Even though internships seem like they will eat away
your summer, leaving you with nothing fun to do, in the end those couple of
months of work are very helpful when searching for a full-time job after
graduation. The internship is
your “foot in the door” to the workplace, where you can demonstrate your
skills to the professional world. I
would definitely recommend that students apply to internships with
government agencies. Not only
will there be a good chance that your work is appreciated by the agency, but
other organizations, both government and private, will be likely to run into
your projects. Unlike many
private corporations, government agencies always have at least some
interaction with contractors and other agencies, which helps to broaden your
list of possible contacts after graduation.
While in school, simply take opportunities to practice
programming and broaden your experience as much as possible so you can walk
into jobs with at least a foundation on whatever the employer is trying to
do. Of course, it is impossible
to learn everything, but being able to teach yourself to adapt to situations
is very valuable. Learn how to
read help files. If you can
solve problems without asking your senior programmer for help, you gain more
respect than if you constantly need personal assistance, and you aren’t
wasting someone else’s time who does know how to read a help file.
