People:
Me: You can get experience without a job. Personal Projects are the way!
We are in week 3 of the semester and I hope I can still say welcome back! This semester, I am going to focus on one single theme: PROJECTS. I can’t say enough how important it is for people to work on personal projects as Engineering and Computer Science majors. So through the course of the term, I will explore different aspects of why it is important to be involved in projects and how you can go about the process in case you don’t know where to start. Today, I’ll start with the basics of why you should even care:
Freshmen:
This is the best time to start. Many companies want to hire student interns that show initiative and have at least some background and experience in the field. As a freshman, take this opportunity to find projects to work on in your field of interest. This will become so valuable when you start looking for internships next year – if you aren’t already on the search since you will have work experience to add to your resume in addition to course work material.
Sophomores:
You might have applied to internships before, received many rejections and aren’t sure why this happens or what you can do differently improve your chances. While it’s hard to pin down an exact reason as to why you got rejected, one sure way to not get any callbacks is if you lack any kind of experience outside of classwork material. This is where getting involved in doing personal projects is of tremendous benefit. It will help you boost your resume, improve your programming skills and most importantly show a prospective employer that you are a driven student – which is a good trait to have.
Juniors:
- First, if you have never had an internship until this point, it’s not too late. Start urgently looking for projects to get involved with and if possible, look for unpaid internships in case you aren’t getting paid positions. (There are qualms about the idea of unpaid work, I know, but the reality is having unpaid work is better than no work experience at all.) Unpaid internships show that you have work experience and in most cases, they are so flexible with the work schedule and can be done remotely. So I’d say, take the chance. In addition, work on personal projects while doing unpaid internships that are in your field of interest. In the end, you have work experience from a job and personal projects to add to your resume.
- For those that had internships before, don’t be too comfortable. Most people you are competing with during the application process already have had an internship too. What will make you stand out? Projects. If you have work experience from internships and can also show that you have other projects you work on individually, many employers would be willing to take you over candidates with only internship experience. So make yourself stand out more!
Seniors:
If you have never had an internship and never done personal projects – first of all, I’m sorry this is you – BUT there is hope for you too! Working on projects will equip you with the skills that you need in your job interviews and at your job. So get on it now. In case you don’t have a job lined up after graduation, you can keep working on these projects and the longer you do (even after graduation), the more skills you will gain and that will make you more appealing to employers as you continue to search for work.
In conclusion, I’ve made it sound like you need projects so you can get hired – honestly, you do. Since you are in college making this huge investment, it’s only right that you are able to get a job when you graduate. Most importantly, projects will make your learning experience a lot more enjoyable as you will get see the application side of the theory you learn in class. This week, for those that have ideas for projects but don’t know how to turn that into a project that you can work on with other people – or by yourself, in case you prefer that – please email me at nekesame@buffalo.edu . I’d love to help point you to resources/people that can help you get started.
For those without any idea for a project but are still interested in working on one, next week, I’m going to post resources that you can use to get project ideas to work on.
I look forward to hearing from you and enjoy the rest of your week!