I’m an average CS student on a good day. Have 0 CS experience other than university on my resume and only have 1 semester left. Applied to what seemed like hundreds of internships last year, no dice. Same thing this year, and in the last few weeks of school I got one!!! Anytime I hear about computer science it’s negative, not being in that 1% of crazy smart CS majors makes things seem extremely bleak, but just wanted to share some proof it’s not impossible
What's more depressing is other industries are the same. You got to be 1 percent for almost any job now even retail.
Literally. Even for dishwasher role they ask for a essay cover letter now 😭😭
That's terrible! That used to be something anyone who breathes could get. I would not even bother with a CV honesty. They don't even deserve a resume, but I do it anyway. I kid you not my restraunts in my town have 1000 applicants. Sooner or later something is gonna break.
So much for the 250,000 new jobs that we are supposedly getting.
There is no recession in ba sing se
In the current job market, experience is more important unfortunately
Which is why I’m hyped I got an internship to get experience on my resume and that it’s still possible to get internships with no experience
Right on congrats man
Good luck in your internship!! Congrats!
Get networking and cold emailing on LinkedIn lil bro, regular applications don’t work these days
Start unpaid if you have to, experience is invaluable
Experience doesn't pay rent. Value your time, never work unpaid.
I agree, I’d sooner lie and fake experience than work for free to make someone else money. Volunteering for something you believe in could be a good idea if you can afford to though.
I’d work at Burger King before I stress myself writing code for no pay
Hey, solid! Best of luck, dude!
I know you probably want to learn a lot, but don't forget to network. Could get you a job later on. Be friendly and cooler than myself and you'll probably be fine
Do you think it would be better to double major in CS and Math, this would consume my time over the next three years. Or should I try to get internships during Summer and push my graduation date off?
If double majoring means you can’t do summer internships then you’re probably only hurting your job prospects. No job posting I’ve ever seen says they prefer double majors but they do appreciate experience.
Yeah, I know that the ROI isn't big for my double major. But I plan on going for a Masters in CS focus on AI/ML. And what I'm told is higher level math is very helpful. Also I'm littler older in my 26
I have not seen any master’s in CS admissions page say anything about double majoring in math either. I’d take the summer internship any day. Instead of double-majoring, I’d focus on taking all AI/ML-related courses your CS or adjacent departments offer. If there aren’t many, then online courses. Also look into doing undergraduate research if that’s your thing.
Having an AI project in your resume, even if it’s just a simple class project, would look much better on your resume compared to someone else who spent the summer taking a couple math classes. Some math classes might be relevant but a minor is probably more than enough (but again, no one would care about the credential itself, taking a couple more courses has diminishing returns).
An issue is I'm in the Columbus, GA area and there aren't really any big companies "worth" interning for and going to Atlanta is to far.
Any internship is probably better experience than taking a summer course
An internship in Atlanta should pay you enough to live there for the internship period
Well, it's not that I'm taking one summer course. I'm taking 3-4 summer courses at a time. I have two summers left, and if I do internships, then my graduation date is pushed a year back. I was thinking about going for internships/ part-time jobs during my Masters degree.
One course, four courses, the same idea still applies. Anyone can enroll in classes, it’s not impressive on its own.
It’s very difficult for 2 summers to shave off a full academic year, but could be possible depending on which courses are offered in the summer and how you’ll spread the rest of the load. That’s a conversation to have with your academic advisor. I’ve never heard someone let down an internship offer to take summer courses. Besides, you can probably take online courses during the internship if you really needed to.
Doing an internship during your masters is possible, but I wouldn’t bet on it. You’ll likely only have one summer during the masters (if it’s a 2-year program, some are 1) and that you’ll be competing with other masters students, some with more experience (not only internships, but years of experience) or go to better schools.
Getting internships earlier is easier because the goal of companies is early talent acquisition. Some companies like Google and Microsoft even have special openings for freshmen/sophomores that you won’t be able to apply to later on.
