[ac1294]

As pathetic as it sounds, I don't really know what my goal is. I guess I want to find an internship this summer that is enjoyable and offers solid exit opportunities for full-time recruiting. I know this is a lot to ask for, but I want to highlight the fact that I work very hard -- I'm not some kid that thinks he's smart and deserves a perfect job.

The biggest problem is I know absolutely nothing about the recruiting process, job requirements, internship duties, etc. for programming roles. Since the start of 2013, I've worked a bit on my coding and published very small projects on GitHub, but I haven't done much else in terms of seeking an internship.

I'm most worried about switching my focus entirely from banking to programming and missing out on a banking internship. If I don't do investment banking this summer, I basically have no chance at a full-time investment banking position. And although I've made it sound like I absolutely hate banking already, there is a chance I could enjoy the internship and the full-time position.

I'm pretty sure I would like a programming role more, but again, I don't know where to start for recruiting. And I'm afraid that working for a small tech firm this summer may not help much when I look for a full-time job after college.

[svec]

You're being too hard on yourself here: it is not pathetic to not have 100% concrete goals when you're not even out of college yet.

College, and much of your 20's and even 30's, is the time where you figure stuff out. Try business/banking - don't like it? Try web development. Don't like it? Switch to something else. And then when you're 47 years old you'll realize that you want to change again - and you'll do it too.

Of course that's far easier said than done; I'm not trying to tell you switching is easy, it's not, but I am trying to tell you that you're not locked in to any one path.

I've interviewed and hired quite a bit, and I can tell you that any programming internship is a good internship. Having some real world experience is good, even if I've never heard of the company you interned at.

[acjohnson55]

I'm almost 30, and I'm only now figuring out my goals for my long-term career. I've been all over the place. I went to grad school for electrical engineering, then I taught high school math, then I went to grad school again for music technology, then I worked for a startup, then I did grant-funded research, then I started a startup, then I became a consultant.

You don't have to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. But my advice to you is to pick something and go hard for it. Don't worry about whether you're making the right choice. Just make sure that whatever path you take, it's something you're going to learn and grow from. The only way you can lose is by not making an affirmative decision on your current direction. You're young as hell, there's plenty of time to pivot. How do you know when to pivot? When you have ceased to meet new people, learn new things about yourself, build new skills, and enjoy yourself.

I could be 8 years into some career job right now. Maybe I missed out on an opportunity to really press my claim in some particular direction. I don't think so though, because instead, I've lived in 8 different states, seen several different career paths, met fascinating people, built soft and hard skills, and learned an incredible amount about myself and what I value.

If you want to be a programmer, you can take some advanced level MOOC classes today. Overcommit yourself to it for a little bit, beyond your coursework. You can try to fix a bug in an open source product you use. You can volunteer your time for a startup in your area, and try to learn the ropes. Just start building. If you can make it clear that you're the type of person that will dive in head first to a tough problem and find a way to scrap together a solution, you will put yourself in demand in the tech world.

Good luck, and feel free to email me if you need any advice.

[msutherl]

I don't know much about banking, but what you say is definitely not true of programming. It's just not competitive like that. So, I might say it would be wise to go for the banking internship. If it doesn't work out, programming is easy to get into at any point.

Also, don't forget that "working hard" is more of a signal than a legitimate ethic – a signal that you can be used. Try to take some time for yourself. Walk around and really look at the world. Think about the meaning behind things. In the time you spend doing this you'll acquire wisdom that will be essential later on.