Internships

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Internships#

Internships are an excellent summer opportunity and are encouraged in the department. As of the 2024 fall survey, 7/20 responding students have done an internship at least once.

Here are some reasons to consider an internship:

  • It’s a nice break from your research that you’re working hard on during the rest of the year.

  • It’s a good way to explore work culture outside of an academic setting.

  • It can help you better figure out your research interests and your future career path.

  • $

Graduate students have interned at a wide range of companies and organizations that span multiple fields. Here are some examples (note categories are arbitrary, as some companies probably fall under multiple ones)

Biomedical, pharmaceutical and health sciences: Genentech, Abott, Roche, Kaiser

Consulting: Berry Consultants

Finance: Citadel, TwoSigma, The Voleon Group, Susquehana

Government Organizations: Berkeley Livermore National Lab, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lawerence Livermore National Lab, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center,Argonne National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory,

Sports: Oakland A’s, Oklahoma City Thunder, SF Giants, San Diego Padres

Technology: Amazon, Meta, Apple, Google, Netflix, Stitch Fix, Uber

Applying#

When to Apply

Competitive internships typically open applications in the fall, so its a good idea to plan ahead if you have a target company.

Where to Apply

  • Handshake: a job site centerted towards students and connected to your CalNet account

  • LinkedIn: professional social networking site with job postings

  • Company Websites: most companies will have a jobs page where you can filter for internships

  • Department Connections: every so often the department will send out emails about specific roles companies are looking to fill

Building a Resume

  • Resumes should include your experience from most recent to least recent and include sections for skills, education, professional experience, and research experience.

  • The career center is a great resource for resume resources: http://career.berkeley.edu/prepare-for-success/resumes/

  • It can be beneficial to have different resumes for different fields. For example, you could have a biotech resume highlighting your relevant experince and a separate but similar resume for finance positions highlighting different experiences.

  • Use consistent, professional fonts. Avoid busy tempalates.

  • Resumes are typically 1-2 pages, versus CVs which are a complete record of your experience.

Preparing for Interviews

  • Interviews typically consist of 2+ rounds ranging from behavioral screenings, technical interviews, to full day on-site visits.

  • Generative AI can be great for generating practice interview questions and iterating on your responses - try feeding it your resume and the job position for context.

  • Reach out to anyone you have a connection with who has interned it the past to better understand the interview process at the specific company.

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