I know it's pretty common to move out to another part of the country for an internship, but I'm wondering if it's possible to avoid that. I live with my partner, and don't think that I would be able to make the decision to go distance for several months while forcing them to do the same. It would be really tough on them, and would fully upend my already fragile sense of stability lol.
I feel like I have better chances than most of finding something local, given I'm in the SF area. But I also don't have a compelling resume, so I don't exactly know that I'll have my pick of options. I guess I'll hope that I can rely on networking through my university and family/family connections that work in tech!!
It is a conversation worth having with your partner for sure. I wouldn’t like it if my partner let go of an opportunity because they assumed it would be too tough on me. In the end it’s a matter of your financial situation and whether you can afford not interning and afford affecting your first job prospects.
I mean, it's not just about my partner — it would be difficult for me as well, which I did state explicitly in that exact same comment. Moving somewhere else for a few months, while also being separated from someone I'm used to having by my side, would be wildly stressful.
Though perhaps this is something you have trouble understanding? I know that there are plenty of people who wouldn't bat an eye at doing something similar if it was for their career, but that just doesn't line up with my priorities. Maybe you'd also be less stressed about the move, and more excited! Everyone's different.
Also, when you say ". . . whether you can afford not interning . . ." are you assuming that I definitely wouldn't be able to find an internship in my area? Or just bringing up the possibility that I may not find one, leaving me with a tough decision? Just want to clarify, don't want to assume that you're leaving a doomer comment.
if you take stats and applied classes you become eligible for the entire data science job market, it’s also a rare double and it will instantly put you over any other major for grad ml roles
So far the only supporting comment to do it.
I’m doing this combo rn and getting a data science internship has been extremely easy as people in one degree or the other are lacking in programming or maths skills. But i’m from australia and the cost of adding an extra major is basically zero.
That's good to hear. I have seven years of free tuition from the military. I can also have all my federal student loans forgiven, so I can take out like 100k in student loans and not have to pay them back.
if you were wanting to go into swe then it’s probably not a good idea but if you want to do super quantitative stuff then it’s basically a perfect combo
I don't understand why people don't see the value in getting a second degree. It's "free," develops soft skills and hard skills, and can be marketable as someone who isn't afraid to handle a heavy workload. In essence, companies want someone qualified and efficient.
I’d just stick to focusing on engineering math (diff eq and linear algebra) rather than math major math (analysis and topology).
I say do what interests you man. The job market is trash
Double major is torture.
I will have to take 16-19 credits a semester, for Summer 12-13 for 3 years to get it.
Math is not useful in and of itself. The concepts you learn in a math degree won’t be particularly important. It will only give you a leg up compared to pure cs majors IF you want to do AI/ML or advanced/theoretical computer science because of your mathematical intuition.
Though personally, having done this, I’d say that if your interest is in ML, double in stats. Abstract algebra and real analysis classes which you’ll take as a math major aren’t even half as useful as optimization, stochastic processes, regression analysis, numerical linear algebra, and other standard stat theory, which pops up everywhere in CS
The college I go to doesn't offer a Stats degree. I would have done that if I could. I'm doing Math Applied and will be taking some Stats, and Data Classes with it
I doubled in CS and Math, but I only did it bc I like math. I don’t think it provided me any career benefit tbh. I would only do it if it is fun/fulfilling to you
I'm looking to get into AI/ML and go for my Masters in CS. What I'm told and read is Math is a big factor when going to that level. Plus, my tuition is paid for so the only cost to me is time.
Uh, if you’re doing pure mathematics the vast majority of it is totally unrelated to anything practical like ML. (Well maybe related a little in theory, but not usefuly so)
You would be better off doing stats or picking out the somewhat useful math classes (e.g analysis, more some more linear algebra related courses, stats, etc.)
Or even better, getting into a ML lab and getting a publication.
