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Competitions,
Internships, Co-ops, & Assistantships |
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Competitions/Design
Teams
It is possible to hone your engineering knowledge and
skills even before entering college by participating in
engineering competitions geared towards high school students,
such as the FIRST Robotics Competition Event (http://www.asme.org/Events/Contests/Partnership.cfm).
Most engineering programs offer opportunities to participate
in engineering design teams and competitions, such as
the:
These teams and competitions offer unique opportunities
to work on projects not normally included in a typical
undergraduate curriculum. They develop teamwork and project
management skills, and hone specific technical skills
that are relevant to your industry. In some industries
- such as the automotive industry - a demonstrated interest
and some experience in the field is virtually mandatory
for getting a job.
Internships, Co-ops, and Research Assistantships
What if there were an easy way to build up your on-the-job
experience and your marketable skills before graduation?
What if, instead of having to pay additional tuition to
get these skills, someone else paid you to build them
and get experience? Internships and co-ops can do all
that for you.
The difference between a co-op and an internship is that
a co-op typically involves an understanding that the student
will return to the sponsoring company to work for at least
one additional term, whereas an internship - typically
a summer internship - is only a one-term commitment. Depending
on your school, working on a co-op basis may also earn
academic credits through the school's co-op program. The
benefits of co-op are clear:
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First-hand
perspective on whether a certain career path is
right for you |
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An insider's view of work life at a given company
or industry |
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An
understanding of how your academic studies can be
applied |
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Often,
leads to a job offer after graduation |
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And,
last but not least, that regular paycheck! |
But the truth about co-ops and internships is that it's
not all red-carpet treatment.
Some companies offer student employment without having
a formal, structured program in place to guide and evaluate
the student-employee's progress. Such a structured program
is important for ensuring that both the company and the
intern/co-op benefit from the experience. And if the company
executives decide to hire a temporary student-employee
without getting prior buy-in from the student's immediate
supervisor, the student could find herself arriving at
work without her employer having a plan of work in place
for her. This case is the exception more than the rule,
but it highlights the importance of asking questions about
the program and the work that you, as a co-op/intern,
will do before you commit to temporary employment.
If this kind of unstructured situation happens to you,
take heart. It can still be useful. A proactive engineering
student will seize every experience, good or bad, as an
opportunity to contribute to the company and to grow personally.
Management takes notice when a student-employee takes
initiative and adds value to the company in whatever capacity
he can. That can lead to subsequent opportunities.
If you would prefer your student-employment to be in a
more structured program, focus your job search on opportunities
at big companies with a track record of an established
intern or co-op program. The national laboratories and
other major government entities are also good places to
look. Many of these programs offer summer internship opportunities
for high school students as well.
The best place to hunt one of these programs is the college
career center. Many companies will develop special relationships
for internships with specific schools. Also, the career
center will have access to MonsterTRAK, the "university
edition" of the Monster.com job listings. A student can
also check out individual companies on his own, by studying
the career listings in their web sites.
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