codedex-io · asiqurrahman · May 30, 2025 · May 29, 2025
diff --git a/blogs/what-to-do-when-you-dont-have-a-tech-internship.mdx b/blogs/what-to-do-when-you-dont-have-a-tech-internship.mdx
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+---
+title: "What to do when you don't have a tech internship - from someone who's been there"
+description: With summer rolling around, a lot of students without internships are worried about what to do. If you don’t have a formal internship lined up, here’s how you can maximize your time too - no gatekeeping or fluff, just things that have worked for me and my peers!
+author: Gabriela Banaag
+seoImageLink: https://i.imgur.com/kPTzCQ8.png
+dateCreated: 2025-05-28
+published: false
+tags:
+  - Community
+---
+
+Hi, my name is Gabby - I’m studying UX/UI Design at Arizona State University and doing projects for Codédex! I love design, community, my cats, and building things for the fun of it. I’ve carry a ✨ multitude ✨ of experiences - from internships at billion dollar companies, to leading clubs, to working at startups and nonprofits. 
+
+The job market is **especially tough right now**, especially for students. With summer rolling around, a lot of students without internships are worried about what to do. There were summers I wanted to dive right into working, even when I had the skills, but wasn’t able to - and I still made the most of my time. If you don’t have a formal internship lined up, here’s how you can maximize your time too - no gatekeeping or fluff, just things that have worked for me and my peers!
+
+## Teach others how to code
+<div style={{display: "flex", justifyContent: "center", marginTop: "2rem", marginBottom: "-2rem"}}>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/trfWdBd.png" width="500"/>
+</div>
+
+My favorite job experience to date was teaching girls how to make iOS apps through Kode with Klossy, a tech camp for marginalized genders. 
+
+Teaching others how to code makes you a better developer because it pushes you to grasp concepts as well as you can knowing you have to explain them to others. It also shows you know your stuff, and can be there for others to ask for help in the workplace. 
+
+Here’s where you can start shaping your teaching skills:
+
+- Tutoring family members, friends, or friends of family members
+- Taking on a teaching assistant position for a computer science class
+- Write articles or make video tutorials
+- Some places that hire for teaching roles: [iD Tech](https://www.idtech.com/jobs), [Girls Who Code](https://jobs.lever.co/girlswhocode), [The Coding School](https://the-cs.org/involved), [Codepath](https://www.codepath.org/volunteers), [Code Ninjas](https://code-ninjas-careers.careerplug.com/jobs)
+
+# Project based programs
+Some programs guide and support you through creating a technical project for a few weeks. Sometimes the project is set in stone, and sometimes you get to be creative with it. Either way, these programs allow you to create a project with structure, mentorship, and other resources. 
+
+Some programs to look into: 
+
+- [Google Summer of Code](https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/), [CodeDay Labs](https://labs.codeday.org/), [MLH Fellowship](https://fellowship.mlh.io/), [Girls Who Code Labs](https://girlswhocode.com/programs/college-and-career)
+
+# Build a cool project
+On the contrary, if you want something a lot less structured, you can build a project that gets you excited with no constraints at all. I picked up a lot of my skills from creating projects for fun. You could even find grants for students to fund your project! 
+
+<div style={{display: "flex", justifyContent: "center", marginTop: "2rem", marginBottom: "-2rem"}}>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/KuWtPpA.jpeg" width="500"/>
+</div>
+This is WakeUpBruh - a site my friend and I made during the COVID era that detects when you’re falling asleep in meetings and plays obnoxious noises to wake you up. Probably more funny than practical, but it was fun to make.
+
+# Attend tech events
+One of the summers I didn’t have an internship (and even the ones I did), I went on tours of companies like Figma, Reddit, Bank of America, NVIDIA, and Robinhood. They allowed us to network, hosted trivia, fed us yummy food, and held panels about growing your career. I actually found out about Codédex at an event for Gen Z women in tech! 
+
+<br>
+
+<div style={{display: "flex", justifyContent: "center", flexDirection: "row", marginTop: "2rem", marginBottom: "-2rem"}}>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/lwEIEx8.jpeg" height="200"/>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/BUQWFsE.jpeg" height="200"/>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/UKRAKHQ.jpeg" height="200"/>
+</div>
+
+<br>
+
+Another type of event you can scope out are **hackathons**. My college friends coined me as “that hackathon girl” because I’ve been to over 20. It’s a great environment to ship projects fast and learn from workshops that teach career-aligned skills, as well as a great place to make friends! All the projects on my resume are hackathon builds! Codédex hosts hackathons occasionally and also attends them - be sure to keep up with their socials to see where they head next and hackathons they organize! 
