Summer internships remain among the surest ways to land a job after graduation. In fact, University of Washington computer science Professor Ed Lazowska told me very little recruiting takes place on campus for his seniors, since most already have jobs lined up through their internships. Plus, companies reported plans to hire 8.5 percent more interns this year, with most of those hires in the summer, according to a poll by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. In the survey, which was not limited to tech positions, the projected average hourly wage for college students fell slightly to $16.20, from $16.70 last year. The increase in internships is believed to indicate a coming uptick in hiring for college graduates overall. There are myriad efforts under way to place students at Boston-area companies, a region that placed ninth on Dice's recent list of the 10 fastest-growing IT job markets. Startup-focused Silicon Prairie News also has launched Startup Job Crawls in Kansas City (Dice's No. 5), Omaha and Des Moines in order to woo developers, designers, artists, finance majors and entrepreneurs. There's one on April 4 in Des Moines. Last year, Proudly Made in D.C., a startup community in our nation's capitol, paired students with companies and may happen again this year. (I've asked about this year and will update.) Startups there are looking for open source and product skills. Another interesting possibility with backing from the White House is the SummerQAmp program that looks to provide 1,000 internships in quality assurance to young people ages 18 to 24, regardless of whether they're in college. It's considered a less intimidating way to introduce young people to tech careers than coding. You can find internships on Dice, as well as at sites such as InternMatch.com and organizations including the American Society for Engineering Education. Tech Companies Look for a Few Good Interns
Summer internships remain among the surest ways to land a job after graduation. In fact, University of Washington computer science Professor Ed Lazowska told me very little recruiting takes place on campus for his seniors, since most already have jobs lined up through their internships. Plus, companies reported plans to hire 8.5 percent more interns this year, with most of those hires in the summer, according to a poll by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. In the survey, which was not limited to tech positions, the projected average hourly wage for college students fell slightly to $16.20, from $16.70 last year. The increase in internships is believed to indicate a coming uptick in hiring for college graduates overall. There are myriad efforts under way to place students at Boston-area companies, a region that placed ninth on Dice's recent list of the 10 fastest-growing IT job markets. Startup-focused Silicon Prairie News also has launched Startup Job Crawls in Kansas City (Dice's No. 5), Omaha and Des Moines in order to woo developers, designers, artists, finance majors and entrepreneurs. There's one on April 4 in Des Moines. Last year, Proudly Made in D.C., a startup community in our nation's capitol, paired students with companies and may happen again this year. (I've asked about this year and will update.) Startups there are looking for open source and product skills. Another interesting possibility with backing from the White House is the SummerQAmp program that looks to provide 1,000 internships in quality assurance to young people ages 18 to 24, regardless of whether they're in college. It's considered a less intimidating way to introduce young people to tech careers than coding. You can find internships on Dice, as well as at sites such as InternMatch.com and organizations including the American Society for Engineering Education. 
