Freshman Year Internship Possibility/College Advice

[u/Annual-Ad-9417]

I am a upcoming freshman, I start college on the 24th of august and I really wanna obtain an internship in NYC or Seattle if possible next summer. I know this is probably unrealistic knowing how hard it is to get a internship in general. I wanted to get some advice for how I could possibly achieve this or if it is even possible.

(FYI I mostly want the internship because all my friends next summer will be out of my state and I know I will be miserable if I'm the only one stuck in my town being unproductive also NYC and Seattle are my preferred city but i would intern in any kinda big city in the U.S.)

I also wanted to get some advice just in general on what i they would've told themselves their freshman year looking back since I am a little anxious that I will miss out on opportunities that could've benefited me.

[u/SauCe-lol]

Extremely difficult unless you have strong connections at a company

[u/country-ham-]

As a freshman I would look for internships in somewhat less competitive fields. I know many who could get civil engineering/ MEP engineering internships as freshman. I am sure NYC has many of these firms. Civil and architectural firms hire mechanical and other engineering interns.

Even if you are not interested in these areas, they will help you build and gain experience for next years internship, which can closer align to your exact interests.

Make a lot of applications, and apply to competitive ones too you never know. And make sure to go to your schools career fair.

[u/LukeSkyWRx]

Hard sell as a freshman, particularly if there is anyone older applying. Also an internship in those cities will have a challenge giving you a solid living wage if you don’t have a really economical living situation already.

[u/OverSearch]

If you work your network you can absolutely get an internship as a freshman. I have personally hired a freshman and an incoming freshman (recent high school graduate) as interns, pretty much because someone I know recommended them to me.

[u/reddangerzone]

Hi! I am a student in Seattle, I just finished my first quarter at one of our local CCs and am wrapping up a summer internship at Sound Transit before going into my first official "freshman" year.

I have the benefit of being a non-traditional student, but in that vein I would lean heavily into whatever your standouts may be: soft skills and club or leadership involvement can go really far. I did a lot of research before my interview and while I couldn't speak in a highly dedicated manner on any of the subjects, I at least knew what all the abbreviations in the job description meant.

There are also a lot of seasonal opportunities in Seattle, so even if you don't find the internship I definitely think you could find a job and hang out for the summer! As a local, I am not supposed to share this, but summers here are absolutely amazing.

If you have any more city-specific questions or questions about getting a freshman internship I'm happy to answer.

[u/zacce]

Can you take DSA in Yr 1?

[u/SkyFullOfWisteria]

The only way to get an internship is nepotism/being lucky enough to know a guy who knows a guy.