To reach the site of his internship last summer, senior Jason Stegall boarded a helicopter in Houma, Louisiana, and flew 150 miles south to an oilrig in the Gulf of Mexico. He worked 12 hours a day for two-week stretches on the massive BP platform, analyzing equipment that pumps natural gas and oil to land.
“I was one of BP’s first two interns to work offshore,” says the mechanical engineering and math major from Amarillo, Texas. “I saw pumps running and taken apart. I developed a tool that tracks performance as the pumping compressor degrades over time. There was always something happening on the platform, and I learned I like to do hands-on research.”
Stegall, an Embrey Scholar in SMU’s Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering, previously interned at an infrared technology company through the school’s longtime co-op program, designed to give students work experience while earning a degree. He also has worked since his first year in the school’s Laser Micromachining Laboratory, conducting research with David Willis, associate professor of mechanical engineering.
When he applied online for the BP internship, Stegall says, his strong work record and campus activities – including leadership roles in Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, SMU Ballroom Club and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers – set him apart from the competition.
Competition In Hard Times
Particularly during this challenging economic climate, employers want to see relevant work experiences on students’ résumés, SMU career counselors say.
“Strong résumés start with a solid GPA, but internships can be the key to landing an interview,” says Darin Ford, director of the Hegi Family Career Development Center.
A student with multiple internships has gained practical knowledge and professional “soft skills,” such as communication and teamwork, he says. “That experience stands out to an employer whose hiring has been limited during the recession.”
The economic downturn also has meant more competition for internships, says Roycee Kerr, director of Cox BBA Career Services, which collaborates with the Hegi Career Center and focuses on Cox School of Business students. With rising unemployment, new graduates are competing with experienced job seekers for the same entry-level positions, she says.
According to spring surveys by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the number of new graduates nationwide with jobs declined 6 percent from 2008, and employers expected to cut internship hiring more than 20 percent this year. Even with the drop in the number of positions offered, however, more than 92 percent of employers planned to hire at least some college interns.
At SMU, postings for internships rose a surprising 10 percent this spring, Kerr says, except in hard-hit financial fields.
“We found companies saying that they still need to build their workforces. They are committed to their campus presence.”
Global telecommunications provider Ericsson filled a range of positions, from engineering to sales to supply chain management, with about 120 interns from SMU and other universities. “They work on real projects that affect real bottom lines,” says John Kovelan, university relations program manager at the Plano, Texas, company. “Their skill sets are definitely put to use.”
Some students enter Ericsson’s co-op program as juniors and stay through graduate school and beyond, he says, an optimal way for companies and students to learn about what each has to offer.
With the current emphasis on cost savings, Ericsson and other companies also have shifted to shorter, project-based internships. “It is an employer’s market, and students must do everything they can to make themselves marketable,” Kovelan says. “Internships are more essential than ever.”
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