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Were you able to get job experience or do research in your field while in college? How can I find those opportunities?

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Hannah’s Answer

To echo previous answers, look in your major department and get to know your professors! Many schools will offer summer or school-year research programs in various departments; this is probably the easiest way to get your foot in the door as there is a much smaller pool of applicants, and they tend to be more open to accepting underclassmen than outside programs. Plus, this also provides a great opportunity to get more personal recommendation letters, and you can even get class credit for upper-division required courses, which can be enormously useful.

For opportunities outside your school, check out some Research Experience for Undergraduates (REUs) at www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu . You can find research programs (many of them all-inclusive with housing, food and stipend) at facilities all over the USA on any topic imaginable. There are a few that accept incoming sophomores, but most prefer applicants that are going into their 3rd or 4th year.

I would highly recommend getting a little experience through research before attempting to find a corporate internship, especially if your school doesn't have a co-op program-- you will have any easier time breaking the "need experience to get experience" gridlock. Even better, you can build valuable relationships with your professors, explore various new topics, and make yourself more appealing to graduate schools if you chose to pursue them.
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Gina’s Answer

I was a broadcasting major and found job within my major on campus, plus my department always posted paying opportunities in the neighboring cities as well.
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Yasemin’s Answer

Hi! I obtained a research opportunity through my professor; I would say the best bet is to ask professors of research opportunities as they will have more information and can even be undergoing a research project themselves. For job search, college campuses has many openings for students, definitely search on campus first! It will also be easier with commuting and balancing school work; at my college most of the employees were students in the cafes and shops on campus. There is also a tutoring and writing center at the college and a student can apply to be a employee there and help other students with their papers and classes!

Best of luck!
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Eric’s Answer

Many college departments will receive job / intern opportunities from local companies and post those for the student body.

Most communities also have local chapters of professional societies where professionals of a given trade can meet regularly for social events and learning opportunities. There is usually a fee to join but the student rates are usually heavily discounted. By attending these meetings you will become connected with the very people who can provide job opportunities. Even if a job opportunity doesn't become available, most professionals will be willing to connect with you and even mentor you.
As you connect with professionals in your field in the early part of your college studies, you may find that they don't have job opportunities yet if they are in need of someone with a specific skill that you haven't obtained yet. Try and find out what skills they need and how to best obtain those. For example, as a structural engineer, there are not many internship opportunities that I can provide since the work is so specialized and would require too much time from me to train the student. But, I often have need for an extra drafter. By taking some extra drafting courses early in your studies you would then obtain the skills that I would need to consider hiring you while in college.
Whatever your profession, opportunities for research and employment will be available, even if you need to invest a little extra time into learning a specific skill.

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Maya’s Answer

I am a Biology major with an emphasis on pre-med and honestly I went on my schools website to see what all the professors were currently doing research on and emailed everyone who was researching anything related to medicine, health, or science in general. Be warned though this is called cold emailing and you probably will not get many responses back and that's okay but from those that do respond they are usually excited and willing to have students help them with their research. During COVID a lot of the research you will be doing though will probably be data cleaning or looking for articles because labs are mostly closed. Some schools offer programs that help students find research on campus and some professors even say they need research assistants during class in which you can reach out to them that way. So if all else fails just email as many professors as you can and when doing this try to specialize your email so they know you actually read their research description ad you aren't just randomly emailing them for no reason.
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Ziana’s Answer

Most schools, require you to have volunteer hours to graduate. With this being said in each filed there are usually courses that require you to secure an internship for the major so that you may get that experience, these Professors will usually give each student a list of different places to intern so that you may get that experience. I am an Administration of Justice major, & a lot of my Professors have had given us extra credit opportunities so that we may get additional experiences. For example I have been on 3 ride alongs with Police Officers, as well as having to sit in on a trial at a courthouse & obtain information. So unless you want to find something on your own in your city, the only thing you will honestly have to worry about would be securing those spots for yourself. I hope this could help. I wish you luck!
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Jasanpreet Kaur’s Answer

You can find such kind of opportunity in the following ways:

1. Through Volunteer role. (There are so many organizations who are looking for candidates like you, freshers who want to learn and volunteer. Try to be a part of any such organization.)
2. Through Internship. (If your college gives you an option to go for internship else go for Volunteer role)

Good luck!

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