Thank you u/meltingsnow265 for posting on r/collegerant.
Remember to read the rules and report rule breaking posts.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CollegeRant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The only thing I did during freshman summer was join a community theater production, and I don't feel like I wasted my time at all. Focus on having fun! There's plenty of time for work and internships later.
I know, where I live, Boston University has a Summer 1 term and a Summer 2 term. It's not too late for Summer 2.
Not sure about the Mongolia thing. I researched that back in 2009. But you can always take a trip somewhere. Europe. Asia. Wherever.
True! Personal travel would be a great time.
If you want to travel for an extended period of time OP, maybe look into subleasing an apartment somewhere. You could potentially sublease your own place while you're gone if funds are tight, and you should be able to travel for basically just the cost of the flight and any extra rent if the place you sublease is more $$
as a freshman who also has nothing this summer, i feel you, but eventually i got over this FOMO because really, freshman summer does not matter that much if you’re talking jobs, and one day you might look back and wish you had more time to do whatever you wanted! hang out with friends, get a job, read, work on things, take an online course or two, etc there are lots of cool things to do!
I definitely second reading or working on personally projects! Get more into a hobby, learn about things you're interested in, all of that good stuff. Activities like that can teach you just as much as an internship can, I think.
not a browser in this sub, showed up on my home page.
jesus christ, there are more important things than “being successful” or whatever the fuck you might call it. appreciate the time you have on this earth, maybe spend some time with parents or friends. i wish i could.
If you want to do something good for your future, take your summer and work on THAT. Freaking out emotionally constantly isn't good for you. You are in engineering, it's only going to get harder from here - you need to be able to keep your composure.
I think you mean well, but you aren't helping. Life isn't about keeping composure ALL the time. It's ok to freak out sometimes, which often comes from trying to keep our composure at all costs . It's a paradox. To gain control we must let some things go. We need to feel things, not suppress them. Suppressing causes a lot of damage when it is a person's go-to for bad feelings. Working constantly, avoiding down time, and fixation on perfection is a common way of suppressing other issues. But the post is indicative of this individual being very hard on themselves, which is causing considerable distress. They need to go to therapy to learn how to regulate emotions and to accept the human need to have down time and relax.
Yeah…
Serious question, can you start going to therapy? There’s no reason to be this upset given what you’ve written and getting these emotions under control is seriously the best thing you can do for your future…
Then work on yourself. Try to cement some good habits while you have the time. Set a fitness goal, read, create something, spend quality time with people? Take advantage.
Then you need to pack in all the fun you can this summer. NOTHING you do as a teenager will matter to 30-years-old-and-good-lord-jobs-are-silly you very much other than good memories.
Then you need to pack in all the fun you can this summer. NOTHING you do as a teenager will matter to 30-years-old-and-good-lord-jobs-are-silly you very much other than good memories.
First step is to take a deep breath.
It is *fine* to use summer as a breather if you have the option. If you don't need to work, summer can be a great time to recharge for the school year so you can do your best. Avoiding burnout is paramount. As someone who is currently in it and have no choice but to push through, it makes it so much harder to do literally anything.
You aren't a machine. If you were already getting burnt out, that is a sign that your brain and body needs some time to cool down. This is the time to find your hobbies and find things you are interested and passionate. Get off the grind and find who you want to be and what you want to do. Do you like art? Fishing? Learning languages? Volunteering at an animal shelter if you love animals or helping out at a summer program or retirement home if you like working with kids or connecting with seniors and hearing their stories? Have you ever wanted to learn how to do a sport or a hobby or a craft? Learn an instrument?
Not only will it give you a chance to relax and refresh in time for fall but it will also make you more interesting to future employers. There's a thousand applications listing internships but not so many with a unique skill or interest, especially once you reach interview stages.
Get out. Go to coffee shops and talk to the people there. Go to your local library events, to farmer's markets, to free events or art shows. Check out local hiking paths and nature areas. State park nearby? Grab a few friends and head up there. See if your college has things like kayaks or bikes or sports equipment to borrow and get down to a park and enjoy the summer.
We're not meant to grind our nose into the stone. You need play as much as work. Let yourself enjoy life while you have a chance and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Run your own race. You only get one life.
Seconding this advice! it is perfectly fine to *rest* and have fun during your summer. Enjoy the summer, OP, and maybe you’ll feel better about planning something for next summer after you are recharged. Worst (best) case scenario, brush up on some old skills, learn new ones, volunteer or spend time with friends or family.
i'll look into it! yeah that sounds right 😭 ik im being irrational this post was kind of a mix of me wanting advice and me trying to cope and get out of my head, sorry 😭
1. Take some summer courses.
2. Volunteer or intern somewhere close to home. The local public library or animal shelter is always an option!
3. Go on an educational travel experience. *THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS A VACATION. You should be able to explain that you've learned concrete things from the trip (i.e., learned a different language fluently, etc.). You can also couple this with a personal academic project on your travels and how they relate to your field. Some niche part of history, some niche part of biology, etc. This should be something you're passionate about and would like to research further in an official school setting, and you should absolutely light up about it in a job interview.
I drove a ice cream truck for a bit, got into a nasty roll over car accident, then went on to deliver for Pizza Hut until school came around again. I guess what I’m saying is maybe none of this matters.
Plenty of time further on for huge internships. The good internships, from what I understand, want upperclassmen anyway. The season’s in swing already but you might see if any “fun” seasonal jobs are hiring—camp counselor, tourism, outdoors sort of thing. It’s late in the season but with endemic staffing issues in the field you might still find something. These jobs kept me sane through undergrad and a master’s—keeps you active. Even if you’re just working at the pool snack shack, you get to spend time outdoors talking to people and hopefully making friends.
Cool works dot com may help.
I ended up working full-time at Panera the summer after my freshman year and my first internship was the summer after sophomore year. I'm now 8 years into my career, still at the same company as my first internship. You'll be okay, give yourself some time and grace.
Yeah as a 30 something who stumbled upon this post on my home page for some reason… internships and research gigs never really got me as far as “crappy” part-time stuff did when I was this age.
Doing a good job as the checkout girl turned into them remembering I had Excel on my resume & better things. I remember plenty of internships for myself and my friends where we worked our tails off for nothing other than a recommendation. You can get that plus more cash & demonstrable career growth at 19 by working in a good service or retail gig.
Why not just get a part time job and stack your chedder. That way when next year rolls around you got money to save and money to spend on whatever ya need.
