Careers, Internships, and Jobs
Career services offices across campus provide comprehensive career development programming, advising, and job and internship placement assistance. In addition to offering advising resources, career centers develop collaborative partnerships with employers to connect students to career information and career opportunities. Your student shouldn’t wait until senior year to use career services. Many students choose to participate in multiple internship and leadership opportunities throughout their college experience in order to enhance their marketability and to identify a career path that they are passionate about.
Careers
The career planning process begins with a student’s first semester at UW–Madison. This process includes course selection, career exploration, on-campus employment, internships, and developing relationships with faculty who can serve as employment and graduate school references. Each school and college offers career advising and planning services. In addition, some departments and majors have specific career advising resources as well. Students who are deciding on a major can explore career options through the Cross-College Advising Service.
Buckynet
New in September 2009!
Five offices across campus have teamed up to create a consortium to help connect employers and students.
- College of Letters & Science
- Wisconsin School of Business
- School of Human Ecology
- College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
- Wisconsin Alumni Association
Buckynet informs students about upcoming career-related events, career fairs, job/internship postings, and on-campus recruiting opportunities.
Ask your student to contact his or her home career office with any questions.
Links to School and College Career Services:
- Chemistry Career Services
Chemistry Career Services provides support to all levels of students and to alumni of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Department of Chemistry. This office serves students in finding full- and part-time industrial employment, and summer internship opportunities. - College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) Career Services
CALS Career Services is the liaison between employers and students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The office provides career development and job search strategy assistance to CALS undergraduate and graduate students and alumni. - College of Engineering Career Services
Engineering Career Services serves students, employers, and the College by providing: profiles of engineering students currently seeking employment from freshmen to graduate students, employers databases , support services to students in related majors (computer sciences, physics, and manufacturing & technical management), consultations with individual students and groups regarding job search issues, including international opportunities, LGBT issues, pre-work preparation, evaluation offers, dual career planning and up-to-date resume and interviewing techniques, on-campus interviewing and 2 major career fairs, and direct-hire opportunities for students and employers. - College of Letters & Science
The College of Letters & Science Career Services actively partners and collaborates with campus constituencies, community, alumni, and employers to provide students with a variety of connections to position them for success after graduation. Services include: career counseling, self-assessment, career exploration, decision making assistance, planning and implementing the job search process, and assisting students with making decisions about how graduate school fits in with their career path. - Exploration Center
A service of Cross-College Advising Service, the Exploration Center offers materials for students to learn about: majors and career options, career counseling, computer-based tests to match interests to careers, internship information, and career videos. The Center offers workshops each semester, such as: “Choosing a Major,” “Career Exploration,” “Study skills,” “International Opportunities,” “Which Biology Major is for Me?,” “Opportunities in Business,” “Careers in Medicine,” and “Helping Professions.” - The Gaylord Nelson Institute Environmental Career Information
The Gaylord Nelson Institute’s Environment Career Information site provides students with resources and services to aid them in their job search for an environmental career. Additionally, the site lists information regarding internship opportunities and professional development resources. - Go Global! International Careers
Go Global! assists UW–Madison students as they prepare and search for internationally-oriented employment by listing various campus resources and contacts, announcing relevant campus events, presenting career development tools, and including links to Web sites that specialize in posting career opportunities and development resources worldwide. Go Global! is the starting point for freshmen planning the international aspects of their academic careers, and a resource for graduating seniors, alumni, and others who are ready to join the global workplace. - La Follette School of Public Affairs Career Development
The role of the Career Development Coordinator is to help La Follette students and alumni transform the knowledge and skills gained through a rigorous program of advanced professional training into success in a competitive employment market. A few of the ways this is done is through professional development workshops, alumni connections, internships, recruitment visits, information regarding different employment sectors, and by maintaining a database of internship and employment opportunities. - Law School Career Services
The Career Services Office (CSO) provides counseling, materials, resources, position listings, newsletters, clerical support and recruiting programs to help students and alumni in their searches for employment during the summer, school year and after graduation. Three lawyers constitute their staff, including one lawyer who works specifically with students interested in public service careers or judicial clerkships. - School of Education—Education and Portfolio Services
Education and Portfolio Services provides UW–Madison students and alumni with: career choice and job search counseling, on-line portfolio services, vacancy listings and job hotline, video interviewing, employment referral, computerized career exploration, the Wisconsin Educational Recruitment Fair (WERF), on-line professional credential file, career/job search workshops, and a career resource center. - School of Journalism and Mass Communication Career Services
The School of Journalism and Mass Communication Career Services provides current students and alumni with: resume and cover letter assistance, internship and job listings (from entry-level to advanced), recruiting visits, salary comparisons, mock interviews, alumni contact lists, career events, and networking opportunities. - School of Pharmacy Career Development Services
The School of Pharmacy's Career Development Services (CDS) provide career advising, career development programming, and job placement assistance to Doctor of Pharmacy and Pharmacology & Toxicology students within the School of Pharmacy. In addition, CDS develops partnerships with employers to connect students to career information and resources, and job opportunities. - Wisconsin School of Business Career Center
The Wisconsin School of Business Career Center provides career services for current and prospective undergraduate business students and students in the Master of Accountancy programs, as well as Master of Science candidates in Actuarial Science and in Quantitative Finance. Services include: career workshops, career development and planning resources, resume and cover letter assistance, career fairs, on-campus recruiting, and more.
Links to additional career planning information:
Why Hire a Liberal Arts Major?
Here are five good reasons. (PDF)
- The L&S Career Services blog provides career tips and information, as well as reminders for upcoming events.
- The College of Engineering offers career planning information for parents
Division of Information Technology provides some tips on smart social networking as it relates to the job search.
Internships
Internships allow students to make informed career choices and to develop a sense of a specific position, work environment, industry, and company culture. They enable students to improve skills they already possess and develop new skills. Through this experience, students create a track record of accomplishments, demonstrated skills, and abilities. Internships—along with volunteering, temping, part-time and limited-term employment (LTE)—provide students with valuable hands-on experience. Upon graduation, students with these experiences are often more competitive when applying for full-time employment opportunities.
Encourage your student to be proactive in searching for an internship, it will pay off! Students can find internship listings through the Career Services offices listed above. Employers will often list internship positions alongside full-time positions. Many departments will compile lists of internships pertaining to students’ majors.
Jobs
For some students, obtaining a job while in school is a necessity, for others it may be a way to make some extra money, and for others still it may be a way to meet students and gain professional experience. The UW Student Job Center lists part-time, limited term employment (LTE), and summer job openings in the private and public sectors, both at UW–Madison and off campus. While it is not the only resource for students to use in their part-time job search, it is an easy resource to navigate and outlines all campus jobs.