A mentor from Rose-Hulman Ventures poses with a student at the career fair.

Info for Parents

You want to support your student’s search for internship and employment opportunities. Here are some of the best ways you can do that.

Helping Your Student Succeed

There are a number of ways that you can help your student be successful while at Rose-Hulman and after graduation.

Encourage your student to stop by the Career Services office. We have an Early Career Development Specialist who works specifically with freshmen, building their career skills and setting goals.

Ask to see your student's resume. We encourage students to always keep an updated copy of their resume in our Handshake system, where we post opportunities for internships, co-ops, and full-time work. Asking to see their resume not only encourages them to keep it updated but lets you take a peek at what they've been working on!

Become familiar with our website and services. We promote everything we have to offer, including upcoming events and fairs, but our busy students may overlook things. If you also know about upcoming events, you can encourage them to participate.

Below are some of our activities and ways we assist students.  We hope with this information, students will be able to prepare, attend, and engage!

Recruitment

Recruitment starts very early at Rose-Hulman and the students need to be ready!

Career Fairs - All located in the Student Recreation Center (SRC) 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

  • September 27, 2023, Career Fair #1 – Largest fair of the academic year – seeking graduating seniors and internships for next summer!
  • January 24, 2024 Career Fair #2
  • April 17, 2024 Career Fair #3

Graduate School and Summer Research Fair, October 16, 2023 - Located in the Union 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Classroom attire is appropriate for this fair

How does the student need to prepare?

  • Have professional attire (suits preferred)
  • Have a polished resume (Career Services can review this – the earlier the better as waiting to the last minute makes it impossible for us to have the time to review your resume)
  • Research the company before meeting with them
  • Practice your introduction – “30-second Pitch” – Career Services can assist
  • Be prepared to interview (some interviews start as early as that evening, the next day, or in the weeks to follow)
  • Follow-up with a note to those they communicated with (our office provides blank thank-you cards and will mail them to the student)
  • On-Going Employer Presentations – Many employers are on campus to give a presentation before the Career Fair or throughout the academic year.
    • We encourage students to attend. It is a way for them to meet in smaller groups and hear information regarding the company or subjects such as “how to ace a technical interview”
    • Employers also see which students are interested enough in their company to attend

Job Search - Internship / Post-graduated:

Handshake: On-line database
  • A repository of internship/post graduate opportunities students can access electronically
  • A repository for students to put their resumes that employers can access
  • Personal profile the student creates to give employers a quick view of their experience and skills

CareerShift – A search engine resource accessible through Handshake
  • Students can search for internships / post-graduate opportunities within specific fields or geographic locations
  • Also includes contact information such as names, titles, email, and phone numbers
  • Has a filter for employers open to international students on an H1b Visa

Other Search Engines: We guide students to Engineerjobs.com, Indeed.com, Glassdoor.com, Zippia.com as well as many others.

Internship and Co-ops:

Most majors at Rose-Hulman don’t require students to complete an internship or co-op experience—but we certainly do recommend it. Not only does the experience allow them to apply their classroom knowledge to real projects, but it also gives them a head start on the competition when they seek their first job upon graduation. Students do not receive academic credit for an internship or co-op job, but it is a paid experience.

What's the difference between an internship and a co-op experience? An internship happens during the summer break, while a co-op experience occurs during the academic year and often includes the summer. The student who participates in a co-op takes a break from the classroom so they can work full-time.

Salary

  • Average salary for internships: (dependent on location)
  • After freshmen year - $17 - $22 an hour
  • After sophomore year - $23 - $28 an hour
  • After junior year - $23 - $28 (+) an hour
  • Housing and/or housing stipends are generally NOT provided

Who should get an internship?  All students!

  • Freshmen - Approximately 40% of students finishing their freshmen year obtain an internship. Some are not seeking an experience their first summer in which we can suggest career-building alternatives. Not getting an internship at this point does not negatively impact the student.
  • The class of 2023 had at least one internship or research experience

For other career resources, refer to the Career Development Guide: 23-24 RHIT Career Development Guide

Please contact us for further assistance.

Contact:

Email careers@rose-hulman.edu
Phone:  812-877-8475

FAQ About Career Fair

Q: Is there a cost for students to attend your career fairs (or other events)?

A: No. All of our events are free and open to any student on campus. We also allow our alumni to come back and attend if they are in the area. Non-students are not allowed, however.

Q: Can freshmen go to the Career Fairs?

A: Absolutely! In fact, we encourage them to. It is important to begin learning how to sell oneself to companies early, and every event we host is an opportunity to be seen by companies.

FAQ About Internships & Co-ops

Q: How are co-ops and internships different?

A: Students are eligible to go on a summer internship after their freshman year. Students are eligible to go out on co-op after the winter term of their sophomore year. The main difference between the two is that internships occur only during the summer break, while co-op terms occur during the school year. A co-op student will go and work for one or more quarters instead of going to class. Co-op students also have additional paperwork to fill out. 

Q: Are internships/co-ops required?

A: No. It is not required to have an undergraduate work experience by the time a student graduates, but it is HIGHLY encouraged. There are many opportunities for internships, co-ops, research, part-time internships and other experiences, and we think it is extremely valuable for every student to tap into those opportunities. Over 90% of our students will have at least one experience by graduation.

Q: Do students get paid for internships? Or get credit?

A: Our students do not get academic credit for internships or co-op because they get paid a full-time wage for their full-time work. Most undergraduate work is very competitively compensated.

FAQ About Jobs

Q: Do you find jobs for students?

A: Technically, no. We are not able to place a certain student with a specific job, but we are able to help the students make all the needed contacts to get connected with appropriate job opportunities. We provide support at every point in the job search process and have an extensive list of contacts to help students find jobs they are interested in.

What's the Job Outlook?

We monitor the job market for our students by keeping tabs on a number of independent reports. See what kinds of jobs and salaries our recent graduates have accepted.

Corporate Partnership

EMPLOYERS + ROSE-HULMAN
Connecting companies to the next generation of leaders and innovators.
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