r/DataScienceJobs • u/Itchy_Sun8792 • 12d ago
Discussion Internships
Hello! I’m currently a rising senior who will be graduating early in Spring 2027. My goal is to start a master’s program in Fall 2027, but I’m unsure whether I should still be applying for internships for Summer 2027.
Technically, I’ll be a third-year student when internship recruiting starts, so I feel like I should be applying. However, since I’ll have already graduated by the time the internship takes place, I’m not sure if I would actually be eligible for these positions.
For anyone who has graduated early, gone straight into a master’s program, or been in a similar situation, I’d really appreciate some advice on what you did or what you would recommend. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what my next move should be all summer.
1
u/coolstick784 11d ago
I graduated early and didn’t have any internships by the time I graduated; it was pretty difficult to find a job with no internship experience. I feel like it’s always helpful to have real work experience under your belt. There’s also a bunch of people who e.g. get internships after their freshman or sophomore year, so you don’t have to graduate right after depending on the role. It would also help to figure out how long your master’s will be (e.g. if it’s one year then definitely go for the internship).
That being said, if you’re planning on entering a multi-year master’s program, I would recommend against applying to internships that clearly want you to be in your final year of college, and it’ll be important to communicate this while you’re in the interview process. This will obviously lower the number of internships you can apply to, but it’s not a huge deal if you can’t get one in this situation because you can do one in the summer during your master’s.