+
+I also attended the Grace Hopper Celebration in 2023, and it’s how I got my job at Bank of America. At **conferences**, you can learn more about companies you want to work with in person, and a handful of companies do interviews on site. 
+
+Here are some tech events you can check out: 
+
+- Hackathons: [MLH Season Hackathons](https://mlh.io/seasons/2025/events), [Devpost](https://devpost.com/), Codédex, [CodeDay](https://www.codeday.org/)
+- Conferences: [Tech Week](https://www.tech-week.com/), [GitHub Field Day](https://githubfieldday.com/), [MLH Hackcon](https://hackcon.mlh.io/), [TechCrunch Disrupt](https://techcrunch.com/events/tc-disrupt-2025/), [Figma Config](https://config.figma.com/), [Open Source Summit](https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-source-summit-north-america/register/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_campaign=open-source-summit-na-2025&utm_term=events-ossna-2025-lf&utm_content=events-ossna-2025-lf-rsa&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22454642332&gbraid=0AAAAAD2R-lqjBou7uiQHA1pPiGCAZhlW2&gclid=CjwKCAjwravBBhBjEiwAIr30VJuog0aVhTGPAzOR09O8eKeARh6EBZXuDdrkS-CyH2xPZ4t5z7kbyBoCq_UQAvD_BwE), [Re:Invent (AWS)](https://reinvent.awsevents.com/)
+    - Conferences for underrepresented groups: [SHPE](https://shpe.org/engage/events/national-convention/), [NSBE](https://convention.nsbe.org/), [SASE](https://www.saseconnect.org/events), [oSTEM](https://conference.ostem.org/), [Society of Women Engineers](https://swe.org/events/past-and-future-events/), [Tapia](https://tapiaconference.cmd-it.org/), [Grace Hopper Celebration](https://ghc.anitab.org/)
+- Where to find student events: LinkedIn (search for posts mentioning “student” or “intern” events), Eventbrite, Recruiters on LinkedIn, [Rewriting the Code](http://rewritingthecode.org/), [Colorstack](https://www.colorstack.org/)
+- Host your own tech meetup! You just need a location and a small group of people down for a fun time.
+
+# Take a course or attend a camp
+Expanding your technical skillset is the best way to become a better engineer. Learning new technologies and how to efficiently problem-solve  never ends, no matter where you go or how many years of experience you have. Try learning something new that sounds interesting to you - you could use it at your next job! 
+
+Where you can learn:
+
+- Codédex, naturally
+- Certificate Programs - Codepath, LinkedIn, Google
+- Camps - Kode with Klossy, Girls Who Code, Hack Club Events
+- Courses at your school - maybe you can knock out some requirements while you’re at it 👀
+
+# Reach out to a startup or research department
+My first tech internship came from reaching out to the Trill Project via email. I didn’t know if I was qualified enough given that I was still in high school, but I gave it a shot and they took a chance on me! I was part of their first intern cohort on their product team, and grew with the company and became a VP (with my own interns 🥹🫶) before they got acquired. 
+
+**Startups** are more flexible with hiring than bigger companies, and are likely to take a chance on you if they need someone with your skills. **Research opportunities** are also a bit more available depending on each University, and you can find out what research is going on at your school by connecting with students and professors. Research is also a plus if you plan to pursue a degree beyond a Bachelor’s! Both of these opportunities can allow you to do even more work than you would at a larger company. It can be scary to reach out, but shoot your shot - you never know what might happen! 
+
+Here’s some places you can find people to reach out to for opportunities: 
+
+- Startup lists: [YC Startup Companies](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies), [Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/), [Wellfound](https://wellfound.com/)
+- Students at your college building startups
+- Send an email to your professors at your University (or other Universities if you find research that interests you!) with your skills, experience, and why their work interests you
+
+# Volunteer your tech skills
+Why not give back to communities that got you where you are today? 
+
+Where to volunteer:
+- Nonprofits that have values that match yours - these could be advocacy or activism nonprofits, coding nonprofits, or student nonprofits
+- Clubs on campus - they don’t necessarily have to be tech clubs but could need tech expertise
+- Local businesses - they might need website revamps or technical support (and may even offer to pay!)
