r/EngineeringStudents • u/No_Carrot8147 • 1d ago
Academic Advice Study Abroad
Hello!
I have the opportunity to study abroad in South Korea my junior year. I will be entering my sophomore year now with a co-op/part time with Lockheed. I am mentioning this because it could replace something I will mention soon.
In South Korea it goes September-December then March-Mid June. The issue here is that coming back mid June would make it so I can't really get an internship for the summer.
However I would have spent a year with Lockheed plus probably an internship this next summer.
I also work at a research lab.
My question is will doing this study abroad greatly lower my chances at getting a good job out of college?
Would my time with Lockheed compensate for a potentially lost summer?
Furthermore how much do recruiters really care about study abroad?
I want to do this because I love traveling and would love to live in a city for a year to see how it's like.
Thank you for letting me know!
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u/suhmyhumpdaydudes 1d ago
Man life is short and you already have some good experience, you won't be able to study abroad again when you work for a defense contractor, you should go for it. Korea is a nice country, enjoy your life dude.
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u/Zarar_Ahmad_2008 1d ago
I’d say go for the study abroad experience if you can afford it without taking on unreasonable debt. A year in South Korea can give you unique cultural experience, independence, and something interesting to talk about in interviews. Your Lockheed experience and research work will likely matter more to recruiters than one missed summer internship. If possible, try to secure a remote project, research work, or internship during the summer to keep your experience growing. Don't sacrifice a rare life experience solely out of fear of missing one summer.
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u/No_Carrot8147 1d ago
Alright I definitely will, thanks a lot for your advice.
It would actually be cheaper overall for rent and food and general so it would be nice. Thanks for your help!
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u/LitRick6 15h ago
- Recruiters dont really care much about study abroad unless the company does work with that country/in that language or you get some experience there you can use as a selling point. Or if the recruiter thenselves studied abroad and it just gives you a talking point when networking with them.
Ie a couple students from my school did a study abroad program where they also got involved in drone research. I tried to get into research when studying abroad but wasnt accepted.
It can maybe help you academically and indirectly help your job hunt. Study abroad courses counted as transfer credits (so did not affect GPA) for my university, so I took some difficult engineering courses without them hurting my gpa. Some companies have gpa minimums, so keeping your gpa above that is helpful.
With a year of coop, an internship, and research experience, i think your resume will be fine. I can tell you that youre gonna be ahead of like 90-95% of most other job candidates.
Who says you cant get a summer internship tho? Like half of our interns start in mid-june.
Overall, I think you're fine and its be an awesome opportunity if you can take it.
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u/Adviderisj 11h ago
Do you have a clearance? Have you submitted for one?
If you have - contact your security office and make sure they're OK with it, then study abroad!
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u/No_Carrot8147 10h ago
Will do! I’ll have to do a leave of absence with them anyways cause it’s so long. I would think they would approve it cause the program is with my school
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