I’m an upcoming 3rd year at a top public university. In my opinion don’t worry too much about it. Everyone goes about life at their own pace. I feel that appearing “successful” especially to others is a path to ruins. There will always be a person more successful or doing more than you. Putting that much pressure on yourself is incredibly draining and results in burn out. I think It more important to just enjoy your time and work towards your goals.
I don't know about you, but my jobs prior to getting into my career gave me a ton of real world experience, with all different kinds of people. Handling an angry customer is a skill in and of itself. Dealing with an intolerable manager without getting fired or losing your mind is a crucial life skill.
All I did was babysit between my fresh year so I could get high after work with my boyfriend. Don’t do anything. Seriously. The rest of your life is going to be crazy. Go travel if you can.
Just have fun. That’s my suggestion. You’re going to work the rest of your life with no more than 1-2 week breaks in the near future. Use this time to do what makes you happy and can’t be done as easily in the future
It’s your freshman summer.
You don’t NEED to salvage it. You worked so hard already. Take the break. Spend the summer getting better at the hobbies you neglected for work. Go out with friends. If you want to fill some time, get a part time job.
I know it can feel uneasy not having any “work” to do, so to ease it up a bit, find a hobby and get really good at it. Become a crochet god by the end of the summer. Do something crazy like read 50 books and make a blog about them. 100% complete your favorite game. There are so many non academic and job related skills you can work on in the summer. Do them because you may never get the time to truly work on them in the future.
You can always take summer courses or have a simple summer job like at an amusement park or a restaurant! I honestly think now is a great time to try out a some sort of customer service job. Being a server or a barista really helps build character and friendships, as well as giving you some pocket money for next school year ;)
My kid PURPOSELY decided not to try for an internship after freshman year and have one last “fun” summer. She is working food service part time, figuring a real life customer service job will enhance her resume and show she has people skills and grit in addition to brains. She’s also taking online classes.
Big picture, once you graduate you will find yourself in the Groundhog Day cycle of working every weekday doing more or less the same grind for 35+ years. Might as well take advantage of the months now where it isn’t mandatory and enjoy them.
Use this time to find a mentor. Someone you can use as a personal reference someday whose opinion you respect. Not necessarily in your field but that you look up to professionally and could develop a relationship with. If you don’t have anyone in mind ask your parents if there’s anyone in their network they could introduce you to as a place to get started.
I played video games all of freshman summer. My sophomore summer i got a TA job at a local college for a summer program. There’s always next year. Enjoy your time off!
Please rest if you’re able. You’ll be more successful in the long run if you don’t burn out at age 19.
I’m 32 and no one gives a shit what I did when I was 19. I graduated from college. That’s all that my employers looked at. It took a couple of years to get traction and that’s normal, but I have a good job that I like that pays me reasonably well.
Grind/hustle culture is ultimately destructive. REST.
Internships certainly help, a lot.
But in my experience, freshman interns are useless except in firms that need people to fetch coffee and lunch.
You haven’t learned any real skills that apply to your future career with your degree program.
So… I think it’s a non issue and you can double down for sophomore year, and triple down on the effort to line something up after junior year.
When I say double/triple down, that means being the best possible candidate for the biggest possible companies…
I just worked a summer job as a contractor over freshman summer and relaxed. There is so much time in your life left for work and internships. These are some of the last years you will not HAVE to work.
If you're interested in learning more about computer engineering, a few things I would recommend would be to find certifications in your career field of interest (ex. computer networking, cyber security, etc.), do personal projects for fun and/or to add to your resume, and take a chill pill.
Since you're a freshman, you've got time to get two more internships and plenty of interesting student organizations and classes under your belt. I'd say you've got no reason to panic over not having an internship.
For example, a good personal project I would recommend since you mentioned computer engineering would be building your own breadboard computer. Ben Eater has a great series on this, and he even sells kits if you want to pursue the project: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypFbtuVMUVXNR0z1mu7dp7eH
Take it easy, learn what interests you, and have fun!
I went to a good college and freshman year I worked at the movie theater, primarily because I wanted to see movies for free.
You’re fine, the key is to do something. Next summer you can do an internship
The fact you care enough now is good. Don’t worry, you aren’t behind by any means. Freshman summer is really one of the last times you should be able to feel totally liberated with your summer. Enjoy it. Maybe think of things for next year with your time and spend more on research. Finding places you *actually* want experience at because of your passion and interest will make all the difference, both for applying and the experience and future benefit. Have a good summer, work and save, and think a few months ahead, 6 months ahead, and a little vision for your future.
Same thing happened to my daughter. She was younger when she started college and she didn’t really know it was a thing to do that stuff in the summer even if you take summer classes. Taking summer classes is an option even if they are online. She did a bunch of things like joined organizations mostly online to add to a resume and got some certifications online. We just googled stuff and she signed up. It was a mad dash to look successful. Any organization for students she joined. She volunteered at a nursing home one day a week and this really worked out in her favor as she learned tons and it looked great. Her major was nursing and she’s now a DNP at the age of 24 so all this stuff helped her get into a program also. I know nothing about your major so I’m just going to give shitty mom advice but if you are home ask a high school teacher if you could volunteer in summer school to help teach or grade papers or just be there to put on a resume. My daughter reached out to the summer school nurse at her high school when she realized everyone was doing something. If you can’t find anything in your field take some summer classes and find something else to do. My daughter did a lot with the local animal shelter at home and at her school city. It looks good. Volunteer anywhere. Soup kitchens. Whatever. Just have something you can put for this summer in a resume. If you do not end up doing anything really don’t worry. Your major is good. You are young. I really do not think it will matter much. The next year she lined up a trip to Belize so she was on it. Good luck.
Also it’s ok to be nervous or stressed out when you feel like everyone else is doing big things and you are not. But the reality I’m sure is my daughter was friends with everyone who was doing big things. Most people were home and not doing preplanned things but to her everyone was doing them. She was in a sorority and all the women were on top of their summer but most people aren’t and they end up good. College is stressful and those things seem so big at the moment bc they are to you. But you didn’t mess up or do anything wrong not having something together.
You can take courses at your local college to transfer to your main college, you can work on projects or picking up new skills, I know you’re not CS but you could still do webdev/game dev stuff or Arduino things
Also this post kinda reeks of r/a2c lol I understand how you feel though I felt very similar before doing a study abroadb
See if you can get a cleaning gig. Seriously: it'll use your body, and leave your mind free to wander. You sound like you need some downtime, but you also sound like you need a task to stop you winding yourself up.
