My daughter is in her junior year at Iowa State University. She is an international student and her end goal is to land a decent job in the States. She has recently been given an opportunity to intern in Portugal with a leading architect firm in the summer. We've been told the internships in Europe look good on ones CV. Would this ultimately help her when she graduates to land a job in America? Or do you think she should focus on trying to get an internship in America ? This summer she did a summer internship in Qatar with another good firm . We live in Qatar. Would love to know your thoughts on the subject.
Thanks
justavisual
Aug 7, 15 7:48 am
Portugal sounds nice, but if she wants a job in the US after school, why not get an internship in a leading US office? There are so many mid sized firms with a lot to offer.
That said any internship experience is good, let her decide for herself.
BulgarBlogger
Aug 7, 15 8:13 am
Why is momma/daddy still babysitting a student in her third year? she should be doing this research, not you...
Non Sequitur
Aug 7, 15 8:30 am
Is she taking a paid internship or is it slave-work?
Ah Qatar... a shinning example of modern sensibilities to human rights. Listen to BulgarBlogger above and let your kid do their own work.
midlander
Aug 7, 15 9:14 am
Interning at a firm recognized for the quality of it's work can help, and might give her some chance to develop as a designer. But there's no special advantage to a European firm. Interning in the type of office she wants to work in is more useful - meaning what kinds of projects they do, what size the firm is. And most useful is interning at one she actually plans to seek a full time job at later.
Not sure about Qatari culture, but Americans like to see independance and self-initiative in anyone they work with. No one will consider her at all if it seems like her parents are pushing her to do this. Make sure she realizes she needs to do this on her own in the future to have any serious chance at a good job.
shellarchitect
Aug 7, 15 11:29 am
One of the advantages of American universities are an opportunity to join the alumni network of that school. She should be able to intern with a decent Iowa firm and perhaps turn that into a full-time job after graduation. She may even be able to work part time during the school year.
I assume there was a specific reason for attending attend Iowa State?
archinet
Aug 7, 15 11:35 am
ummm
That fact that you are writing this for your daughter makes her look incompetent. She should be an adult now. Let her speak for herself.
chigurh
Aug 7, 15 1:30 pm
helicopter mom to a junior in college.. ha! time to cut the umbilical cord.
chigurh
Aug 7, 15 1:34 pm
on another unrelated note...why the hell do we use the high school year designations in college for a second time? "I'm a junior in college" sounds so dumb.
malinis
Aug 7, 15 2:13 pm
Hey guys thanks for correcting me, yeah should not have posted this on behalf of my daughter and she was pretty mad with me as well. She was going to check this out with her professors at uni. Anyways thanks for the reality check and advise. Much appreciated
Hi there
My daughter is in her junior year at Iowa State University. She is an international student and her end goal is to land a decent job in the States. She has recently been given an opportunity to intern in Portugal with a leading architect firm in the summer. We've been told the internships in Europe look good on ones CV. Would this ultimately help her when she graduates to land a job in America? Or do you think she should focus on trying to get an internship in America ? This summer she did a summer internship in Qatar with another good firm . We live in Qatar. Would love to know your thoughts on the subject.
Thanks
Portugal sounds nice, but if she wants a job in the US after school, why not get an internship in a leading US office? There are so many mid sized firms with a lot to offer.
That said any internship experience is good, let her decide for herself.
Why is momma/daddy still babysitting a student in her third year? she should be doing this research, not you...
Is she taking a paid internship or is it slave-work?
Ah Qatar... a shinning example of modern sensibilities to human rights. Listen to BulgarBlogger above and let your kid do their own work.
Interning at a firm recognized for the quality of it's work can help, and might give her some chance to develop as a designer. But there's no special advantage to a European firm. Interning in the type of office she wants to work in is more useful - meaning what kinds of projects they do, what size the firm is. And most useful is interning at one she actually plans to seek a full time job at later.
Not sure about Qatari culture, but Americans like to see independance and self-initiative in anyone they work with. No one will consider her at all if it seems like her parents are pushing her to do this. Make sure she realizes she needs to do this on her own in the future to have any serious chance at a good job.
One of the advantages of American universities are an opportunity to join the alumni network of that school. She should be able to intern with a decent Iowa firm and perhaps turn that into a full-time job after graduation. She may even be able to work part time during the school year.
I assume there was a specific reason for attending attend Iowa State?
ummm
That fact that you are writing this for your daughter makes her look incompetent. She should be an adult now. Let her speak for herself.
helicopter mom to a junior in college.. ha! time to cut the umbilical cord.
on another unrelated note...why the hell do we use the high school year designations in college for a second time? "I'm a junior in college" sounds so dumb.
Hey guys thanks for correcting me, yeah should not have posted this on behalf of my daughter and she was pretty mad with me as well. She was going to check this out with her professors at uni. Anyways thanks for the reality check and advise. Much appreciated