+
+# Industry Programs
+I got to learn more about Meta and Product building through a design apprenticeship program they hosted in 2022. Every week for a couple of months, Meta team members hosted workshops on how to design for technology products. Through Girls who Code’s Leadership Academy program (in partnership with Raytheon), I got to build a prototype for a website that made K-12 learning more accessible for students with disabilities. 
+
+There are a lot of programs out there that teach industry skills like the ones I did, especially in tech! Take a look at…
+
+- [AT&T Externship](https://inside.att.jobs/technologyacademy#subpage/home?utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_medium=social_ad&utm_campaign=college&utm_content=social_media&utm_term=395805689&ss=paid), [Girls Who Code Work Prep](https://girlswhocode.com/programs/college-and-career) (Partners with Accenture, JP Morgan, and other companies)
+- [Externships](https://www.extern.com/)
+
+# Join (or start) clubs on campus!
+Club involvement can further highlight your interest in technology, demonstrate initiative, and grow your leadership skills! Make sure you join clubs that have events that help you not only grow professionally, but have fun activities and opportunities to make friends in your field. 
+
+Some fun events I’ve been to include an Asian night market, dried flower collage making, alumni friendsgivings with 150 people, formals where we dress up and eat pizza, a Leetcode programming competition (1st prize: rice cooker), and therapy animal sessions.
+
+<div style={{display: "flex", justifyContent: "center", flexDirection: "row", marginTop: "2rem", marginBottom: "-2rem"}}>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/CaI43l6.jpeg" height="400"/>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/s3hc1Q4.jpeg" height="400"/>
+</div>
+
+Here are some organizations you can scope out, or start if they don’t already exist on your campus!
+
+- Computer Science: [ACM](https://www.acm.org/), Your school’s hackathon club, any game dev or UX design clubs
+- Groups: [SHPE](https://shpe.org/), [SASE](https://www.saseconnect.org/), [NBSE](https://nsbe.org/), [Colorstack](https://www.colorstack.org/), [Society of Women Engineers](https://swe.org/), Girls Who Code, Women in Tech clubs, [oSTEM](https://ostem.org/)
+- General engineering: Honor societies ([Upsilon Pi Epsilon](https://upe.acm.org/), [Tau Beta Pi](https://www.tbp.org/recruit/recruitHome.cfm)), Greek Life ([Theta Tau](https://thetatau.org/), [Alpha Omega Epsilon](https://www.alphaomegaepsilon.org/))
+
+    I’ve found many tech mentors over the years through both formal mentorship programs and just meeting inspiring people I wanted to learn from. Feel free to politely reach out to anyone on LinkedIn with a thoughtful message about wanting to get to know them and their career paths better. Many people are excited to talk and meet you! Who knows - they might even invite you to chat in their office 👀
+
+- Company programs: [GitHub Campus Experts](https://github.com/education/students/campus-expert), Notion Campus Leaders
+
+# Find a mentor
+I’ve found many tech mentors over the years through both formal mentorship programs and just meeting inspiring people I wanted to learn from. Feel free to politely reach out to anyone on LinkedIn with a thoughtful message about wanting to get to know them and their career paths better. Many people are excited to talk and meet you! Who knows - they might even invite you to chat in their office 👀
+
+<div style={{display: "flex", justifyContent: "center", marginTop: "2rem", marginBottom: "-2rem"}}>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/7E8fBss.jpeg" width="400"/>
+</div>
+Here's me on Apple's campus, courtesy of my friend/design mentor, Hanson!
+
+# Find a community
+Last but not least, know that you are not alone in your coding journey! Even though times are tough, you can find spaces where you feel welcome and empowered, and get both the professional and moral support you need. It’s nice to have people around you who understand what you’re going through, and people who have made it to the other side that can help you out.
+
+<br>
+
+<div style={{display: "flex", justifyContent: "center", flexDirection: "row", marginTop: "2rem", marginBottom: "-2rem"}}>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/vLPLG3v.jpeg" height="200"/>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/V2o1Eyz.jpeg" height="200"/>
+  <img src="https://i.imgur.com/jmOItJD.jpeg" height="200"/>
+</div>
+
+<br>
+
+There were a lot of times that I thought not having an internship was the end of the world. But there are so many ways to build experience and explore tech without one, and each of your experiences can build on top of each other to direct you to your next opportunity. I hope this list was helpful and inspires you to figure out what comes next in your coding journey, and don’t forget that everyone’s path is different. Good luck! 🍀 🫡