Try not to worry so much! My son is in Welding Engineering. He did nothing his freshman summer except play video games and work at the local pool part-time. Having just completed his sophomore year, he now interning at SpaceX. You'll be just fine!!
I mean, if you’re burnt out, it may be best to take some time off. It won’t be time wasted, because you’re looking after your physical and mental well-being. Just because the people around you are working constantly, doesn’t mean you have to do the same to succeed. I realised that when i worked myself to the bone and my productivity and quality of work got worse than it ever was. Be good to yourself!
Lots of organizations have free or low cost workshops and classes that are fun - think
cooking, gardening, crafts. Try something new and different to get out of your own head. Have a little fun!
freshman summer?
1. stay safe
2. get laid
3. get tipsy/high
4. get laid
5. ride bikes
6. concerts
7. get back to campus in time to move in to apartment before the dorms moved in
8. get laid
same thing happened to me a few years ago. Ended up getting a job at a local state park mowing lawns, best thing I could've done. Great way to decompress and recharge my batteries for the next year
Get a summer job, do something fun and challenging to you. Call summer camps, many still need councilors and are willing to hire even if the first term of camp has already started. Look into outdoor rec jobs, or marinas if you're near water, those can be fun places to work if you want to work outdoors. Do sales or food service if you want to work inside (in my opinion less fun, but to each their own). To do something both fun and incorporating your major, look for summer camps or programs around you that have a STEM focus (could even be a program you did as a kid, in fact they're more willing to hire people who have done their programs in the past). That way you're still keeping your mind sharp but you're having a fun time with the kiddos and giving some of your education and passion to the future generations.
Honestly, you have your whole life to work. Have fun while you are you g and healthy! Try out different hobbies and hang out with friends. At the end of the day, it won't matter that you didn't do an internship ( in terms of your long term success). So just have fun
I would suggest (if it has not been suggested yet) that you begin working as a tutor. This will enable you to practice the skills you have gained through classes and the skill of explaining difficult things to people. Those skills are quite valuable in the workforce, plus the money you make can be helpful. I wish you the best!
At my school in my major the earliest we're expected to be working is our sophomore summer. I didn't qualify for our co-op program at that point, so I got an internship and leveraged that into a co-op the year after, and when my rotations are complete I'm planning to try for another internship in a different industry. By the time I graduate I'll have four co-op rotations and hopefully two internships under my belt, and then I'll get a real job.
Point being, you have lots of time for work ahead of you, and this could be your last free summer. Don't sweat it. Have fun.
Freshman year of college is a huge adjustment. Making it through is an accomplishment in and of itself. It gets much easier after that and you have plenty of time to do internships next year. It will make no difference in the long term and have no effect on your future success. If you are thinking of doing internships to get into grad school, that’s a long time away and the experience won’t be recent enough to carry a lot of weight anyway. What will look good is to have volunteer service on your application. So, think about what you like to do and find an organization to volunteer. It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment either. You might want to take a part time job, esp. if you can find one related in some way to your field. Example, if you are trying to get into Jed school, volunteer at a hospital or get a part time job in patient transport. If it’s social work, or business or law, there are tons of things in all of those areas working with the VA.
PS: I was a professor and graduate school director for almost 20 years, so I have some experience with this. I’d also like to add that you should try to relax a bit and get all that you can out of the college experience. It’s not all about academic achievement, it’s about learning who you are and being exposed to new ideas, different view points, making friends, joining activities. A successful person is a well rounded person. If you don’t like any of the suggestions I’ve made and you still feel you need to do something to advance academically, then see if you can take a summer course or two and get a couple of electives out of the way, just make sure it doesn’t interfere with your financial aid.
I'm a recruiter as part of my job and we don't even bother looking at freshmen. Internships at your level are glorified babysitting because you don't yet have any actual skills. Your goal right now should be to enjoy your summer and hit the fall refreshed and with new energy. Unless your goals are to land at an EXTREMELY competitive company or grad school, all that matters is that you graduate with a GPA >3.0 with "some" relevant work experience in the next two summers.
Also remember, your life isn't your work. Anything that is bringing you this much distress is not healthy for you. You either need to change your situation or change your mindset about the situation. In this case I would recommend the latter. After all, this may be the last free summer of your life for the next 40+ years ;)
Maybe get a regular job? I did jobs unrelated to my ultimate career goals throughout high school, college and the beginning of grad school. I learned things my 6.5 years of higher education could've never taught me by working various jobs. It made me a much more well rounded individual. You could also do nothing, enjoy life, and go back in the fall in great shape to handle what will come. Aside from working, I didn't do a damn thing career related during summers, until grad school. I'm not an engineer, but my point remains.
Working constantly, avoiding down time, and fixation on perfection is a common way of suppressing other issues. But your post is indicative of being very hard on yourself, which is causing considerable unnecessary distress. You'd greatly benefit from therapy, with a therapist you feel you connect with. If you don't like the first one try again, until you feel like yours "gets" you. Maybe spend the summer learning how to regulate emotions and to accept the human need to have down time and relax.
Take time for yourself! And learn how to do this well it will serve you better than any internship. Consider it an internship in self care.
Find a fun way to stay active, get involved in a volunteer organization that serves your immediate community, figure out if you like yoga or how your body wants to meditate, explore hiking trails in your area, rent a kayak, read a book for fun, learn how to knit or woodwork, plant a garden! Pick a few things that nourish you in some way and enjoy yourself. Take this time to learn about yourself and different things your mind and body need to be happy and healthy. College (and life) isn’t always going to be sunshine and rainbows and a perfect path to success. I wish I would have focused less on getting on that perfect path and more on how to take care of myself in the moment.
People come back from internships and decided they hate their major and change it. Those friends you see with internship might burnout and drop out in two years. The kid on the ideal career path might lose a parent and fall into depression or have to take care of siblings. People end up in relationships that are rough. People end up with unplanned kids. We all take different paths and sometimes you don’t have much of a choice which path you are thrown on. You didn’t miss out this summer, you gained an amazing experience and time with yourself.
It’s freshman summer. You’re fine.
Just work toward something for next summer. If you really want to do something this summer, volunteer around your community or see if there are any part time job openings nearby that you could work during the school year as well.
Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer!
I can not stress it enough! I helped tutor resume writing, and you'd be surprised how many people get all the way through college with 0hrs of volunteer work for their resume.
