NEED SUGGESTIONS. I don't think I can get an internship this summer........feeling a bit down

I have a 2.56 gpa and am a Petroleum Engineering student. That's why I'm saying I can't get an internship. I seriously need some suggestions on what I can do. Employers want experience and I have none. On top of that, I have a bad gpa. I did the math on my cumulative gpa and I'd need a 3.7 gpa for my remaining 55 credits from now on to get a 3.0. Pretty harsh reality right there. If I try really hard, I can get B's in my classes from now on, maybe even A's and get my gpa to a 2.8. But I'm not even looking at my cumulative. It's a lost cause. I'm just focusing on now.

So what can I do this summer to put on my resume that'll help me out? Thanks. I feel like it's hopeless to get good grades now because they don't care about now. They care about overall.

Take a bunch of easy classes like art or something that's a certain A.
ETA: people with degrees generally start St the top. Go apply for a grunt position and actually get paid.

a reply to: 5letters

OK, who do you know?

Connections can go where pure grades won't. And if you don't have connections, you need to find ways to built them. Now this sucks, but you may have to do some absolute suck work and for pretty much free with the right people to both show that despite your grades you do have the work chops to make a go and to build those connections.

Can you find opportunities like that? Or things even tangentially related to what you want to do that would get you even in the ballpark of the industry.

a reply to: 5letters

What part of Earth do you reside?

a reply to: 5letters

A while ago, North Dokota region was begging for people to come take jobs. Now that the price of oil is low, that may not be the case near-term.

Spring is here and demand starts to increase in coming months.

You should apply online now.
Be prepared to live out of your car.

a reply to: 5letters

Volunteer to help rebuild Vanuatu.
With your knowledge of petroleum engineering,you could help reconnect those people with electricity and security.
Maybe..

I see a few options:

- Move into an ancillary field. Not everyone is going to go into their degree field. My oldest didn't. Find a support field of work related to the Petro industry. Midland TX would be a good place. Howard Co is still going gangbusters, $40bbl or not.
- Spend a summer on a drilling rig. Get some real industry experience as a deck hand. Maybe you will be amazing and can make tool pusher or something before the end of summer
- Switch majors entirely. If you think a 2.7 won't get a foot in the door....then find a field where it will. The only thing the diploma does is get you into the field. The GPA gets you into the company. But your lifes fortune is made on how much insight, aptitude, and raw intelligence you bring to bear on your work. Along with effort, of course.

Good luck.

a reply to: 5letters

First off I'd stop worrying about the gpa. That can be overcome with an awesome interview or project work that really coincides with what the company is doing. Your gpa is like you said, average, and it will likely end up like that.

If I was you I would evaluate the near future tech in the industry. Something on the cutting edge. Which interests you the most? Find out everyone in the field on the research side. Dig around, talk to people, make up a story you're planning a project and need info. After a few contacts let it slip you're looking for something to do in the area.

Honestly all the diploma really says is that you were adept at putting up with classroom crap for four years (or more if you have grad school). They're like paper nowadays. It does help if you have a good GPA, but it won't kill you.

My husband has a good career going and he started with no door experience and no connections and a mediocre at best GPA.

However, he had to sort out samples of cow sh** taken from large feedlots, make all the media and clean out the test tubes and petrie dishes once the samples were tested. He spent time at a meat-packing plant harvesting eyeballs out of freshly killed carcasses to try to get retinal cells for a college prof's experiments. He spent time working at the state rabies testing lab sawing open heads for brain tissue to test.

He then spent time working as a pharm tech at a military hospital which is where he got the pharmaceutical experience to combine the above lab experience that got his foot in the door at a big pharma.

All were crap jobs and the "pharma" was only tangentially related to pharmaceutical production, but it worked. He got his foot in. Now he's respected and a biostatistician despite his statistics knowledge basically more or less coming primarily from his years as a tabletop RPG GM and not from any formal schooling. That's where he honed his numbers talent after a couple abortive years as an engineering major.

So you see, you can make your way to where you want to be sideways and parley in skills you were never schooled for but have talent with nonetheless if you are quick on your feet and can see opportunity.

a reply to: ketsuko

This is key...

....only a few end up where they expected.

