Internships for students in Lincoln (Omaha, Creighton: apartment, rent, how much)

[charolastra00]

I hope somebody here might know anything about this! I'm a student on the east coast who is in love in Lincoln. My boyfriend lives there and when I visited over the summer, I fell in love with the landscape, the people, and just the city itself which is so different from the fast paced life in Boston. I was wondering if anyone knew of any summer internships either with the government or a large company. Or even if anyone could tell me which companies are based in Lincoln or have large centers there, it would be helpful.

My work experience has all been with nonprofits which I've found is not the direction I want to take. I'm triple majoring in Latin American studies, international relations, and politics which obviously probably isn't a big help in Lincoln, but as a result I am at an advanced level of understanding in Spanish and also have some background in French and Portuguese. I don't know how much these languages are needed in the Lincoln community, though.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

I hope somebody here might know anything about this! I'm a student on the east coast who is in love in Lincoln. My boyfriend lives there and when I visited over the summer, I fell in love with the landscape, the people, and just the city itself which is so different from the fast paced life in Boston. I was wondering if anyone knew of any summer internships either with the government or a large company. Or even if anyone could tell me which companies are based in Lincoln or have large centers there, it would be helpful.

My work experience has all been with nonprofits which I've found is not the direction I want to take. I'm triple majoring in Latin American studies, international relations, and politics which obviously probably isn't a big help in Lincoln, but as a result I am at an advanced level of understanding in Spanish and also have some background in French and Portuguese. I don't know how much these languages are needed in the Lincoln community, though.

I can't answer you main question off the top of my head, but I can tell you Lincoln is the Capital of the state so there could be some opportunutities with the political degree. Also, the Governor is big in international trade, especially getting Nebraska beef and agri-products to other countries - so international studies could have a play. Finally, some parts of Nebraska have high Latino populations due to both legal immigration of 1st generation Mexicans, plus the illegal immigration that occurs with agriculture and meat packing.

So 3 of your majors could have a play in something.... not a bad start...

Good luck.

[Katiana]

Internships seem to be the big thing for college students these days; I don't really know how one goes about securing one. Your college "career service" or whatever could help you.

[charolastra00]

My college career service is very biased towards Boston, NYC, DC, and, to some extent, LA. The only real opportunity they could even guide me to in my hometown of Atlanta was the Carter Center (with all the thousands of other idealistic college students :P). That's why I'm kind of out in the cold in terms of finding midwestern opportunities. After having a few internships in East coast cities, I can't deal with the helter skelter of it all and don't want to waste a summer with just some summer job in retail or something.

[Katiana]

My DD had to do a similar thing; she went to college in Minn. and needed to set up a "shadowing" experience in physical therapy, wanted to do it here in Colorado. She got some list of alums in the area and contacted them. Another thing you could do is google, google, google.

[mattpoulsen]

I would say that if your career services can only provide east coast suggestions then they're pretty limited. One thing you might ask them is if they offer "partnership services" with any midwestern universities...if you're lucky you can access services at UNL, UNO, or Creighton. Which basically means you'll have access to their local data bases.

While I see your majors and the fact that you've worked for nonprofits in the past, my advice is somewhat limited because I'm not certain of your current intent. Throw out a few suggestions as to what you would like to be doing after graduation and I might be able to point you in some general direction. Your majors don't necessarily indicate an exact professional track...like engineering or education do, so your career directions are pretty wide open.

If I were you I would widen your geographical target to include Omaha. Keep in mind that the drive from Lincoln to Omaha is only about 45 minutes, so its something that is definitely "doable". Plus, Omaha is home to the home offices of several fortune 500 companies, in fact, on a per-capita basis Omaha has the largest number of fortune 500 companies in the U.S.

I'm not saying you can't find something in Lincoln...I'm just saying that if you include Omaha you would greatly increase your odds of finding a position.

[charolastra00]

Well.. my exact professional track ideally will eventually be working in water policy in Latin America, probably for either a large NGO, the UN, the State Department, or the World Bank. Of course this could all change as I won't have any practical experience in water policy outside of the classroom until I study abroad next year. This would come after professional school in public policy. From what I gather looking into business internships, many want a business major (which is generally thought of as a slacker major at my school). I don't particularly have any financial skills or relevant business experience besides some data entry and copying as an office worker in one of my school departments- but then again, I'm only a sophomore in college. I would ideally intern in some sector of a business's corporate social responsibility or sustainable development (nonengineering) division, though if I had to, I wouldn't be totally adverse to paying my dues by being just a coffee rat... as long as I was getting paid for it.

It wouldn't make sense for my school to have midwestern contacts within their own databases there are only a handful of midwestern students (generally from the "industrial" midwest rather than plains) at the school and something like 90% of students who graduate immediately go to work in Boston, DC, or NYC (the rest go to Chicago :P). It's a Jewish sponsored school with something like a 50% Jewish population, and places like Lincoln and Fargo aren't exactly Jewish cultural hotbeds like the others. Not trying to defend it, but why waste your resources if only one student (ie me) would use it?

I like Omaha but since most internships are either unpaid or have a really measly pay, I just can't afford the commute. I have $150 a month rent secured in Lincoln and without traffic from that apartment to downtown Omaha was about an hour. Gas alone would kill me. :\ I won't be able to find rent any cheaper in Omaha. I was interested in looking into Union Pacific but they only offer engineering internships.

[Gunluvver2]

Maybe you should check with some of the State's NRD's (Natural Resources Districts). Water issues are becoming a huge issue in all parts of Nebraska. With Corn based Ethanol plants popping up in various small communities in Nebraska water useage is very important.

Another option you might consider: With your language ability in Spanish you might be able to get an internship with the Department of Corrections. There is a tremendous demand for staff fluent in Spanish/English in corrections. It might not be a career choice you want to pursue but believe me when I say it would be a valuable learning experience for any young person.

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

Well.. my exact professional track ideally will eventually be working in water policy in Latin America, probably for either a large NGO, the UN, the State Department, or the World Bank. Of course this could all change as I won't have any practical experience in water policy outside of the classroom until I study abroad next year. This would come after professional school in public policy.

Check with each of the consulting/engineering groups that work with Cities and Counties on Planning related issues. Water is always a serious consideration for those firms.

Check with both the American Planning Association (APA) and the Nebraska Planning Zoning Association (NPZA) for leads.

Check with UNL for leads too, they have a strong Planning program and could probably provide leads.

[DarlaH]

Check out careerlink.com. They are a nonprofit out of Omaha and have about 104 internships posted in the Lincoln/Omaha area. They have a partnership with the Dept of Economic Development and are expanding their presence in the Lincoln area. You may find something. Click on For Students and then Find an Internship.