Plan for Internships

"Experience is the best teacher" is a statement that I have heard several times. It is important to not only go to college, but also gain experience in your field. The education of almost any student, especially a computer science student, is incomplete without an internship. What is an internship? It is a temporary job where one learns about a certain trade. After graduation, who will be ready to hire someone with no more than book knowledge? Thus, my goal for each summer is to obtain an internship in my field of interest.

The first step in obtaining an internship is finding one that will suit my needs. The World Wide Web is a good place to start. I am looking for a summer internship in computer science. It should be between five to twelve weeks long. Location is not very important as long as living arrangements can be made easily. I also plan to bring my resume to and career fairs. Step two is to apply for internships. I will need a resume, and several references. There are different types of applications: online and mailed. Deadlines are very important. It is best to apply early if at all possible.

Over the past couple of years, I have been successful in achieving this goal. During the summer of 1999, I interned at Coastal Training Technologies in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In summer 2001, I interned at FermiLab in Batavia, Illinois. I look forward to many more and interesting summers and an excellent career.