Forbes has compiled a list of the best internships of 2013, which includes Google, Microsoft, Nordstrom and Amazon. Their criteria includes ratings from previous interns and the average pay per month.

Which companies or organizations would be on your list of the best internships of 2013? What’s your criteria?

Internships are only for people who can afford not to work in the summer.

As a senior who has had to find paid employment every summer, I will tell you that no, internships are for everyone. You can find internships that allow you to live at home and commute. Most importantly, there are incredible resources available at Middlebury to support you financially as you take on a summer internship.

I’ve worked every summer since high school on a small vegetable farm near my house. To be fair, I took an eight-week break after sophomore year to attend language school and a break last summer to hike the Long Trail with my mom. But I never really pursued summer internships, thinking that I couldn’t afford such an opportunity. I was daunted by the costs of living in New York or DC, of simultaneously earning no money while paying for rent and food in a big city.

It’s too late for me to follow my own advice – but you, you first year, sophomore or junior, can learn from my four years, from the choices I would make differently knowing what I know now.

So yes, you can do an internship. You can find amazing internships in your hometown and still live at home rent-free. And I tell you this as a student from a tiny town in rural Vermont, with an interest in international development. I know now that there are several international development consulting firms, offering summer internships, right in Burlington! Who would have thought? Even if you can’t pursue your interests in your hometown, the funding offered by EIA can offset your living and transportation costs. And if the thought of moving to New York or DC for the summer is daunting, talk to the large number of your fellow students who grew up there or have done internships there themselves.

I was lucky to have an internship when I studied abroad, at the MacArthur Foundation in Moscow. I researched and wrote policy briefs for the head of the office, along with editing some articles in English. It was an amazing opportunity to work in a Russian office, to further develop my language skills and to research Arctic policy. (It’s fascinating, I kid you not). But the most important thing I learned? I don’t want to do research and write papers for a job! As a political science major with little advice from two engineer parents, I often felt that working at a think tank or in academia was the only option for a future career. Guess what? It’s not! My internship at MacArthur was a valuable learning experience that pushed me to pursue other career paths.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t learn a lot from a summer job – mine got me my job post-graduation! But an internship for at least one of your summers at Midd is really an amazing opportunity to explore a career area that interests you and to discover some different experiences.

To learn more about internship opportunities and the funding resources available, check out go/summerfunding. I know I would.

With the first of two deadlines for EIA summer funding approaching on March 15, it has come to my attention that some of y’all are FREAKING OUT about summer internships, funding, housing, and, thusly, your own (in)significance in the world. I overhear you talking with your friends at the other end of my lunch table in Atwater, debating whether it’s appropriate to include your 11^th grade Model U.N. exploits on your resume. I detect the thin current of panic in your voice when you come into the EIA to clarify a deadline for this or that internship. I overheard you, once, say to a friend who hadn’t started looking for internships (the first week of J-Term), “Whoa. You better get on that. I mean, what are you going to do…like, work at Whole Foods?” (OH GOOD GOD, NOT WHOLE FOODS.)

To assuage some of your anxieties, I thought it might help just a little to offer some advice from someone who’s “been there,” that is, gone through the processes that are freaking you out so much. Applying for funding. Holding down your first “real person” internship or job. Finding a place to live and paying the rent. Living on your own in a new city or area of the country. Giving a Skype interview. Wearing “slacks?”

 Eliza Wallace, a junior from Shepherdstown, West Virginia, was in your same boat at this time last year and guess what — it all turned out totally fine. Eliza, a joint English and Geography major, ended up interning with Ugly Duckling Presse and zingmagazine last summer and working part-time at a (pie!) bakery in Brooklyn. Eliza was kind enough to answer some questions via e-mail–while studying abroad in Istanbul, Turkey–about her experience finding her internships, applying for summer funding, and procuring housing in Brooklyn.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sent to us from Dr. Peluso at Parton:

Free HBO film screening and discussion on:
- obesity epidemic
- farms and food
- town planning and design
- safe routes to school

Tues., March 19, 5:30 p.m. at the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association Conference Room, 55 Collins Dr., Middlebury (next to Porter Hospital)

Light refreshments provided.

