Maths student with no internships targeting IT roles, graduating next year

[u/blickt42]

I've been targeting the IT space in NZ, mostly software/software adjacent roles, but I have a grand total of 1 interview from 2 internship cycles, that I got rejected from.

The first cycle was 100% my fault, I was using a more commerce-oriented resume (was targeting finance jobs previously too) and it makes sense why I didn't get any hooks with 1 bad project on my resume. I also learnt a lot from submitted applications

This cycle, I've put 3 projects on there, written about them in-depth along with github repos dedicated to them, 2 personal (one of which spanned a full summer and substantial imo), 1 coursework based (pair assignment) -- multiple other smaller projects/assignments are listed on my github as well. The 3 I've listed are a machine learning AI based project, a CRUD financial tracker, and a Java based game. My personal projects were done without the use of AI. I've actually tried really hard to get an internship this year.

I have held multiple jobs at the same time all throughout uni, working about 10 - 20 hours each week, including a TA job each semester. I tailor my cover letter to each job, I do generally have a template, but I change 2 paragraphs to suit the role, and the rest I more or less keep the same. GPA is a B+/A- overall.

It looks like I'll go another summer without an internship, and I'm feeling pretty dejected. If I can't get an during the summer I don't even want to think what a full-time job search will look like -- I graduate in the middle of next year.

But I don't want to give up, I want to spend the summer improving myself so I can put my best foot forward come next year. I'd like to hear advice from people in my position/hiring managers - what did you do that helped you? What are red flags you see in candidates? How important is tech stack? Should I spend my summer working on another project? Etc.

I appreciate any kind of advice, however helpful/unhelpful you think it may be. Thank you.

[u/DrDeltaEpsilon]

Im aware a Software engineer in Aus here who studied math and comp sci.

Companies much prefer if you have any kind of related professional experience. I got my first internship by asking my lecturers to help out on any research projects that I could put on my resume as a formal internship. This worked for me.

I was then able to tell tech companies I worked as an intern at a research group where I wrote code that helped on a published paper.

I had to to work for essentially below minimum wage, and academics are absolutely terrible at writing code (so I learnt nothing about real software engineering), but, it let me put one real professional experience on my resume.

The unfortunate reality is that you need experience to get more experience

[u/MathmoKiwi]

I graduate in the middle of next year.

Which NZ uni are you at? You've got time to mix in more CompSci/IT papers into your degree, or even switch over your major entirely?? Maybe?

[u/blickt42 → u/MathmoKiwi]

UC -- I can't switch over my degree, I already switched once hence why I graduate in the middle of the year. I'd have to spend a year at minimum doing a CS degree, if not more, and I've already spent way too long at uni at this point.

I want to try do an OE at some stage when I'm young and have no ties, so more loans would fuck me over financially.

[u/MathmoKiwi → u/blickt42]

Fair enough! Do you have any flexibility at all with your non-maths electives?

How about what's your plans with maths papers themselves? I did a maths degree at UoA, and most of my pure maths papers I leaned them into the direction of Theortical CompSci and for my applied maths papers I leaned them into the direction of Numerical Analysis! (so basically algorithms/coding for maths)

Although this wasn't intentional, as I wasn't planning to go into SWE/tech back then! But it was just where my interests lay back then.

As even if you're sticking with your Maths degree, if you can stick as many CS or "CS-ish" papers (for instance most of my physics papers were also leaning into the direction of electronics and even low level computing! Such as assembly programming) into your maths degree then that will help you a lot.