I'm (essentially) a sophomore in CompE and have been looking for a internship-type thing for this summer. I've applied to a lot of places, but I haven't yet gotten any response at all. A lot of internships/jobs I've looked at say "previous internship experience desired," so I'd like to be able to do something this summer that will get my foot in the door. For those that have gotten internships, when/how did you get contacted? I'm kind of worried that if someone is trying to contact me, they are calling my dorm phone (since I don't have a cell phone) when I'm not there instead of emailing me.

I didn't get one myself, but one of my friends had a company call him when the semester was almost over saying "so when are you coming up?" when he had no idea he had the job yet...

Don't panic -- good recruiters will email you first and ask if there is an acceptable time you can interview with them over the phone (there are just too many clever students out there that are difficult to reach via the # supplied).

If you're interfacing with someone that's actually interested in being your boss (i.e. directly with an engineer/scientist) and they are over 30, then it's more likely you'll receive a phone call first. That tends to be SOP in the old-school business world.

I hate talking over the phone. Unfortunately, it's difficult to get a handle on someone's (level of education / interest / intelligence) without talking with them real-time. I guess you could cover all your bases and get a cheap answering machine... or better yet, a prepaid cell phone.

If nothing pans out for this summer and you end up stuck in Rolla, try to get involved in some undergraduate research. It may not pay well, but it will likely grant you some exposure to graduate students in your major as well as an interesting topic or two... if you pick wisely, you'll be able to use that as a springboard into a good internship.

Lastly, if you've already talked with someone in person or over the phone, make sure to send them a brief email acknowledging the conversation. It reminds them about you and shows a little interest.

Are you referring to the OURE thing? Can you do that over the summer...and how do get involved in that sort of thing?

Well, it looks like that program is a year-long thing... you could probably start this summer:
http://www.umr.edu/ugs/AplicatnFrm2006_2007.pdf

You'd want to talk to someone on this list:
http://www.umr.edu/ugs/Dept_Coordinators.pdf

EDIT: Of course, there are other projects that fall outside of the scope of that program... so the best thing to do is talk to a faculty member that knows a lot about what's going on in their dept... on the CS side of things, Dr. McMillin and Dr. Tauritz are good places to start... on the EE/CpE side of things I recommend Dr. Beetner and Dr. Kosbar. When it comes to these research projects, don't just take the first thing they present you with... instead, look around and find something you're truly interested in.

When I got mine the HR rep called my cell phone right before class started and let me know i got the job but this was a couple weeks after a conversation with the guy i was actually going to be working for, so sometimes it goes through a few departments before they actually tell you. so sit tight

I would invest in an answering machine for your dorm phone. Unlike jollyplex, most every company recruiter I've been contacted by has called me rather than e-mailed, and most of those calls have been in the middle of the morning or early afternoon (when most people are in class).

And yeah, get involved in doing some sort of undergrad research. It doesn't have to be an OURE; a lot of professors have labs on campus that they have students work in (like in the MRC and ERL). I don't know about CompE, but Nuke companies seem to get a big woody when they find out you've worked with a professor in an area that their company is involved with.

Also, I know there's places that don't offer jobs up until (at least) the middle of April. So, it's not like you've run out of time.

Sounds like a good idea, I probably should have gotten one at the beginning of the year

My recruiter e-mailed about a call back interview. Then they called and fedexed about an offer. j/c why'd you give them your number if there is no phone hooked up anyway? If by chance you have a modem in your computer, you could just download voicemail software.

I have a phone, just not an answering machine.

I made sure to only give them my cell phone and home phone but gave preference to my cell phone

I actually got an email from an interested party today (DRS Systems and Electronics), and apparently they got my resume from the career fair. So I guess they are good for something.