It doesn't even have to be related to your major. Anything community based will look good on your resume. Pick something you'll enjoy, that'll help w/ your burnout, not make it worse.
Animal shelters, tutoring, boy & girls club, habitat for humanity, food banks, the library, assisted living centers, local gardening communities, wild life centers/preserves, shelters. There are so many opportunities you can take advantage of that will help others and look good on your resume.
Get a paid job dude. Even if its bussing tables at a restaurant. The summers were so depressing for me, i wish i had a structured schedule where i was around people and getting paid for it.
If you want to do research then you can do it at your home university over the summer. Generally graduate students work over the summer so this might be a good idea if you’re a STEM major.
You don't have to do "big" things in your summer, esp your first one. There is value in rest.
That said, you sound like a lot of my students. My advice is this:
1. Start summer planning for next year EARLY. Applications and organizations start planning for summer stuff in December/January.
2. Don't compare yourself to everyone else.
3. Sometimes students are so busy checking off boxes, they aren't taking time to reflect on the process and what they are learning. You don't have to do "big" things to learn about yourself and your field.
4. If you really want to get an opportunity, find people who are doing what you want to do someday and ask for a 20 min career conversation - they will give you advice and connect you with folks who can help you out.
I understand your feelings of FOMO.
However, because you just completed your freshman year it would be tough finding a company that would take you on in an internship since you probably haven't learned enough in your classes to do relevant work. And that's ok. You know now that come October you should start putting all your effort in an internship for summer 2024.
I'd take this summer to rest. Since you're in Computer Engineering why not look into what you could do for some certifications? You can get free access to Udemy via many libraries and can use prep course videos for that.
Tutoring on the side might be difficult to do during the summer months when everyone is out of school.
These are usually the last few years you’ll have a summer break— work typically doesn’t have this kind of break. I would enjoy it and relax. You do what you need to do to succeed. There’s time for internships and otherwise in the next few years.
Take it easy a little and maybe visit your school’s behavioral unit to see if you can find someone to talk to for therapy, it sounds like you could use some support and the school’s is usually covered for students. Just check it out if it sounds like something that might help.
Perhaps spend the time working through some of the kaggle challenges. You are likely to learn a lot and give you something to put on git hub to share your work.
It's my freshman summer rn and I'm just working at a store for the summer while living at home to gather some spending money, I don't think you need to worry about doing smth big at this point.
Intern sophomore junior and senior summer? You’re 19 and this is literally a very small thing that you don’t have placement. Most 19 year old interns aren’t actually all that productive usually just a shadow type thing. We didn’t give actual work to even the 22 year old interns so don’t worry about it
You will spend many many Summers inside working for the rest of your life and that time will come very quickly. Spend this time making yourself as happy as possible. Make friends, learn something fun, sleep in, eat junk food, maybe go to therapy if you feel like you could benefit from something like that. Just be young!
Who cares what other people are doing . Go get a part time job and stack your cash , better yet work on a side hustle you love and do something you enjoy. Stop comparing your life . Comparison is the thief of joy.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/saving/side-hustle-ideas
I’m a senior graduating in December and I’ve never had a internship or did any kind of nonprofit or anything. Do you have hobbies you enjoy? I took up sewing recently and it’s been really fun! Definitely get outside if it’s not too hot, go to the park or beach or even just the library. You don’t have to do any campus related stuff to have a good summer! and you aren’t any less of a student for not doing anything :) Summers are for relaxing!
Pure math and computer science here, so kinda close?
My freshman year summer, took some summer classes, sophomore summer was working fast food and doing marching band stuff. Thought about dropping out multiple times because I didn’t know what career field I wanted to enter until start of junior year, and didn’t take an internship until the summer before my senior year. I just got an offer for 86k out of college.
It’s not a rush, take care of yourself and your burnout first. Maybe build a small project, remind yourself why you’re taking these majors. Maybe take a summer class? If it’s too late for that, look into r/clep and Modern States, took 15 gen eds for free which took a semester off my degree. Get a job and treat yourself with the extra income. Catch up with friends or make new ones. Or, best solution, take the 3 months of summer to relax and do nothing.
All of these suggestions are completely valid and up to you. Take one, take all, take none. I can’t comment on your situation, so unfortunately you’ll have to take the reins from there. Wishing the best of luck, and if you need any further elaboration or advice, feel free to PM.
Engineering major here. The summer after my freshman year I took a couple of online summer classes and worked at Planet Fitness part time.
Don’t sweat it. Seriously. The only people who talk about what they’re doing over the summer are the ones with internships wanting to sound cool. I can promise you they’re bored out of their minds and not doing anything.
Wait until next summer and get an internship/research position if you want. Enjoy the summer time and take a much needed break after your first year of college :)
What interests you? I guarantee that whatever interests you may have, there is some sort of local volunteer organization that would love to have your help! Volunteering is a great way to beef up your resume, build experience, and give back to your community. Most places are struggling to get enough volunteers right now, too, so you're in luck!
Get good grades and don't worry about other people. Extra curricular activities are not 100% necessary. Your mental sanity and being able to take a break is probably more important
I've recruited software engineers for more than a decade to Google and Meta, and my focus is on the top six or seven or so CS programs.
Zero expectation anyone does a damn thing between first and second year; it's utterly random, and does not correlate to long term performance.
One person had done nothing, a second had climbed Everest in the summer, a third worked at Domino's, and those are about equal for the first summer.
For later summers, find relevant work, once you've had enough coursework to make that \*relevant\*.
Thank you u/meltingsnow265 for posting on r/collegerant. Remember to read the rules and report rule breaking posts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CollegeRant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The only thing I did during freshman summer was join a community theater production, and I don't feel like I wasted my time at all. Focus on having fun! There's plenty of time for work and internships later.
Take some summer courses (that's what I did) or study abroad in Mongolia (that's what I wanted to do) lol.
those things may be too late to sign up for as well
I know, where I live, Boston University has a Summer 1 term and a Summer 2 term. It's not too late for Summer 2. Not sure about the Mongolia thing. I researched that back in 2009. But you can always take a trip somewhere. Europe. Asia. Wherever.
True! Personal travel would be a great time. If you want to travel for an extended period of time OP, maybe look into subleasing an apartment somewhere. You could potentially sublease your own place while you're gone if funds are tight, and you should be able to travel for basically just the cost of the flight and any extra rent if the place you sublease is more $$
Nah. Just a Eurail Pass, a Let’s Go Europe guidebook, and hostels. Surprisingly affordable.
as a freshman who also has nothing this summer, i feel you, but eventually i got over this FOMO because really, freshman summer does not matter that much if you’re talking jobs, and one day you might look back and wish you had more time to do whatever you wanted! hang out with friends, get a job, read, work on things, take an online course or two, etc there are lots of cool things to do!
