I came to the Silicon Valley to get an internship. Now what?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6933414

by hyunwoona • 13 years ago

4 10 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am a CS senior undergrad at a state school in the east. Though it's a mediocre school, I have a very high GPA, and my resume is not weak. ( https://www.dropbox.com/s/icnpwwelsswtyec/Eric_Na-resume.pdf )

However, througout the last semester, I found it extremely difficult to find a tech internship, and after a lot of thoughts, I decided to come to the Silicon Valley.

Now I am staying in Santa Clara, and I have about 36 days until I go back. I like the town and its neighborhood, but I have no idea what to do in order to boost up my chances of getting an internship.

Meetups may be helpful, but one I went to tonight was nothing more than a seminar. Also, I doubt anyone there would be willing to help me.

Hackathons are not held until Spring.

What should I do? Please help me.

p.s. I am an international student, but I am legally authorized to work as a full-time intern, and at this time I don't need any type of visa support.

aayala• 13 years ago

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/jjj/

http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=&l=Santa+Clara%2C+CA

Good luck!

argonaut3• 13 years ago

Was the meetup in Santa Clara?

Santa Clara is not where the "action" is, so to speak. SF is the center of action in Silicon Valley, even though it is technically not in the actual geographic valley. Other hotbeds of startup activity would include the Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Menlo Park area. As it stands, Santa Clara is quite far from the epicenter of Silicon Valley. Along those lines, 90% of meetups in Silicon Valley happen in SF. Another 10% occur in Mountain View / Palo Alto / Menlo Park.

Yes, the big tech companies are in Mtn View / PA / Menlo, but most meetups are in SF because of the sheer density of engineers.

There are events happening quite frequently. Check out meetup.com and Eventbrite to stay up to date. You also have to go up to people and take the initiative to talk to them: most meetups have a format where there's a speaker and then after the meetup ends people socialize. Lots of people at meetups are looking to hire; a typical conversation would be something like you introducing yourself, asking what the other person does, and then telling them that you're looking for an internship. Many times I've had conversations with people and then they will mention that they're looking to hire.

I've never had luck with craigslist or indeed. Some great resources for finding internships: AngelList (the talent portion of the site) and LinkedIn.

Also, nothing wrong with directly applying to companies through their websites. A lot of startups also like it when you take the initiative to email them - a short intro about why you're ideal (I'm Eric and I'm really interested in <foo>, having done <bar>, bla bla bla).

You also need a GitHub account and should put some code there.

This is totally unrelated to your job search, but ericna.com is available. You should buy that domain name and someday put a portfolio up there.

Also, I've heard of SUNY Buffalo and I wouldn't say that its reputation in the US is that of a mediocre university. I would say it's a "decent" state university. Have you tried contacting SUNY Buffalo alumni on LinkedIn that work at startups?

Also, I'm a bit confused as to what kind of role you're looking for. You experience with Java/C++ leads me to slot you into a systems developer position. Those positions can often be difficult to get. Android is definitely an in-demand skill and I think it would improve your chances of a job if you had an actual app on the Play store.

eshvk• 13 years ago

Also, I'm a bit confused as to what kind of role you're looking for. You experience with Java/C++ leads me to slot you into a systems developer position.

Isn't Java/C++ one of those first OOPs languages that undergrad computer science students study?

argonaut3• 13 years ago

Yes. But it's only used in industry for building what would best be described as systems or lower-level applications: Operating systems, desktop applications, compilers, game engines, some web backend services, etc.

hyunwoona2• 13 years ago

OP here. The meetup was in Menlo Park. I had to take VTA for more than an hour and bike for another hour to get there. And yes, I should have chosen to stay in SF.. but I've already paid the rent and there's nothing I could do now. I will travel to SF whenever needed, though that costs me a significant amount of time and money.

My biggest concern is that, I do not have experience in IT field, and thus I am not sure what I want to do. I am 'interested' in learning Android development, so I listed it on my interest, but I do not know anything much about it.

Literally, I couldn't do anything outside the CS courses(from Intro, up to OS), because I changed my major in my Junior year Spring(last April), and this probably makes me an unattractive candidate. I think I achieved a lot in a short period of time, but no company values this.

Also, it is confusing if I should tell them honestly that I just stared learning Web or Android, but I am a quick, passionate learner.

argonaut3• 13 years ago

Yeah, that sucks. Even living near the Caltrain (in the south bay) would have been okay (1 hour to get to SF, which is not that bad).

SF is quite expensive. Another option for the future is to live in the East Bay (Oakland or Berkeley), near a BART station.

I see now that you listed Android under your "Interests," which is okay, but it will lead many employers to think you actually have experience with Android. If you want to get into Android development, the burden is on you to teach yourself the basics and get an app into the Play store. Doing this will greatly improve your chances of getting an internship with Android dev. Most startups are not actually interested in teaching intern on the job. Most startups use internships as an extended interview.

gizbot• 13 years ago

Short answer: go camp out at HackerDojo and talk to everyone you meet while you are here. Showing up in person was an odd move. Take the time to tour Stanford, the Computer History Museum, UC Berkeley. Go to SF meetups and knock on doors.

jpeg_hero• 13 years ago

Agree with comment that you should be in SF.

Look through craigslist tech jobs for small co's and email saying you'll do the job as an intern.

jkaykin• 13 years ago

Send me an email: jon@jonkhaykin.com and I will try to help you find an internship

hyunwoona2• 13 years ago

I sent you an email. Thank you!

I came to the Silicon Valley to get an internship. Now what?

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