ;) Having the audacity to ask was what got me that job, and it has lead to plenty of opportunities since.

To get back to your question, the answer is "it depends". Is the team you're going to be working on essentially looking for a new employee they'd like to hire post-graduation and have around in the meantime, or are you going to be applying for an internship at a larger company where they might not be focused on coding prowess so much as "smart" and trainable? Either will figure out during the interview process whether or not you're a good fit, and find a place for you to use the skills you have and learn new ones.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#19

Post by tluthra »

As a Junior at Berkeley who's had some internship experience, let me add me two cents worth.

Definitely start looking for an internship during your freshman year. Chances are almost nobody will call you back, you won't get many interviews, and the ones you do get you won't be able to answer anything, but all you need is just to get one person to agree and it'll make your resume look infinitely better for the following years.

Startups are definitely a good option for an internship. What I see a lot of the time, especially here at Cal, is that nobody wants to work anywhere besides Google, Apple, Microsoft or Facebook. People don't bother with any company that doesn't have a huge name and since many of these students don't have any prior work experience before applying to these tech giants, they get rejected. I think that's a huge mistake. I learned more from my summer working at a startup than a years worth of schooling (and it's not bad learning while being paid).

One last note, GPA doesn't seem to matter as much as work experience. While it can never hurt to have a good GPA, I've been on dozens of interviews and not once have I been asked for my GPA.

Re: A brief guide to Tech Internships for CS students

#20

Post by int3 »

tluthra wrote: post #19

As a Junior at Berkeley who's had some internship experience, let me add me two cents worth. Definitely start looking for an internship during your freshman year. Chances are almost nobody will call you back, you won't get many interviews, and the ones you do get you won't be able to answer anything, but all you need is just to get one person to agree and it'll make your resume look infinitely better for the followin…

Chiming in as a sophomore from a liberal arts college: you don't even have to be from a top tech school like Berkeley to get an internship your freshman year. BigCos are unlikely to call you back, but you do have a shot at startups. And once you've got some work experience under your belt you'll have a better shot at the BigCos (and anywhere else, really).

Quick plug: Mozilla is another place which cares more about what you can do rather than what stage of schooling you are at. They're hiring and they have an excellent program.

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