Please RSVP to Megan Lausted, VT Dept. of Health
(802) 388-5742 or megan.lausted@state.vt.us

Headed to D.C. for an internship this summer? Check out this Washington Post special report to answer all – and I mean all – of your questions.

There are concert and restaurant tips, plus a Going Out Guide for everything you’ll need to do this summer.

Have you spent a summer interning in D.C.? Feel free to add your advice in the comments section below.

Kindly provided by the Midd Philosophy Department, here are several useful websites that gather together many listings of undergraduate conferences, journals and summer programs in Philosophy.

A large clearing house for postings and calls for papers:

http://undergradphil.blogspot.com/

This site showcases several valuable summer opportunities for undergraduates in Philosophy, such as institutes, seminars, and research centers. Some of these would offer a grant or fellowship. From each link you can find out more specific information.

http://www.nmu.edu/philosophy/node/35

If you ever want to travel to participate in an undergraduate conference, there is funding available from the Office of Undergraduate Research. See the link below and apply for funding at least one month before the conference:

http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/resources/uro/funding/conferencefund

There’s still snow on the ground, but deadlines for summer internship positions and funding are fast approaching. Whether you’re off to Honduras or staying in your hometown, it’s time to start thinking: what will your summer story be?

And there’s funding available to offset your expenses! EIA is offering two deadlines for summer funding applications: March 15th (for those with plans in place early) and April 15th (the absolute final deadline). Head to go/summerfunding and apply today!

Still looking? Talk to professors, to parents, to friends, or take advantage of the wide variety of online resources available. Check out go/internships for more information on conducting your internship search.

In our very own MOJO, there’s an internship for everyone: from an Addison County Poverty Internship at the Open Door Clinic right here in Middlebury to a Software Engineering Internship at CLIMB in Boulder, Colorado. Ready to head abroad? Apply to be an International Development Intern in Honduras or a Marine Researcher in Greece.

Questions? Looking for help with a cover letter or resume? Check out go/internships or stop by EIA drop-in hours from 2-5 pm in Adirondack House!

What will your summer story  be?

Well spring isn’t exactly in the air, but it’s time to start thinking about summer!

It’s as easy as 1-2-3…

Step 1- Focus: What kind of internship is right for you? Talk to your professors, EIA counselors, parents, upperclassmen – ask for their advice based on your major, career and interests.

Step 2 – Find: There is no one right way to find an internship. Networking, online resources – use them all. Head to the EIA website for more tips on finding your summer internship.

Step 2 – Fund: You’ve landed the internship of your dreams, but it’s unpaid. You still need to eat, right? Well lucky for you, there is funding available to support the expenses of your summer internship. The application for summer internship funding is now open – check it out!

Stay tuned for more info about the Internship Open House and other events coming up!

For more information on everything internships, check out go/internships.

Check out this infographic from Eye of the Intern, a career development blog powered by Internships.com. The infographic breaks down the results from a survey of over 7,300 students and recent graduates and over 300 companies by category (Compen$ation, Who Gets Hired, Internships2Jobs), ranks the most important qualities companies consider when hiring interns (you might be surprised where Academic Performance falls on the list), and displays some hopeful stats: 36 percent more companies offered internships in 2012 versus 2011 and 53 percent of companies plan to offer more internships in 2013 than they did in 2012.

As the end of the semester approaches, so does the deadline to apply for credit for your J-Term internship. You can apply for academic credit through MOJO until this Sunday, December 9th.

One general distribution course credit is awarded upon completion of all required paperwork.

For more details on what to include in the application, head to MOJO and search Application for Credit, or contact Doug at internships@middlebury.edu.