The Math courses I will be taking include linear algebra, upper-level Stats, and Data
Oh in that case gofer it
Usually math majors require you to take super theoretical courses (which I love) like abstract algebra, analysis, topology, etc. which are cool but not useful to CS man generally
I am on the same track at my school where they have a Masters 4+1 program. Currently doing B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering with Math Minor (August 2026) and then Masters (August 2027). I would major but i would extend my grad date by 2 semesters at least. My advice, do a minor and just take a bunch of low level/AI/ML/math electives. Definitely in Probability theory/real analysis/abstract algebra, which is probably what i’ll do. This is the best of both worlds, get experience in internships and have a certified math background,
Unfortunately, my college doesn't offer 4+1, I guess I'm being stubborn to major in Math for the fun of it
Its not a big deal, in fact it helps, that extra year gives you time to do another internship and get more math experience. Also, self-teaching is so underrated. You can find a professor’s math notes which is basically like a condensed textbook ~100 pages long
Well I'll be finishing the double major the same time as if I was just doing a CS degree due to prerequisites. I just made the decision to take 16-19 credits a semester and 12-13 during Summer for the next three years. Then it's off to get my Masters which I hope to get within 1 year if class registration allows.
yeah man best of luck, do you mind if i private message you?
The market doesn't care if you are a double major. If you're close to the requirement, get a math minor, but even then no one cares. That's what I did. A masters will open a few more doors but it's up to you if that's worth your time and money, pay wise, it may not make any difference if you end up getting a job that only wants a bachelors.
Internships is magnitudes more worth pursuing.
I guess I'm doing it for more personal gain as I'm trying to be a better problem solver. The current CS curriculum isn't hard enough for me.
Honestly you don't need academic curriculum for that. If there are specific courses in that program that you think could be useful, I would look up the outline on what topics that course goes over and do my own research on it. Take the best and leave the rest. At the end of the day your Bachelors is just a formality that jobs want to see on your resume, so all you really need is the one. The actual practical knowledge and skills you use and need after school will be largely from your own personal study and experience you've accumulated outside of school anyway.
I would absolutely encourage you to do your own personal research and study outside of the CS curriculum to improve your technical skill, but going through an entire secondary formal program is just not efficient use of time, resources, and effort. Join some coding clubs, focus on GPA no matter how "easy" (not an end of itself but it does help to get into some internships like Microsoft and other companies that have GPA requirements for their programs), start some personal projects to get practical experience, try to get into any and every internship you can, etc. All of this will help you a great deal more than that extra bit on your resume that says "B.S Math".
I already am working on projects, after taking my first CS class I started working with API and ML models. I had taught myself about those topics as they weren't covered in class. As for internships I am in the Columbus, GA area and there aren't many opportunities. Would be different if I was in Atlanta but the commute is too far. I have also looked into the coding clubs, and they aren't very active or knowledgeable.
That's because masters come out of university asking what a framework is. No joke. A degree says nothing about a graduate.
Yup. Computer science and app/web development are two separate topics
And what are CS graduates applying as? Developers of course.
Ya the time and cost it takes to train an entry level dev is more expensive than any other role on average. There’s a reason companies would rather have experienced devs. I’m almost at my one year mark of experience. I was lucky I had connections, because before that I was like this guy. Had interviews but was way underskilled for them and it was right after the tech layoffs. One of the interviewers asked me about my knowledge in assembly, I was like wtf. They were a start up though so usually the work will be tougher.
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22d
More important for freshers. Not more important for employers
But fr experience yu need job, uffff!...
I'm getting a 2% OA rate as a 2 YOE...
Thank you, bro.
Congratulations
gives me hope bro, been applying for internships. good luck brother!
I can confirm if you are “lacking” in the actual computer science portion of SWE. you can make it up by being a charismatic and good talking. kill those behavioral and at least solve a leetcode medium in 30 minutes. you can find an internship
And also build a good network. Had a friend who didnt have any industry experience land an internahip because I endorsed him directly to the recruiter and thus nailed the interview.
As long as u can get your name to the people who are the gatekeepers you should be ahead of others
yep. I forgot about that, probably the most important part tbh.
I think a lot of y’all are setting your sights way too high coming right out of college, apply to smaller companies, hell apply to work for the city even. Great benefits and usually very laid back
Congratulations!!
You definitely can do it!!!
Social capital becoming more important than just raw technical skill especially in an attention-based economy
What projects do you have on your resume bro?
