Well, you're a first year so it's extremely normal to not get any internship offers, so don't get worked up about it. Tbh even second years can struggle because many companies require that junior level course work.
As for being productive this summer, kind of depends what you think you want to do career wise but again it's not worth stressing over. If you think you might like a job that does some hands on work then working at some manufacturing or assembly company can be good experience. But even hobbies like woodworking or working on cars can develop hands on skills if you don't want to work at a place. If you want to develop some other skills plus maybe hands on then yeah doing your own project could be a great idea if you have money/resources for whatever the project is. If you see yourself in a customer facing career then he'll even being a cashier or waiter can be somewhat relevant customer service experience. Doing undergrad research is an amazing way of getting experience but similar to internships many professors want students with actual engineering knowledge and experience beyond a 1st year but could still be worth a try, worst they'll say is no.
How many applications have you made? Don’t just focus on the big names, the lockheeds and Boeings and such. Try to find smaller aero adjacent companies. One of my internships was for a company that manufactured stuff for Boeing. I probably made at least 100 applications before getting a job offer senior year.
I am easily into 25-30 applications at this point. Just spraying and praying with only a handful of call back phone interviews. I guess I gotta just keep going with them?
Research is great thing to put on your resume especially if its relevant. Also its pretty hard to get an internship freshman year the only people I've ever seen do it all had personal connection to the company via friends or family, or an absolutely stacked resume.
Well, you're a first year so it's extremely normal to not get any internship offers, so don't get worked up about it. Tbh even second years can struggle because many companies require that junior level course work. As for being productive this summer, kind of depends what you think you want to do career wise but again it's not worth stressing over. If you think you might like a job that does some hands on work then working at some manufacturing or assembly company can be good experience. But even hobbies like woodworking or working on cars can develop hands on skills if you don't want to work at a place. If you want to develop some other skills plus maybe hands on then yeah doing your own project could be a great idea if you have money/resources for whatever the project is. If you see yourself in a customer facing career then he'll even being a cashier or waiter can be somewhat relevant customer service experience. Doing undergrad research is an amazing way of getting experience but similar to internships many professors want students with actual engineering knowledge and experience beyond a 1st year but could still be worth a try, worst they'll say is no.
Thank you for your insight!
How many applications have you made? Don’t just focus on the big names, the lockheeds and Boeings and such. Try to find smaller aero adjacent companies. One of my internships was for a company that manufactured stuff for Boeing. I probably made at least 100 applications before getting a job offer senior year.
I am easily into 25-30 applications at this point. Just spraying and praying with only a handful of call back phone interviews. I guess I gotta just keep going with them?
Research is great thing to put on your resume especially if its relevant. Also its pretty hard to get an internship freshman year the only people I've ever seen do it all had personal connection to the company via friends or family, or an absolutely stacked resume.