How Do I Find an Internship? EE/REE Students
#1: PLAN: IT’S A PROCESS AND TAKES TIME!
Plan to spend several months looking for an internship. You will have to do some research, start networking, find
opportunities, and apply to many organizations to land a great internship.
#2: FOCUS
Think about the type of organization you want to work at, and what role you want to explore. You will be much
more successful if you are targeted vs. applying all over the place. Not sure? Speak to your advisor and/or make
an appointment with Career Services to discuss your career goals and narrow your options.
#3: REFINE YOUR RESUME
Your resume is an essential tool to communicate your strengths to a potential employer. All related experiences
are valuable, including course projects, student leadership, and volunteer work. See Resume Tips handouts.
#4: LEARN HOW TO WRITE COVER LETTERS
You need to communicate to employers why you will be an asset as an intern at their organization. If there is a
job description for the internship, read it very carefully, and target your letter to exactly what they are looking for.
See the end of this handout for an example.
#5: USE YOUR NETWORK (including Faculty and LinkedIn) TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES
You will be MUCH more successful in finding internships if you use your network of friends, professors, advisors,
family members, and anyone else you know to discover organizations in your field, and potential contacts within
them. Tell everyone you are looking! LinkedIn is a great place to find alumni who are willing to help you.
You are fortunate that IEEE is an amazing networking group and has lots of opportunities for students, including
free conferences. Find out more by joining and participating in our Oregon Tech chapter. SWE is also a terrific
group with many networking opportunities (and not only for women). Reap the benefits by participating actively.
#6: UNDERSTAND INTERNSHIP SEARCH PITFALLS
Many internships are paid, legitimate internships. However, some employers prey on students’ desperation by
offering internships that are unpaid with no learning component, or even fraudulent. Unpaid internships can be
valuable if they are supervised learning experiences. Fraudulent internships are like other internet fraud: be
cautious. Do NOT send money or sensitive personal information to an internship posting. Ask Career Services if
you have questions, and read this article for more information about deciding if an internship is legitimate:
http://internships.about.com/od/internships101/a/Deciding-If-An-Internship-Is-Legit.htm
#7: SEARCH ONLINE
There are many places to search. Here are some great places to start:
Jobs4Owls: where employers connect with Oregon Tech Students: www.oit.edu/jobs4owls/students
Select Internship for job type.
Indeed www.indeed.com
This search engine pulls postings from all over the web, including company websites. Use a variety
of keywords and filters to find internships that fit your needs, and then create e-mail alerts to be
notified automatically when new postings are added.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/
Creating a LinkedIn profile allows you access to the many features of this site. Find out how to optimize your
Profile by reviewing students.linkedin.com, by attending a LinkedIn Lab, or by consulting with Career Services.
One feature is internship and job postings. To search for internship listings, go to the Jobs tab at the top of the
page and put “[your interest area] + internship” in the search box. Then refine your search by selecting filters
on the left side of the page.
LinkedIn Groups
Search for: Oregon Tech - REE students, alumni, faculty, and collaborators – this group is a must!
Your faculty post opportunities specifically for REE students. Also search for IEEE, as they have
many groups on LinkedIn that may be beneficial, and for SWE.
The Careers section of company websites
Interested in a certain company? Every company has a Careers or Work with Us or similar section where they
list opportunities, and they will show up here before they appear on search engines.
Career Services Website: Job and Internship Sites list (many but not all are below):
http://www.oit.edu/career-services/students/internship-job-search/internship-search-sites
There are some sites listed that are specific to REE:
Energy.gov: www.energy.gov
Renewable Energy Jobs: www.renewableenergyjobs.com
Renewable Energy World: www.renewableenergyworld.com/careers.html
Renewable Northwest (scroll down for job boards): www.rnp.org/node/careers-renewable-energy#Sites
ADDITIONAL INTERNSHIP SEARCH SITES
AfterCollege.com https://www.aftercollege.com/
400,000 entry-level jobs and internships from 25,000+ employers. AfterCollege reaches more than 5,000,000
students each year, including 18,000 faculty, student group and administrative contacts at over 2,000 colleges and
universities. Their job-matching algorithm pairs new job seekers with opportunities that fit their degree, school,
skills and interests, and they partner with professional sites like IEEE to post jobs and internships.