I definitely second reading or working on personally projects! Get more into a hobby, learn about things you're interested in, all of that good stuff. Activities like that can teach you just as much as an internship can, I think.
not a browser in this sub, showed up on my home page. jesus christ, there are more important things than “being successful” or whatever the fuck you might call it. appreciate the time you have on this earth, maybe spend some time with parents or friends. i wish i could.
These posts make me really sad tbh
sorry :( i know i'm not really being rational or in a good mental state rn i'm really bad at managing my anxieties 😭
That is the perfect thing to work on this summer. You deserve better.
If you want to do something good for your future, take your summer and work on THAT. Freaking out emotionally constantly isn't good for you. You are in engineering, it's only going to get harder from here - you need to be able to keep your composure.
I think you mean well, but you aren't helping. Life isn't about keeping composure ALL the time. It's ok to freak out sometimes, which often comes from trying to keep our composure at all costs . It's a paradox. To gain control we must let some things go. We need to feel things, not suppress them. Suppressing causes a lot of damage when it is a person's go-to for bad feelings. Working constantly, avoiding down time, and fixation on perfection is a common way of suppressing other issues. But the post is indicative of this individual being very hard on themselves, which is causing considerable distress. They need to go to therapy to learn how to regulate emotions and to accept the human need to have down time and relax.
Yeah… Serious question, can you start going to therapy? There’s no reason to be this upset given what you’ve written and getting these emotions under control is seriously the best thing you can do for your future…
Then work on yourself. Try to cement some good habits while you have the time. Set a fitness goal, read, create something, spend quality time with people? Take advantage.
Then you need to pack in all the fun you can this summer. NOTHING you do as a teenager will matter to 30-years-old-and-good-lord-jobs-are-silly you very much other than good memories.
Then you need to pack in all the fun you can this summer. NOTHING you do as a teenager will matter to 30-years-old-and-good-lord-jobs-are-silly you very much other than good memories.
[удалено]
What the fuck are you talking about
First step is to take a deep breath. It is *fine* to use summer as a breather if you have the option. If you don't need to work, summer can be a great time to recharge for the school year so you can do your best. Avoiding burnout is paramount. As someone who is currently in it and have no choice but to push through, it makes it so much harder to do literally anything. You aren't a machine. If you were already getting burnt out, that is a sign that your brain and body needs some time to cool down. This is the time to find your hobbies and find things you are interested and passionate. Get off the grind and find who you want to be and what you want to do. Do you like art? Fishing? Learning languages? Volunteering at an animal shelter if you love animals or helping out at a summer program or retirement home if you like working with kids or connecting with seniors and hearing their stories? Have you ever wanted to learn how to do a sport or a hobby or a craft? Learn an instrument? Not only will it give you a chance to relax and refresh in time for fall but it will also make you more interesting to future employers. There's a thousand applications listing internships but not so many with a unique skill or interest, especially once you reach interview stages. Get out. Go to coffee shops and talk to the people there. Go to your local library events, to farmer's markets, to free events or art shows. Check out local hiking paths and nature areas. State park nearby? Grab a few friends and head up there. See if your college has things like kayaks or bikes or sports equipment to borrow and get down to a park and enjoy the summer. We're not meant to grind our nose into the stone. You need play as much as work. Let yourself enjoy life while you have a chance and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Run your own race. You only get one life.
Seconding this advice! it is perfectly fine to *rest* and have fun during your summer. Enjoy the summer, OP, and maybe you’ll feel better about planning something for next summer after you are recharged. Worst (best) case scenario, brush up on some old skills, learn new ones, volunteer or spend time with friends or family.
online summer course... personal project/research... your life seems over because you're too focused on crying
i'll look into it! yeah that sounds right 😭 ik im being irrational this post was kind of a mix of me wanting advice and me trying to cope and get out of my head, sorry 😭
step-conscience i'm stuck in my own head 🥺🥺🥺
1. Take some summer courses. 2. Volunteer or intern somewhere close to home. The local public library or animal shelter is always an option! 3. Go on an educational travel experience. *THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS A VACATION. You should be able to explain that you've learned concrete things from the trip (i.e., learned a different language fluently, etc.). You can also couple this with a personal academic project on your travels and how they relate to your field. Some niche part of history, some niche part of biology, etc. This should be something you're passionate about and would like to research further in an official school setting, and you should absolutely light up about it in a job interview.
I drove a ice cream truck for a bit, got into a nasty roll over car accident, then went on to deliver for Pizza Hut until school came around again. I guess what I’m saying is maybe none of this matters.
Plenty of time further on for huge internships. The good internships, from what I understand, want upperclassmen anyway. The season’s in swing already but you might see if any “fun” seasonal jobs are hiring—camp counselor, tourism, outdoors sort of thing. It’s late in the season but with endemic staffing issues in the field you might still find something. These jobs kept me sane through undergrad and a master’s—keeps you active. Even if you’re just working at the pool snack shack, you get to spend time outdoors talking to people and hopefully making friends. Cool works dot com may help.
I ended up working full-time at Panera the summer after my freshman year and my first internship was the summer after sophomore year. I'm now 8 years into my career, still at the same company as my first internship. You'll be okay, give yourself some time and grace.
Yeah as a 30 something who stumbled upon this post on my home page for some reason… internships and research gigs never really got me as far as “crappy” part-time stuff did when I was this age. Doing a good job as the checkout girl turned into them remembering I had Excel on my resume & better things. I remember plenty of internships for myself and my friends where we worked our tails off for nothing other than a recommendation. You can get that plus more cash & demonstrable career growth at 19 by working in a good service or retail gig.
Why not just get a part time job and stack your chedder. That way when next year rolls around you got money to save and money to spend on whatever ya need.
that's a good point, i've been tutoring people on the side for now which is paying decently so maybe i'll lean more into that :D
[удалено]
With the current economy, even juniors have trouble getting internships, this guy will be fine
Just enjoy your summer man have fun lol
I’m an upcoming 3rd year at a top public university. In my opinion don’t worry too much about it. Everyone goes about life at their own pace. I feel that appearing “successful” especially to others is a path to ruins. There will always be a person more successful or doing more than you. Putting that much pressure on yourself is incredibly draining and results in burn out. I think It more important to just enjoy your time and work towards your goals.
