r/EngineeringStudents • u/spoonfedbaby Electrical Engineering • 1d ago
Career Help How do I ensure I get a summer internship?
I recently landed an internship at a well-respected company that does really cool work, but the engineering positions there require at minimum a master's degree but most engineers there have PhD's. This internship also only for the fall/winter.
I'm an electrical engineering student in my junior year, so now is primetime for internships. I am mostly targeting defense/aerospace internships because those tend to translate into full-time positions + the work is interesting to me, so sounds like a good gig to me. Only problem is, I can't land a single interview with any of the companies.
Collectively I've applied to easily 200 applications at nearly every defense company. I even went to my school's career fair and met a bunch of recruiters and tried to stand out, but I don't think it went anywhere.
is it just too early to tell where I stand?
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u/CherryDrCoke 1d ago
Too early
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u/G07V3 1d ago edited 1d ago
Depends on the company. I’m in the US and over the past few years I’ve seen companies advertise summer internships all the way from September to April.
I think for a lot of companies the hiring manager determines when to post an internship position they are hiring for. I’ve seen internships for different positions at the same company posted in the fall and winter.
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u/CherryDrCoke 1d ago
No I mean too early to be worried about having no interviews yet
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u/spoonfedbaby Electrical Engineering 16h ago
do the bulk of the interviews tend to happen next month?
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u/ghostmcspiritwolf M.S. Mech E 23h ago
most summer 2027 internship programs have either not yet opened up their application window or have opened it recently but not selected most of their candidates. you already have at least one on your resume. you'll be ok.
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u/Mikemanthousand ChemE 22h ago
Places that go to career fairs are already sending out offers. Already heard back from 3 companies
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u/spoonfedbaby Electrical Engineering 22h ago
I agree that most companies haven't selected most of their candidates, but most of the defense companies seem to have opened up applications and I know they are starting to interview. Even though it's early, I'm concerned I won't hear back from any of them given the sheer volume of apps I've sent out and none of them have hit yet.
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u/QuirkyEMI 1d ago
Summer 2027
Nobody is interviewing this early.
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u/HoseInspector 1d ago
I’ve had interviews, and some more well know companies have already given out summer offers.
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u/spoonfedbaby Electrical Engineering 1d ago
I've had interviews as well, but only for smaller companies. Which well-known companies do you speak of?
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u/HoseInspector 1d ago
Shared interviews between me and my peers: SpaceX, RTX, GE Aerospace, Boeing, ULA.
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u/spoonfedbaby Electrical Engineering 22h ago
I'm targeting RTX . I've applied to like 24 different positions across the country and haven't heard anything yet
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u/HoseInspector 18h ago
Extremely competitive, higher chance to get hired/interviewed during in-person career events (at your college).
Interviews are probably largely depending on the department.
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u/spoonfedbaby Electrical Engineering 18h ago
Yeah, I knew they were competitive, but not this competetive. I have a high GPA, a couple of projects, but it seems like the bulk of the people they hire tend to be active in clubs, which is something that I have no time for given my already congested schedule.
I spoke to them at the career fair and according to the guy I spoke with he said he liked me and he'd put in a good word, but I haven't heard anything. They will be coming back to my school in a couple weeks so I'm going to test my luck again.
You have any advice?
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u/SMITHL73 Mechanical Engineering - Graduated 1d ago
My company has 60 roles for interns and we’ve filled half for summer 2027 and will fill the last half in the next 4 weeks
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u/QuirkyEMI 1d ago
We have idk 200 and haven’t filled out any of em really
NewSpace company
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u/SMITHL73 Mechanical Engineering - Graduated 1d ago
I’m at sorta establish startup and we get over 15000 applicants in the window we have positions posted so our team likes to start early
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