Which, to be honest, isn't any fun. Life is supposed to be an experience, not a planned event.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

And again, it's about seeing those opportunities and going with them. I'm not where I expected to be, either, honestly.

If someone had asked me in high school if I was going to be proofreading and editing ... I would have looked at them funny. I was heading to veterinary school and had everything all planned out, too.

a reply to: ketsuko

LOL...i was going to be a high school teacher/football coach. Majored in English/Minored in secondary education for a year before dropping out.

In retrospect, I would've hated being a teacher/coach.

originally posted by: 5letters
I have a 2.56 gpa and am a Petroleum Engineering student. That's why I'm saying I can't get an internship. I seriously need some suggestions on what I can do. Employers want experience and I have none. On top of that, I have a bad gpa. I did the math on my cumulative gpa and I'd need a 3.7 gpa for my remaining 55 credits from now on to get a 3.0. Pretty harsh reality right there. If I try really hard, I can get B's in my classes from now on, maybe even A's and get my gpa to a 2.8. But I'm not even looking at my cumulative. It's a lost cause. I'm just focusing on now.

So what can I do this summer to put on my resume that'll help me out? Thanks. I feel like it's hopeless to get good grades now because they don't care about now. They care about overall.

Need more info. What school? Sophomore or Junior? What is your story? Goofing off or just hard major? Many companies don't look down on engineering students with average or below average GPAs. It would be different if you majored in Lit or some other soft social studies.

a reply to: Edumakated

I'm at LSU. I have 75 credits. No story really. I was just goofing off and never knew how serious it was until this semester. I wanted to join the air force last year and didnt go to school for a whole year because of that. It's a hard major........but I just didnt study. Now I am and Im doing fine.

Thanks for everyone's insight. I was thinking of putting my junior gpa and senior gpa..........on my resume, to show employers that I've matured. Im a very shy person, and to my understanding, I need to get over that and talk to people because that's literally the only way I'll get a job now.

a reply to: 5letters

I'll give you credit for owning your GPA. Do you want an internship in Petroleum Engineering? Make a list of companies then look to see if you can find if any alumni work at those companies (LinkedIn) is an excellent resource. Contact the alum and let the know you are a student interested in their professional field and if they would maybe meet you for lunch / coffee/ informational interview. Most professionals love to talk to students and you can use this to your advantage to get your foot in the door.

If they agree to meet with you, it is your chance to impress them and hopefully leave with a contact in HR who might be able to help get you an internship. You might have to work for free, but the goal is not to make money per se, but to gain some experience so you look more attractive the next summer internship recruiters or when you are looking for the job after graduation.

a reply to: 5letters

In the US? Go to Ready.Gov and join the volunteer Citizens Corp-Disaster Response and free...FREE Homeland Security Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Medical, search and rescue, hazmat, disaster response, fire training, bio-terrorism, helipad landing zone setup, CPR, First Aid, Weapons of Mass Destruction and so much more I cant even list it all.

I was certified through several State Universities in Advanced Disaster Life Support and others....Its all free (like interning) and looks great on your resume.

They have all kinds of things you can do with it. Physical, administrative and even if your disabled, you can still get the training and like answer phones or work computers. We do all kinds of events, fairs, parades, tornados, floods, public and private events AND...(youll LIKE this!).....

You can volunteer and take and certify for all this...and NEVER HAVE TO VOLUNTEER FOR ANYTHING. Great Deal, all that training and certifying....and ZERO COMMITMENT...EVER.

Good Luck!

MStranger
EMT/ERT
CERT-ADLS
Advanced Disaster Life Support
Bio-Defense Network, Region 2-South
Wayne County, MI

Sorry...you can contact your local Fire Department or Emergency Management Dept in the place you live. They'll hook you up...we get interns to the Chief all the time. You can get credit fo it.

a reply to: 5letters Go where the jobs are located for the petroleum industry. I heard that the Dakota's where looking for a lot of help. Go to work there. Forget about internship, get real hands on experience.

a reply to: 5letters

I had a 3.8 gpa or 3.9 going into my senior year and couldn't find an internship. I was afraid they wouldn't let me graduate but in the end it didn't matter. Then when we did graduate, all my friends with average gpas got jobs before I did. I would do my best to raise it up but don't stress and don't give up and feel like it doesn't matter, it does. But in the end, as long as you pass you'll be fine.