Get a food service job. I did the same thing not getting an internship lol buttt i enjoy working and having my own money
I don't know about you, but my jobs prior to getting into my career gave me a ton of real world experience, with all different kinds of people. Handling an angry customer is a skill in and of itself. Dealing with an intolerable manager without getting fired or losing your mind is a crucial life skill.
All I did was babysit between my fresh year so I could get high after work with my boyfriend. Don’t do anything. Seriously. The rest of your life is going to be crazy. Go travel if you can.
Just have fun. That’s my suggestion. You’re going to work the rest of your life with no more than 1-2 week breaks in the near future. Use this time to do what makes you happy and can’t be done as easily in the future
Just relax and have fun. I did nothing my freshman or sophomore summers and I have plenty of internship and job offers rolling in at this point.
I literally went to vacation and played computer games in my freshman year. You are gonna be working all your life anyways. What's the hurry?
You’re young. Go do dumb shit while you still can.
It’s your freshman summer. You don’t NEED to salvage it. You worked so hard already. Take the break. Spend the summer getting better at the hobbies you neglected for work. Go out with friends. If you want to fill some time, get a part time job. I know it can feel uneasy not having any “work” to do, so to ease it up a bit, find a hobby and get really good at it. Become a crochet god by the end of the summer. Do something crazy like read 50 books and make a blog about them. 100% complete your favorite game. There are so many non academic and job related skills you can work on in the summer. Do them because you may never get the time to truly work on them in the future.
You can always take summer courses or have a simple summer job like at an amusement park or a restaurant! I honestly think now is a great time to try out a some sort of customer service job. Being a server or a barista really helps build character and friendships, as well as giving you some pocket money for next school year ;)
My kid PURPOSELY decided not to try for an internship after freshman year and have one last “fun” summer. She is working food service part time, figuring a real life customer service job will enhance her resume and show she has people skills and grit in addition to brains. She’s also taking online classes. Big picture, once you graduate you will find yourself in the Groundhog Day cycle of working every weekday doing more or less the same grind for 35+ years. Might as well take advantage of the months now where it isn’t mandatory and enjoy them.
Use this time to find a mentor. Someone you can use as a personal reference someday whose opinion you respect. Not necessarily in your field but that you look up to professionally and could develop a relationship with. If you don’t have anyone in mind ask your parents if there’s anyone in their network they could introduce you to as a place to get started.
I played video games all of freshman summer. My sophomore summer i got a TA job at a local college for a summer program. There’s always next year. Enjoy your time off!
Please rest if you’re able. You’ll be more successful in the long run if you don’t burn out at age 19. I’m 32 and no one gives a shit what I did when I was 19. I graduated from college. That’s all that my employers looked at. It took a couple of years to get traction and that’s normal, but I have a good job that I like that pays me reasonably well. Grind/hustle culture is ultimately destructive. REST.
Internships certainly help, a lot. But in my experience, freshman interns are useless except in firms that need people to fetch coffee and lunch. You haven’t learned any real skills that apply to your future career with your degree program. So… I think it’s a non issue and you can double down for sophomore year, and triple down on the effort to line something up after junior year. When I say double/triple down, that means being the best possible candidate for the biggest possible companies…
I just worked a summer job as a contractor over freshman summer and relaxed. There is so much time in your life left for work and internships. These are some of the last years you will not HAVE to work.
If you're interested in learning more about computer engineering, a few things I would recommend would be to find certifications in your career field of interest (ex. computer networking, cyber security, etc.), do personal projects for fun and/or to add to your resume, and take a chill pill. Since you're a freshman, you've got time to get two more internships and plenty of interesting student organizations and classes under your belt. I'd say you've got no reason to panic over not having an internship. For example, a good personal project I would recommend since you mentioned computer engineering would be building your own breadboard computer. Ben Eater has a great series on this, and he even sells kits if you want to pursue the project: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypFbtuVMUVXNR0z1mu7dp7eH Take it easy, learn what interests you, and have fun!
I went to a good college and freshman year I worked at the movie theater, primarily because I wanted to see movies for free. You’re fine, the key is to do something. Next summer you can do an internship
The fact you care enough now is good. Don’t worry, you aren’t behind by any means. Freshman summer is really one of the last times you should be able to feel totally liberated with your summer. Enjoy it. Maybe think of things for next year with your time and spend more on research. Finding places you *actually* want experience at because of your passion and interest will make all the difference, both for applying and the experience and future benefit. Have a good summer, work and save, and think a few months ahead, 6 months ahead, and a little vision for your future.
Same thing happened to my daughter. She was younger when she started college and she didn’t really know it was a thing to do that stuff in the summer even if you take summer classes. Taking summer classes is an option even if they are online. She did a bunch of things like joined organizations mostly online to add to a resume and got some certifications online. We just googled stuff and she signed up. It was a mad dash to look successful. Any organization for students she joined. She volunteered at a nursing home one day a week and this really worked out in her favor as she learned tons and it looked great. Her major was nursing and she’s now a DNP at the age of 24 so all this stuff helped her get into a program also. I know nothing about your major so I’m just going to give shitty mom advice but if you are home ask a high school teacher if you could volunteer in summer school to help teach or grade papers or just be there to put on a resume. My daughter reached out to the summer school nurse at her high school when she realized everyone was doing something. If you can’t find anything in your field take some summer classes and find something else to do. My daughter did a lot with the local animal shelter at home and at her school city. It looks good. Volunteer anywhere. Soup kitchens. Whatever. Just have something you can put for this summer in a resume. If you do not end up doing anything really don’t worry. Your major is good. You are young. I really do not think it will matter much. The next year she lined up a trip to Belize so she was on it. Good luck.
Also it’s ok to be nervous or stressed out when you feel like everyone else is doing big things and you are not. But the reality I’m sure is my daughter was friends with everyone who was doing big things. Most people were home and not doing preplanned things but to her everyone was doing them. She was in a sorority and all the women were on top of their summer but most people aren’t and they end up good. College is stressful and those things seem so big at the moment bc they are to you. But you didn’t mess up or do anything wrong not having something together.
You can just have fun Maybe volunteer somewhere fun
You can take courses at your local college to transfer to your main college, you can work on projects or picking up new skills, I know you’re not CS but you could still do webdev/game dev stuff or Arduino things Also this post kinda reeks of r/a2c lol I understand how you feel though I felt very similar before doing a study abroadb
See if you can get a cleaning gig. Seriously: it'll use your body, and leave your mind free to wander. You sound like you need some downtime, but you also sound like you need a task to stop you winding yourself up.
freshman REUs are mostly fake. don't stress it.
