Taking the First Step: How to Approach the Internship Search

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Coming into my senior year as a civil engineering major at Purdue, I have had the pleasure of having not one, but two amazing internship experiences in my time here. In my case, although both internships were with the same company, they were both extremely different. My first internship was in design with Kiewit Oil Gas and Chemical Engineering in Houston, Texas, where I worked as a structural engineer intern. My second internship was in construction with Kiewit Building Group in Honolulu, Hawaii, where I worked as a field/office engineer intern. Looking back, here are some tips I would tell younger me when it comes to hunting for an internship.

Building Up Yourself

Obtaining an internship, especially as a first- or second-year student, can be intimidating, especially if you don’t have any experience. In my own experience, I did not have an internship after my first year. I took this to my advantage and worked while taking online classes to get ahead on my classes, which proved successful as this persistence showed my ability to adapt and my eagerness to improve myself professionally. I was able to intern following my second year after this.

Along with taking the initiative to take summer classes, I also worked on expanding my network. At the end of my first year, I had the honor of being accepted into the Kiewit Scholars program at Purdue, a professional development scholarship program that connected Purdue students with professionals. Through this program, I built confidence and learned how to network with industry professionals and use events such as career fairs or access alums to my advantage to build relationships. Taking advantage of all that Purdue has to offer in terms of networking can make a crucial difference in earning an internship.

Creating a Network

There are thousands of Purdue alums all over the world, and the “Purdue family” network can be a useful tool in hunting for an internship. As I mentioned, there are several opportunities put on by Purdue and student organizations that connect alums and companies to current students. Women in Engineering is a part of this as well, as we offer Access Alum events that offer students the chance to talk to Purdue alumni who are leaders in industry. It’s important to network with current students as well, as you never know who you may be working side by side with in 10 or 15 years. This can be done through joining organizations within your major; for example, my major has organizations such as American Society of Civil Engineers and Chi Epsilon, all which have extensive alumni networks. These are great places to find mentors, whether it is older students or industry professionals.

Outside of major oriented organizations, I recommend joining other on campus organizations or programs as well.  My involvement and leadership roles in organizations like Boiler Gold Rush and Purdue University Dance Marathon have been great experiences for my own development and have given me plenty of experience to reflect on in interviews while also translating into useful workplace habits.

Take That Giant Leap

My last major tip in interning is to not be afraid of change, and to explore any avenue you think may interest you. You only get to intern so many times, so don’t be afraid to reach for that big internship, even if it seems like an uphill battle to achieve it. The key is to be confident in yourself, as well as to research companies. Career fairs such as Industrial Roundtable may have dozens of companies at them, and it’s important to maximize your time at these fairs and investigate companies beforehand to figure out which ones you want to talk to. I recommend looking at what companies do, what majors they hire, what their intern program looks like, along with where they do work. 



The perk of an engineering degree is you can go almost anywhere, which is something I have taken advantage of. Again, be confident in yourself, and you can achieve almost anything.  If you have any questions, comments or more, tag us, leave a comment, or follow us for more information.

Emily Helmuth, CE

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