Ask HN: College internships?

#1

Post by gsastry » Mon, Mar 16, 2009, 11:59 PM UTC

Hi HN. I'm a college sophomore and I'm in a quite weird position now - I started off college thinking about medical school and essentially took a bunch of bio&chem classes. However, I recently had a change of heart... I'm either going to major in physics / minor in cs, or just cram the cs major into the remaining two years. I had some CS background in high school (took the AP course, learned some languages on my own).

The thing is, I'm looking for internships now in tech stuff and it's pretty hard to find anything that I can apply for. It seems like most of the stuff require 2-3 years of CS experience, something that I don't have. Does anyone have any ideas on how to pursue this? Can I get an internship in tech? How would you recommend I proceed?

Re: Ask HN: College internships?

#2

Post by lsc » Tue, Mar 17, 2009, 12:24 AM UTC

how much are you willing to work for? what skills do you have? what hobby cs projects have you done? (when I hire, that's what I look at. If you don't have hobby experience, you are probably a 'just a job' type, and you are at a serious disadvantage competing with someone who is actually interested in the technology. I can give you production experience. I can't make you think it is interesting.)

If you don't need money, your options are wide open. you can do a starup with $0, if your living expenses are taken care of.

Re: Ask HN: College internships?

#3

Post by hbien » Tue, Mar 17, 2009, 1:18 AM UTC

Do some projects for fun to build up a portfolio, then apply showing your sample work even if you don't have the years of experience to qualify. I think a lot of dev leads and managers would hire you if you show that you're passionate about it, even if you don't have the years of experience.

Re: Ask HN: College internships?

#4

Post by amitt » Tue, Mar 17, 2009, 1:27 AM UTC

To echo what was said earlier, the independent projects help a ton. At my previous job we would ask for X number of years of exp. but would overlook that requirement if the person genuinely seemed passionate and intelligent. The way we would figure that out is through their projects outside of their job.

Also, even if a company doesn't have an internship position listed on their website it doesn't necessarily mean they won't hire an intern. Just email them your resume and a cover letter that highlights a couple projects you have done, how the projects may relate to their business/software, and, if possible, a link to an online portfolio with screenshots/demos.