University Unions & Student Activities

Career Services

Smith Career Center
Corner of Washington Street and West Campus Drive (0128)
Blacksburg, VA 24061
phone 540/231-6241
fax: 540/231-3293
www.career.vt.edu

Career Services offers programs that enable students to get para-professional experience and learn by working in Career Services. Opportunities are open to both undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at Virginia Tech.

Career Services Intern Program (open to Virginia Tech undergraduate & graduate students). This program offers opportunities for VT students to work on various projects within Career Services and gain great experience areas such as marketing, promotions, program and resource development, research, writing, and presenting.  Contact for additional questions:  Ms. Kristin Eicholtz, Career Advisor, k.a.eicholtz@vt.edu, 540/231-6241.

Career Associates Program (open to Virginia Tech undergraduate & graduate students).  Career Services Career Associates work with their peers sharing information about Career Services programs and services through presentations, peer advising and various marketing/outreach efforts. Contact for additional questions:  Ms. Becca Heterick Scott, Assistant Director, Career Associates Program Coordinator, bhscott@vt.edu, 540/231-8093.

Graduate Assistantship (for graduate students in the Virginia Tech Higher Education program). Contact for questions:  Ms. Amy McPherson, Associate Director, amy.mcpherson@vt.edu, 540/231-6241

Graduate Practica and Internships (open to graduate students in the Virginia Tech Higher Education program, and to students from other graduate programs and institutions). Contact for additional information:  Ms. Amy McPherson, Associate Director, amy.mcpherson@vt.edu, 540/231-6241.

For more information on all of these opportunities, go to: http://www.career.vt.edu/WorkLearn/Welcome.html.

Externships
These are short-term (a few hours to a few days in duration) shadowing experiences. You have a pre-arranged visit to a work environment to watch and learn from people in the career field or type of work environment that interests you. Individuals and organizations who host externs are contributing their valuable time to give you a free learning experience.  Externs are not paid. Externships are mostly for the purpose of learning more about a career field or work environment, but if Externs make a very good impression on the people you meet, it could open the door to another experience (internship, co-op, summer job, etc.) later. Career Services offers a January Externship Program. You can also arrange your own externship, during various times of the year, by contacting professionals in the field that interests you. For more information, contact:  Ms. Julie Richardson, Program Coordinator, jricha04@vt.edu, 540/231-6241.

Internships
Internships are usually one-term experiences and are often in the summer, though not always. Internships can be paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, and are sometimes for academic credit.  These factors vary by career field and employer. Internship eligibility varies by employer; some offer internships to students who are freshmen; others require a higher academic level. Note that academic credit can only be granted by an academic department, and involves paying tuition. Learn more about internships.

Cooperative Education, a.k.a. co-op
Co-ops are full-time, often multi-term, paid work agreements with one organization. For example, you might work for your employer the summer after your sophomore year, and the following spring and fall semesters. You might change departments or projects within your organization. Note that some employers use the term co-op to refer to other kinds of work arrangements. Read and listen carefully for these details as you search for co-op positions. At Virginia Tech, 89% of the students in the co-op program are engineering majors and 7% are business majors. Students in other majors do occasionally co-op, but most get their experience in other ways. Learn more about the Undergraduate Co-op Program at Virginia Tech.

Student Activities

Leadership Development Opportunities