Career and Internship Opportunities
Updated December 7, 2011
This page provides information about jobs and the great variety of student internships available to JHU Mechanical Engineering students. While this information is intended for undergraduates, some of it may also be relevant to graduate students.
JHU Career Center
The JHU Career Center, located on the 3rd floor of Garland Hall, provides students with a multitude of services in career exploration, internships, and job placement.
Check out the services that the Career Center has available:
- J-Connect - your window to internships, jobs, and other career opportunities. Create an account now! Establishing your J-connect account is one of the most important actions to take in your career exploration.
- Meet with a Career Counselor. This is just as important as establishing a J-connect account.
- "Explore Your Options" is a step-by-step path to help you explore all kinds of careers.
- Help with seeking internships: the Career Center has printed internship directories available.
- What you can do with your major? Check out Mechanical Engineering's career page.
- Might Graduate School be part of your future? Check out the Career Center's grad school page.
- At various Career Fairs on campus, meet potential employers in many engineering, government, and professional fields. You may meet your future employer here!
- JHU In-Circle is your portal to contacting alumni for advice on career exploration, job seeking, and networking.
JHU Summer Internships Motivation Team
Several JHU alumni have agreed to serve as mentors and motivators to Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics undergraduates. They will visit class sessions throughout the academic year to discuss their experiences in seeking and working at internships as well as establishing and cultivating their careers. They welcome your questions and ask that you e-mail them.
- John Baker, '02 - Johnson Controls
- Dan Barvenik, '94 - Northrop Grumman Undersea Controls
- Kevin Canpinpin, '96 - Northrop Grumman
- Anthony DeBella, '96 - Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
- Greg Scharfstein, '00 - Flexure, LLC
For Graduate Students
Go to the Career Center's "Services for Graduate Students" page for important information that will help you define and establish your career as a professional or an academic.
Other Job and Internship Resources
Internships
Internships provide employers with a way to find and train future employees while giving undergraduates a chance to explore career options and gain skills and experience.
Resources:
Numerous websites with student internship data exist––here are a few:
JHU International Internships:
Some international internships of particular interest to JHU Mechanical Engineers are listed on the WSE International Programs page. Note in particular the popular summer internship programs at the Technical University of Graz, Austria and the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
JHU Provost's Undergraduate Research Awards (PURA):
Every year the university awards about 40 research grants to JHU undergraduates to pursue independent research projects of the students own design under the direction of a JHU faculty member. The grants, typically for $2500, can be used to support research expenses such as equipment, supplies, student salary, or any other legitimate research expense. See the results of some recent student research projects in the JHU Gazette articles from 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. See also the recipients from 2011.
To apply for a PURA, you need to consult with a faculty advisor of your choosing to define a project, write a research proposal for your project, get a letter of support from your faculty advisor, and submit the proposal to Theodore Poehler Ph.D., Vice Provost for Research, in Garland Hall. Deadlines are usually in March and April, respectively, for Summer and Fall term proposals. Information and application information is available online.
The ASME Student Site:
Visit the ASME Student Resources page.
The SAE:
SAE offers undergraduate and graduate scholarships and internships in conjunction with various corporations and universities. These scholarships are made possible through generous donations to the SAE Foundation.
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU):
The National Science Foundation makes possible a number of programs for undergraduates to join research projects each summer. These programs allow students to experience first-hand how basic research is carried out, and to contribute consequentially. The principal support by NSF of such activities is through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program. REU "Sites" are established in all fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. Each site consists of a group of ten or so undergraduates, who work in the research programs of the host institution. Students are generally accepted from throughout the country. Each student is assigned to a specific research project, where he/she works closely with the faculty, post-docs, and graduate students. In addition, seminars, lunch meetings, and social functions are organized to facilitate interaction between the undergraduates. Students are granted stipends, and in some cases assistance with housing and travel. See their NSF REU page for details.