Summer job for undergraduate?

Question

This fall I will have senior standing in the computer science curriculum at my university. In the past, I have done summer jobs like working in the areas of fast-food, wal-mart, etc.

This summer I really want to do something to make money, but using the skills I've acquired during my studies. I believe I am too late to apply to any internships (yes, yes, I know procrastination isn't a good thing...), so I was considering doing some free-lancing stuff. How difficult is it to get into that kind of thing, or are there other alternatives for someone like me to better consider? Or I am just a naive novice programmer? :P
Thanks~

Answer 1

Open-source projects will gladly let you put their names on a CV in return for a summer of hard work. They may not pay, but they'll open a ton of doors for future summer jobs now that open source is gaining more and more validity among employers.

On the other hand, two good places for small programming jobs are your local Craigslist (if you live in a big town or you find a work-from-home job) or MetaFilter Jobs.

Answer 2

You are not too late to apply for internships. Start applying.

I would avoid freelancing right now. Working for yourself with your level of experience, while challenging, is going to be somewhat of an echo chamber. You'd be better off getting experience working with experienced folks.

Answer 3

Instead of giving up for an internship, "seek out internships like your life depends on it" (had to borrow from Jeff Atwood, Learning from Battlefield)

Answer 4

Freelancing can be a tough gig. While there are a variety of sites which can help you to find jobs (guru.com), you are competing in a bidding war with people who will deliver some crappy template site for a ridiculously low price. Also, a lot of those sites have been overrun by large foreign operations.

My advice, keep applying for an internship but try bidding on some freelance jobs at the same time. Freelancing doesn't typically look as good on a resume (at least we don't usually consider it where I work) because there is almost no chance of getting a reference and the projects tend to be very simple. That said, any employment experience looks better than nothing at all.

Answer 5

Give a try at fogcreek software. If you have luck then you can be a part of Joel Splosky's venture and learn more.

Answer 6

As mentioned above, it's not too late. I once started a summer job at a local grocery store while I was in college, then was asked to interview for a programming job at a tech company in early June. Put your resume out there in as many places as you can. At this point, any real world programming experience is better than none at all.