About.com Internship Portal http://internships.about.com/
This site features an internship program of the week, as well as lots of helpful articles.
BEC Student Internship Program http://www.becpdx.org/
A year-round non-profit internship placement service. About 90% of their internships are at Intel, but
they have a growing number at other local companies. Start and end dates are flexible; about half the
internships are during the summer and half during the school year. They are particularly interested in
under-represented students. Apply once on the BEC website and access their many opportunities. A
placement at Intel gives you a foot in the door, at which time you may apply for a regular Intel
internship, which pays slightly more.
Glassdoor for Students http://www.glassdoor.com/Students/index.htm
This site, long a source for inside information about salaries and interviews, now has internship postings.
Google (or other search engine) www.google.com
Search: internship + [your field or major]
Intern Match http://www.internmatch.com/
One of the largest selections of paid internships; both business and non-profit positions.
Internship Programs http://www.internshipprograms.com/
Search by industry/field, employer name, position title, and/or location.
Internships.com http://www.internships.com/
This site allows you to search for internships, has an iPhone app, lists articles and advice, etc.
One Day One Internship http://www.onedayoneinternship.com/
Every day they cover one employer and the internships that they are offering for college students.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITY:
SENIOR AND PERSONAL PROJECTS
Projects can provide the same type of experience as an internship. Students often shortchange these experiences
on their resumes. Be sure to describe your project in detail: how did you assess the need for the project, what did
you do to implement the project, and what was the positive result of your project? Use bullet points beginning
with action verbs, and highlight your achievements, just as in other experience descriptions.
Brittany Miles can potentially help you with Industry Sponsored Senior Projects, and other sources of industry
support. You may contact Brittany at brittany.miles@oit.edu
CAN’T DO AN INTERNSHIP? PART-TIME WORK IS ALSO GREAT
Examples:
APPROACH COMPANIES THAT HAVE HIRED EE/REE
STUDENTS IN THE PAST
Use LinkedIn to approach Oregon Tech Alumni who currently work at these companies, or find other
ways to approach companies directly, whether they have advertised internships or not!
Source: Grad Surveys, 2010-2014
A-dec
Adecco
Advanced Technology and
Research Corp
Alyrica Networks
Amtec
Analog Devices
Azad
Black & Veatch
Bonneville Power Administration
CH2M HILL
ClearEdge Power
CLEAResult
Conservation Services Group
Daimler
David Evans and Associates
contractor for BPA
Day Wireless Systems
Eco Solar
Elcon Associates, Inc.
Electro Scientific Industries
Electrochemsolutions
Enerfin Energy Company
Energy Trust
Energyneering
Entiv Organic Energy, LLC
Epson
Evergreen Energy
Fairchild Semiconductor
FLIR
Fluent Engineering, Inc.
Franklin Control Systems
Garrad-Hassan
GE Security
Georgia Pacific
Gillespie, Prudhon, & Associates
Glumac
Hewlett Packard
Iberdrola Renewables
ICF International
Imagine Energy
Intel Corporation
Jacobs Engineering
JELD-WEN, Inc
Johnson Controls
Lattice Semiconductor
Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory
Leidos
Leviton Manufacturing
LifeWatch, Inc.
Luxel Corporation
Matthews International
Maxim Integrated
McKinstry
Mentor Graphics
Micro System Engineering Inc.
Micro-RDC
Microtech Instruments, Inc.
MSEI/Biotronik
National Instruments
Naval Sea Systems Command
Ocean Optics
OECO
Omneon
Orb Optronix
Oregon Electric Group
Paccar
Pacific Northwest National
Laboratories
PacifiCorp
Parallax, Inc.
PGE
Portland Engineering Inc.
POWER Engineers, Inc.
POWER Testing and Energization
Providence Health Services
PV Powered
REC Solar
Schweitzer Engineering
Laboratories, Inc.
Solar Nation
Solar World
SolarWorld USA
Spectra Watts
Spokane Community College
Stantec Consulting
State of Alaska
Sun Oracle
Tektronix
The Cadmus Group
TM GE Automation Systems
TQI
TriQuint Semiconductor
United States Air Force
United States Army Corps of
Engineers
US Forest Service
Vanguard-EMS
Veris Industries
Vestas
Volt Information
Welch Allyn
Xerox