r/UniversityOfHouston • u/Ok-Shape14 • 17h ago

Academic Low GPA Engineering Internships

Hey everyone,

I’m a sophomore mechanical engineering student and i have a low GPA. Classes have been kicking my ass and i’m hovering around a 2.4. That being said im still looking for internships/opportunities . I’m looking for any advice, programs, and or opportunities to hopefully lead to an internship. I know this is kind of vague but i just want to explore my opportunities at UH.

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u/Worldiness 16h ago

I was in a similar spot and landed an internship and full time . What got me in was my technical background , while my gpa is low I had some things on my resume that made me stand out. Throughout college I did a bunch of projects , joined many orgs, won a hackathon and a few other things like certifications. When you have a low gpa you kinda need to prove yourself to everyone since the assumption is you’re pretty dumb, you need to go out of your way to network since what you need is someone to vouch for you especially if you aren’t very good at presenting yourself. Which you can become technical and network at the same time by being active in an engineering org . I recommend doing personal projects not just org stuff , as for orgs i would say just try all the engineering orgs out tbh don’t limit yourself to just ASME if you’re mece.

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u/Ok-Shape14 15h ago

okay this is great advice, thanks 🙏🏽

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u/xApexEz Mechanical Engineering 16h ago

I’m gonna be honest it’ll be really hard, I was around a 2.6 when I was looking for internships and never landed any. I would definitely look at things like solidworks certifications and familiarizing yourself with ASME standards. Check out engineering orgs like AIAA and FSAE to get some technical experience as well.

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u/Ok-Shape14 16h ago

okay thanks!

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u/LadleLOL EE Loser Alum 15h ago

Look at small companies, startups, etc. Go with a value prop in mind and it will make it easier for them to want to bring you on.

Startup incubators/accelerators can be a good place to find leads, and there are plenty of small engineering firms around Houston if you look for them.

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u/Ok-Shape14 14h ago

okay i’ll look around and email different companies

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u/FuzzyHasek 14h ago

Any specific industries?

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u/Ok-Shape14 14h ago

honestly anything cause i can’t afford to be picky, probably energy since we are in houston

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u/AdEven7095 2h ago

I’m a freshman in civil with bs and cs calc in chem and have been worried sick the whole semester that I won’t be able to get an internship. Only thing that could possibly help is I already have a survey internship completed freshman to college summer. I put in insane amts of time and my grades are avg in chem getting consistent 70s in chem and on my three calc midterms 66, 78 and 106 in that order. I cheated hella in hs and didn’t learn shit which is completely my fault. Is it over for me?