Jobs and Internships
Internships and Course Credit
We encourage all of our students to experience at least one summer internship before they graduate. Internships in computer science are usually paid and done in the summer, and allow the student to gain hands-on experience in the field through a mentor.
Internships are competitive, and should be applied for by the student, generally early in the fall semester. Students should attend the Career Fairs each semester to hand out resumes and meet recruiters from local companies. Students can also apply directly to companies. Most companies will have an internship website where applications can be submitted.
Students can take a 1-credit internship experience course during their summer internship. This course links the student to a faculty member in addition to their company mentor to help connect the internship experience to classroom experience. Alternatively, students could earn 3 credits for an internship course if the internship is done during the semester and is not paid. The 3 credit course requires 10 hours of work per week and a faculty advisor for the course. Most students receive free elective credit instead of CS400 level elective credit for semester internships.
Summer Research
An alternative to a summer internship that also increases a student’s knowledge about computer science is summer research. Research is an opportunity to build on the knowledge within a specific discipline of computer science. Whereas in an internship students are usually working for a company and either building, testing, or designing software, research students instead learn in depth knowledge of a subfield of computer science like machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer networking, software testing, or modeling and simulation, and work with their faculty mentor to create something new that no one has tried before. The process generally also involves doing software development, but on different types of systems than in an internship.
Students interested in pursuing summer research have two primary options: the summer Hauber program at Loyola, and REU programs at other universities or government research labs.
A Successful Job Search
The Computer Science department maintains a listing of jobs and internships on its social media pages as a service to its undergraduate students and alumni. Positions and career assistance are also provided by the Career Center. Faculty can help students with questions, and career assistance is also provided by the Career Center. Students are encouraged to attend the resume and professionalism workshops held throughout the academic year.
Graduates Go Many Places
Graduates from our department pursue many different careers, including in government, large companies, and small startups. A number of graduates also pursue a PhD to become researchers and faculty, and many have moved into Data Science. Some examples of employers for jobs and internships: