seek internship or stay for summer to do research

[child of 2]

I'm graduating in December, and I still haven't had an internship yet. I really want to get my toe in the water in industry to see if it's something I like more than grad school. The problem is that I haven't been very proactive in looking for internships. Most of the places I applied to this spring still haven't replied back. These internships won't be the best, but they still offer good engineering experience.

On the other hand, I'm part of two research projects, one of which will have my name in the paper. Not only that, the two people who are sort of leading these projects (one graduating this summer, the other one graduating in two weeks) are leaving, and it seems like I'm the next in line to take the reins, and this summer would be a prime opportunity for me to put some serious hours and get some work done on these projects.

So my question is: would it be worth waiting for the companies to reply back to me about my internships, or should I decide to stay for the summer and be part of these research projects?

[ktel]

I think the research projects would be more useful for grad school applications. Since you're graduating in December, why not do the research this summer, apply for grad school, then work from January to September. Or you could delay your grad school application another year to get more work experience.

[child of 2]

Would I be able to get a good position with a good company if they know I'm going off to grad school? Besides, I haven't been involved in student organizations very much, and not having prior industrial experience doesn't help either. Also, I'm not entirely confident I will get into a good grad school, so I'm looking at industry as a backup plan in case I want to get back into academia in the future.

Edited April 22, 2012 by child of 2

[ktel]

It's hard to say whether they would hire you unless you apply. Being involved in student organizations shouldn't have a very big impact, but having no prior work experience might be.

[child of 2]

the vibe I've been getting from companies since last year is that they don't just want some guy working for them in a summer internship and then just send him off. They want potential employees working for them. I've talked to several people and asked them to look over my resume and cover letter, and they said I should have no trouble getting an internship. But I feel like my resume, with all the research positions and almost no campus involvement, looks more like a setup for grad school. Also, there's not really much I can talk about in terms of work experience other than my research experience. I think for these reasons, my job hunt hasn't been so great.

[ktel]

I think the vibe is correct, companies definitely want to hire potential employees for an internship. I think there are companies that may be able to see your goals to do research as benefiting them in the future, but you are narrowing your job pool, certainly. While I see your point that all the research on your resume may make you look geared towards grad school, I don't think campus involvement is the thing that would make you look like a better candidate, previous work experience is what matters most.