IST Internships
Students majoring in Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and Security and Risk Analysis (SRA) are required to have at least one internship. The college encourages its students to complete more than one internship because it greatly enhances their chances to find a good job.
As of fall 2006, IST students had taken 6,100 internships earning an average of $12 to $15 per hour working in a professional environment for organizations across all economic sectors: aerospace and defense, consulting, manufacturing, financial services, IT, government, education and more. An internship is typically completed over the summer but can also be completed on campus during the semester, as well. Beyond pay and experience, students have a chance to explore career opportunities, develop themselves professionally, gain maturity, and further the real-world side of their education.
IST has a full-time, in-house internship coordinator with lots of resources to help students find internships.
As of fall 2006, IST students had taken 6,100 internships earning an average of $12 to $15 per hour working in a professional environment for organizations across all economic sectors: aerospace and defense, consulting, manufacturing, financial services, IT, government, education and more. An internship is typically completed over the summer but can also be completed on campus during the semester, as well. Beyond pay and experience, students have a chance to explore career opportunities, develop themselves professionally, gain maturity, and further the real-world side of their education.
IST has a full-time, in-house internship coordinator with lots of resources to help students find internships.
Here is a sampling of IST students' internship experiences from summer 2006:
Pedro Huerta, Class of 2008
IT intern, GE Corp., Shelton, Conn.
Member, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, IST Diversity Network, IST Student Government
"This was the first time I have worked in a big company, and I had to learn to take advantage of other people’s skills. It was hard at first—learning to ask somebody for information or for help. But those kinds of soft skills are really important, and I definitely gained them. By the end, I learned how to work with people better and feel more confident that I know how to work with people in all positions."
IT intern, GE Corp., Shelton, Conn.
Member, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, IST Diversity Network, IST Student Government
"This was the first time I have worked in a big company, and I had to learn to take advantage of other people’s skills. It was hard at first—learning to ask somebody for information or for help. But those kinds of soft skills are really important, and I definitely gained them. By the end, I learned how to work with people better and feel more confident that I know how to work with people in all positions."
Prerana Dalal, Class of 2008
Systems analyst intern, Technology Earl Career Development Program, CIGNA, Hartford, Conn.
Vice president, IST Interest House; Chair, IST Pro Expo Committee; member, Penn State Bhangra Dance Team
"Learning how to communicate with different people and work in teams in my IST classes paid off in my internship. As a systems analyst intern at CIGNA, I had to communicate with both business teams and technical teams and often had to explain to each what the other wanted. Also, because I was used to dealing with open-ended and complex problems in my IST classes, I quickly learned CIGNA’s customer management relationship tool for tracking insurance-claim information and figured how out to customize fields, create new processes and test those changes."
Systems analyst intern, Technology Earl Career Development Program, CIGNA, Hartford, Conn.
Vice president, IST Interest House; Chair, IST Pro Expo Committee; member, Penn State Bhangra Dance Team
"Learning how to communicate with different people and work in teams in my IST classes paid off in my internship. As a systems analyst intern at CIGNA, I had to communicate with both business teams and technical teams and often had to explain to each what the other wanted. Also, because I was used to dealing with open-ended and complex problems in my IST classes, I quickly learned CIGNA’s customer management relationship tool for tracking insurance-claim information and figured how out to customize fields, create new processes and test those changes."
Jennifer Reichle, Class of 2008
IT Consultant, Dept. of Security, Privacy and Wireless, IBM
Member, Shades of Blue, a cappella group; secretary, PSU Mainframe Club; member, Penn State Thespians
"My big project was helping IBM become compliant with federal regulations involving defense technologies. Along with reviewing IBM’s defense projects, I also helped develop contingency plans in case of failure. This really enlightened me to the importance of security in a technological environment. Now I am taking the Information Assurance track in the IST major—so I can learn how to protect against security infringements."
IT Consultant, Dept. of Security, Privacy and Wireless, IBM
Member, Shades of Blue, a cappella group; secretary, PSU Mainframe Club; member, Penn State Thespians
"My big project was helping IBM become compliant with federal regulations involving defense technologies. Along with reviewing IBM’s defense projects, I also helped develop contingency plans in case of failure. This really enlightened me to the importance of security in a technological environment. Now I am taking the Information Assurance track in the IST major—so I can learn how to protect against security infringements."
Lucas Simonetti, Class of 2007
Threat and Vulnerability Management Intern, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Philadelphia
Penn State Cheerleader
"The IST class that prepared me the most for my internship was IST 302: Project Management. At PricewaterhouseCoopers, I had to balance a couple of projects at a time. So I needed to know how to prioritize and manage my time. IST 302 taught me how to budget my time which was good because PWC was looking for me to make those decisions."
Threat and Vulnerability Management Intern, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Philadelphia
Penn State Cheerleader
"The IST class that prepared me the most for my internship was IST 302: Project Management. At PricewaterhouseCoopers, I had to balance a couple of projects at a time. So I needed to know how to prioritize and manage my time. IST 302 taught me how to budget my time which was good because PWC was looking for me to make those decisions."
Danielle Bove, Class of 2007
IT Intern, Vanguard
Member, Career Assistance Team; Women in IST; IST Quality Teams; Blue and White Society
"My two internships were very different experiences. At Wawa, a convenient store chain, I functioned as an intermediary between employees and the technical staff. So I did a lot of project management involving ….. At Vanguard, I worked primarily with the IT staff. I utilized a lot of different software in projects that helped enable the operation of the business."
IT Intern, Vanguard
Member, Career Assistance Team; Women in IST; IST Quality Teams; Blue and White Society
"My two internships were very different experiences. At Wawa, a convenient store chain, I functioned as an intermediary between employees and the technical staff. So I did a lot of project management involving ….. At Vanguard, I worked primarily with the IT staff. I utilized a lot of different software in projects that helped enable the operation of the business."
Mike Tadduni, Class of 2008
Intern for desktop support, MTV Networks
Treasurer, IST Student Government; member, Future Forum committee
"I already had a lot of the technical skills needed for this internship, but what I really learned was how to handle people. My work was very customer-service oriented, so I had to use a lot of people skills. This was good because you have to deal with people no matter what your job. Learning how to deal well with people is as important as having technical skills."
Intern for desktop support, MTV Networks
Treasurer, IST Student Government; member, Future Forum committee
"I already had a lot of the technical skills needed for this internship, but what I really learned was how to handle people. My work was very customer-service oriented, so I had to use a lot of people skills. This was good because you have to deal with people no matter what your job. Learning how to deal well with people is as important as having technical skills."