Did one in my big data class where we found a giant public database of car crashes and different conditions during the crash and did a bunch of queries on it using big data tools. It was a small group project. Really wasn’t that difficult. You can make anything sound good on a resume
You mind sharing your resume with me?
Are you asain? How many asain people are on this thread?
No im a white midwestern dude
??? What the fuck does that have to do with his internship???
Yeah your competing with people with groundbreaking innovative projects with tons of active users.
I swear you people always have something negative to say. I think he knows who he's competing against.
If you don’t have patents and whitepapers, you’re basically wasting your time.
dO u evEn cOde bRah?
Not always the case. I landed an internship at a F500 company with just a couple class projects nothing innovative at all. Pretty much the same for all the other interns I’ve talked with. I would also suggest applying locally.
Am I though? I’m not applying to Google and Amazon
I don't think i can man, i have a 66% and my final is on friday man im so cooked
Worst case scenario you take it again next semester with all the knowledge of the class. I’m so dogshit at math, took me 2 tries to pass a discreet math course and in precalc I literally went to a school provided tutor twice a week just to pull out a 72%. You just gotta keep throwing yourself at it
It's true man. Been through 3 layoffs in 3 years at 3 different companies. I thought a cs degree would have me set for life but it's been 10 years of layoffs and fear about them.
can you get an internship the summer of senior year
Some companies yea
I think we generally all have proof that isn't impossible because we landed jobs that we still don't understand how we managed to. But it's not a nice proof because now we're searching a new time and it's even harder, it gets nothing
Needed to hear that. Thanks
Is it an actually good company or just some bottle tier thing where you probably won’t even gain valuable experience
It’s with my city governments It and web division
Oh that’s pretty good then! Congrats!
Scale AI is hiring remote “Machine learning engineers”. Worth the look
How do people get these roles? Also I see so many asains getting roles. Can you tell me how they do it?
How do you stay motivated even after the job? I don't get it. Also how do you stay so focused on a specific role?
Crazy
Hey bro, you got the internship for the summer that you graduate? I only ask cause I’ve been told by everyone that it is not possible to get an internship the summer that you graduate as they want you to have atleast 1 semester left… I really hope their wrong
I have a semester left, graduating in December. The other intern on my team just graduated though
Did you get the internship during your third or fourth year?
Can I ?
Thank you man 🥹 im going to junior year with no internships yet and all this drama on this reddit about oversaturation is scaring me, like am i doomed from the start?! lol. I just want to learn!!
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17d
Jokes on you my kid is already solving differential equations and he’s still swimming in my balls😎😎
It also depends on the internship. A lot of us are only looking in big tech and finance companies.
Yeah why? It’s clearly not working for a lot of people, might as well set your sites on something more obtainable and work from there
Because a large amount of people care about making the most possible money in here and having FAANG on their resume. I saw a guy in here complaining he got an offer for 90k at a company but it was „too low“, despite having no previous experience and he declined it and remained unemployed. Im gonna get downvoted for sure but i dont care. Many newer people here feel entitled and will not consider anything outside of big tech and are only here for the money, and are average developers. The people who are passionate and actually good at what they do will get a job in the end and be well off. Ive spoken to people on discord about the job market, and most of the people who were actually passionate and were willing to settle for non big tech had no trouble finding a job
and that’s why yall don’t get internships cuz yall so picky 💀 as long as you’re actually doing something tech related in the internship you’ll be fine
Thats why nobody is finding work lol. If everyone is applying to the same jobs most of you will not find anything if theres people with experience already applying there
Congrats man! You could also include sis tho (not being nitpicky, just trying to discourage the “bro culture” in tech).
How about the sisters?
This isn’t really that comforting… you should be securing a permanent JOB. Not an INTERNSHIP as you graduate from college …
Bro I have summer and a semester left and had 0 work experience in CS…
It’s good that you found an internship congrats on that end . But What I’m saying is that it still doesn’t look good . You only have 6 months to find a full time job
No you can’t. Get fucked.
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Try to be the top 1% bc this market is 💀