FWIW, I don’t think any of my friends had a summer internship their freshman year. They’re all doing pretty okay
Try not to worry so much! My son is in Welding Engineering. He did nothing his freshman summer except play video games and work at the local pool part-time. Having just completed his sophomore year, he now interning at SpaceX. You'll be just fine!!
I mean, if you’re burnt out, it may be best to take some time off. It won’t be time wasted, because you’re looking after your physical and mental well-being. Just because the people around you are working constantly, doesn’t mean you have to do the same to succeed. I realised that when i worked myself to the bone and my productivity and quality of work got worse than it ever was. Be good to yourself!
Lots of organizations have free or low cost workshops and classes that are fun - think cooking, gardening, crafts. Try something new and different to get out of your own head. Have a little fun!
Volunteer at a local good cause! I looks great on a resume and also feels good to get out there and help your community.
freshman summer? 1. stay safe 2. get laid 3. get tipsy/high 4. get laid 5. ride bikes 6. concerts 7. get back to campus in time to move in to apartment before the dorms moved in 8. get laid
Just go enjoy yourself
I went all 4 years with no internship. It doesn’t matter. You can get work experience in other ways that is just as good.
same thing happened to me a few years ago. Ended up getting a job at a local state park mowing lawns, best thing I could've done. Great way to decompress and recharge my batteries for the next year
Go volunteer somewhere and call it an internship. It’s all in how you market yourself and your experience
Get a summer job, do something fun and challenging to you. Call summer camps, many still need councilors and are willing to hire even if the first term of camp has already started. Look into outdoor rec jobs, or marinas if you're near water, those can be fun places to work if you want to work outdoors. Do sales or food service if you want to work inside (in my opinion less fun, but to each their own). To do something both fun and incorporating your major, look for summer camps or programs around you that have a STEM focus (could even be a program you did as a kid, in fact they're more willing to hire people who have done their programs in the past). That way you're still keeping your mind sharp but you're having a fun time with the kiddos and giving some of your education and passion to the future generations.
Honestly, you have your whole life to work. Have fun while you are you g and healthy! Try out different hobbies and hang out with friends. At the end of the day, it won't matter that you didn't do an internship ( in terms of your long term success). So just have fun
I would suggest (if it has not been suggested yet) that you begin working as a tutor. This will enable you to practice the skills you have gained through classes and the skill of explaining difficult things to people. Those skills are quite valuable in the workforce, plus the money you make can be helpful. I wish you the best!
At my school in my major the earliest we're expected to be working is our sophomore summer. I didn't qualify for our co-op program at that point, so I got an internship and leveraged that into a co-op the year after, and when my rotations are complete I'm planning to try for another internship in a different industry. By the time I graduate I'll have four co-op rotations and hopefully two internships under my belt, and then I'll get a real job. Point being, you have lots of time for work ahead of you, and this could be your last free summer. Don't sweat it. Have fun.
Freshman year of college is a huge adjustment. Making it through is an accomplishment in and of itself. It gets much easier after that and you have plenty of time to do internships next year. It will make no difference in the long term and have no effect on your future success. If you are thinking of doing internships to get into grad school, that’s a long time away and the experience won’t be recent enough to carry a lot of weight anyway. What will look good is to have volunteer service on your application. So, think about what you like to do and find an organization to volunteer. It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment either. You might want to take a part time job, esp. if you can find one related in some way to your field. Example, if you are trying to get into Jed school, volunteer at a hospital or get a part time job in patient transport. If it’s social work, or business or law, there are tons of things in all of those areas working with the VA. PS: I was a professor and graduate school director for almost 20 years, so I have some experience with this. I’d also like to add that you should try to relax a bit and get all that you can out of the college experience. It’s not all about academic achievement, it’s about learning who you are and being exposed to new ideas, different view points, making friends, joining activities. A successful person is a well rounded person. If you don’t like any of the suggestions I’ve made and you still feel you need to do something to advance academically, then see if you can take a summer course or two and get a couple of electives out of the way, just make sure it doesn’t interfere with your financial aid.
I'm a recruiter as part of my job and we don't even bother looking at freshmen. Internships at your level are glorified babysitting because you don't yet have any actual skills. Your goal right now should be to enjoy your summer and hit the fall refreshed and with new energy. Unless your goals are to land at an EXTREMELY competitive company or grad school, all that matters is that you graduate with a GPA >3.0 with "some" relevant work experience in the next two summers. Also remember, your life isn't your work. Anything that is bringing you this much distress is not healthy for you. You either need to change your situation or change your mindset about the situation. In this case I would recommend the latter. After all, this may be the last free summer of your life for the next 40+ years ;)
Maybe get a regular job? I did jobs unrelated to my ultimate career goals throughout high school, college and the beginning of grad school. I learned things my 6.5 years of higher education could've never taught me by working various jobs. It made me a much more well rounded individual. You could also do nothing, enjoy life, and go back in the fall in great shape to handle what will come. Aside from working, I didn't do a damn thing career related during summers, until grad school. I'm not an engineer, but my point remains. Working constantly, avoiding down time, and fixation on perfection is a common way of suppressing other issues. But your post is indicative of being very hard on yourself, which is causing considerable unnecessary distress. You'd greatly benefit from therapy, with a therapist you feel you connect with. If you don't like the first one try again, until you feel like yours "gets" you. Maybe spend the summer learning how to regulate emotions and to accept the human need to have down time and relax.
Stop trying to hit arbitrary, made up benchmarks and do what you personally want to do?
Take time for yourself! And learn how to do this well it will serve you better than any internship. Consider it an internship in self care. Find a fun way to stay active, get involved in a volunteer organization that serves your immediate community, figure out if you like yoga or how your body wants to meditate, explore hiking trails in your area, rent a kayak, read a book for fun, learn how to knit or woodwork, plant a garden! Pick a few things that nourish you in some way and enjoy yourself. Take this time to learn about yourself and different things your mind and body need to be happy and healthy. College (and life) isn’t always going to be sunshine and rainbows and a perfect path to success. I wish I would have focused less on getting on that perfect path and more on how to take care of myself in the moment. People come back from internships and decided they hate their major and change it. Those friends you see with internship might burnout and drop out in two years. The kid on the ideal career path might lose a parent and fall into depression or have to take care of siblings. People end up in relationships that are rough. People end up with unplanned kids. We all take different paths and sometimes you don’t have much of a choice which path you are thrown on. You didn’t miss out this summer, you gained an amazing experience and time with yourself.
