How do I score an internship in computer science?
For the past few year, I've been trying to get an internship in computer programming. This year was my first year in college, and I was hoping things would be easier, but it's just as difficult. Nobody wants to hire me, because I have no experience. Unfortunately, I have no experience, because nobody wants to hire me. It's a vicious cycle; a catch 22.
Does anybody have any recommendations as to where I should look, where to apply, or what to do to get an internship as a computer science major?
Also, if it's any help to anybody (or myself), I go to Stony Brook University. Any Seawolves have any specific suggestions?
March 18, 2014
4 Comments • Newest first
The 3 best ways of scoring a CS/SE internship outside of "having connections" and in no particular order:
1) Participate in hackathons and other projects to build up your resume. One of my peers earned an internship at Google for all his work done in the SF, SJ, and LA California hackathons and won $1,000 in prize money.
2) GitHub. Do some meaningful CS work over the summer and boost your GitHub profile. There are so many stories of students scoring jobs because employers browse GitHub and LinkedIn.
3) Go to your CS department's events, which is self-explanatory.
You could also develop mobile apps and hope that you create the next WhatsApp or Flappy Bird.
Also, most students will never have an internship until their third year; employers don't want college freshmen. Who do you think Google wants to train? A freshman that's only completed 1 or 2 entry-level programming courses, or a junior that has every single lower-division CS course, plus several UD units under his/her belt?
@Vorphic I've lost like 10 lbs cuz I've been sick the last couple weeks with bronchitis, but I'll be gettin back my gainz in no time at all and when I do the vids will be coming!
i have a roommate who is an ee and cs major. he's been getting face-to-face interviews and skype interviews with places like crunchyroll in the past few weeks so i'm speaking from what i've witnessed during his calls.
1. get involved in a project on campus or join something like a robotics club. they want to see that you're doing something with what you're learning rather than sitting and listening.
2. perform small projects with yourself or a small team. it doesn't have to be complex. my roommate is working on developing a small game recently, and he goes to events like hackathons. there's a lot of ways to get 'experience' without being hired.
3. read up on things that interest you. for example, my roommate reads stuff about hacking, and he was able to demonstrate his interest and knowledge during his interviews and networking events. it'll be a boring interview if you can only talk about what you learned in class which is stuff every other competitor will probably know. you won't stand out.
4. go to career fairs.
Doesn't your university have placement programs?