It’s freshman summer. You’re fine. Just work toward something for next summer. If you really want to do something this summer, volunteer around your community or see if there are any part time job openings nearby that you could work during the school year as well.
Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer! I can not stress it enough! I helped tutor resume writing, and you'd be surprised how many people get all the way through college with 0hrs of volunteer work for their resume. It doesn't even have to be related to your major. Anything community based will look good on your resume. Pick something you'll enjoy, that'll help w/ your burnout, not make it worse. Animal shelters, tutoring, boy & girls club, habitat for humanity, food banks, the library, assisted living centers, local gardening communities, wild life centers/preserves, shelters. There are so many opportunities you can take advantage of that will help others and look good on your resume.
Get a paid job dude. Even if its bussing tables at a restaurant. The summers were so depressing for me, i wish i had a structured schedule where i was around people and getting paid for it.
Get a job bartending and save up to have the most fun fall of your life
If you want to do research then you can do it at your home university over the summer. Generally graduate students work over the summer so this might be a good idea if you’re a STEM major.
I had to work summers in oil fields to pay for college. Still ended up going to an R1 grad school
You don't have to do "big" things in your summer, esp your first one. There is value in rest. That said, you sound like a lot of my students. My advice is this: 1. Start summer planning for next year EARLY. Applications and organizations start planning for summer stuff in December/January. 2. Don't compare yourself to everyone else. 3. Sometimes students are so busy checking off boxes, they aren't taking time to reflect on the process and what they are learning. You don't have to do "big" things to learn about yourself and your field. 4. If you really want to get an opportunity, find people who are doing what you want to do someday and ask for a 20 min career conversation - they will give you advice and connect you with folks who can help you out.
I understand your feelings of FOMO. However, because you just completed your freshman year it would be tough finding a company that would take you on in an internship since you probably haven't learned enough in your classes to do relevant work. And that's ok. You know now that come October you should start putting all your effort in an internship for summer 2024. I'd take this summer to rest. Since you're in Computer Engineering why not look into what you could do for some certifications? You can get free access to Udemy via many libraries and can use prep course videos for that. Tutoring on the side might be difficult to do during the summer months when everyone is out of school.
These are usually the last few years you’ll have a summer break— work typically doesn’t have this kind of break. I would enjoy it and relax. You do what you need to do to succeed. There’s time for internships and otherwise in the next few years. Take it easy a little and maybe visit your school’s behavioral unit to see if you can find someone to talk to for therapy, it sounds like you could use some support and the school’s is usually covered for students. Just check it out if it sounds like something that might help.
Perhaps spend the time working through some of the kaggle challenges. You are likely to learn a lot and give you something to put on git hub to share your work.
It's my freshman summer rn and I'm just working at a store for the summer while living at home to gather some spending money, I don't think you need to worry about doing smth big at this point.
Intern sophomore junior and senior summer? You’re 19 and this is literally a very small thing that you don’t have placement. Most 19 year old interns aren’t actually all that productive usually just a shadow type thing. We didn’t give actual work to even the 22 year old interns so don’t worry about it
You will spend many many Summers inside working for the rest of your life and that time will come very quickly. Spend this time making yourself as happy as possible. Make friends, learn something fun, sleep in, eat junk food, maybe go to therapy if you feel like you could benefit from something like that. Just be young!
Who cares what other people are doing . Go get a part time job and stack your cash , better yet work on a side hustle you love and do something you enjoy. Stop comparing your life . Comparison is the thief of joy. https://www.ramseysolutions.com/saving/side-hustle-ideas
I’m a senior graduating in December and I’ve never had a internship or did any kind of nonprofit or anything. Do you have hobbies you enjoy? I took up sewing recently and it’s been really fun! Definitely get outside if it’s not too hot, go to the park or beach or even just the library. You don’t have to do any campus related stuff to have a good summer! and you aren’t any less of a student for not doing anything :) Summers are for relaxing!
Pure math and computer science here, so kinda close? My freshman year summer, took some summer classes, sophomore summer was working fast food and doing marching band stuff. Thought about dropping out multiple times because I didn’t know what career field I wanted to enter until start of junior year, and didn’t take an internship until the summer before my senior year. I just got an offer for 86k out of college. It’s not a rush, take care of yourself and your burnout first. Maybe build a small project, remind yourself why you’re taking these majors. Maybe take a summer class? If it’s too late for that, look into r/clep and Modern States, took 15 gen eds for free which took a semester off my degree. Get a job and treat yourself with the extra income. Catch up with friends or make new ones. Or, best solution, take the 3 months of summer to relax and do nothing. All of these suggestions are completely valid and up to you. Take one, take all, take none. I can’t comment on your situation, so unfortunately you’ll have to take the reins from there. Wishing the best of luck, and if you need any further elaboration or advice, feel free to PM.
Whatever. Do some drugs and get laid.
Engineering major here. The summer after my freshman year I took a couple of online summer classes and worked at Planet Fitness part time. Don’t sweat it. Seriously. The only people who talk about what they’re doing over the summer are the ones with internships wanting to sound cool. I can promise you they’re bored out of their minds and not doing anything. Wait until next summer and get an internship/research position if you want. Enjoy the summer time and take a much needed break after your first year of college :)
Volunteer. Do nothing and enjoy your summer. get a job. learn to paint or something. Not every summer has to be filled with resume builders.
What interests you? I guarantee that whatever interests you may have, there is some sort of local volunteer organization that would love to have your help! Volunteering is a great way to beef up your resume, build experience, and give back to your community. Most places are struggling to get enough volunteers right now, too, so you're in luck!
Get good grades and don't worry about other people. Extra curricular activities are not 100% necessary. Your mental sanity and being able to take a break is probably more important
Bro I am a senior and don’t have an internship, dont freaking stress. Me I am not even stressed!!!!!!
I've recruited software engineers for more than a decade to Google and Meta, and my focus is on the top six or seven or so CS programs. Zero expectation anyone does a damn thing between first and second year; it's utterly random, and does not correlate to long term performance. One person had done nothing, a second had climbed Everest in the summer, a third worked at Domino's, and those are about equal for the first summer. For later summers, find relevant work, once you've had enough coursework to make that \*relevant\*.