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Student employment at Intel is a true testing ground. Co-ops and internships can last as long as nine months, giving students a chance to really experience life on the inside, not just the periphery.
“The students work on real-world deliverables and projects where people are depending on them to either complete their research or a certain part of their project on time,” says Khen Russell who, as one of Intel’s campus recruiting managers, focuses primarily on universities and national engineering conferences.
Choosing hands-on experience over a timely graduation is a deal Intel interns and co-ops are willing to make. And they need not wait until they’re about to graduate to start getting that experience, as Intel hires students as young as sophomores into its program. The program can accommodate upward of a thousand students.
Intel is the world’s largest semiconductor chip maker and a leader in the manufacture of microprocessors and technology platforms. It employs over 94,000 people in forty-eight countries. The company is looking to fill over 700 openings in the next year and plans to draw from among new graduates and its own former student employees.
“We generally like to hire from our intern and co-op pool,” Russell says. “They’ve been tried and tested and as long as they had a successful experience, they’re eligible to come back the following summer. If they’re going to graduate, then we encourage managers to look at them first.”
Student applicants must have a 3.0 GPA and the ability to work in the U.S. When students come on board at Intel, each is immediately assigned a hiring manager who is responsible for getting the student acclimated to the work environment as well as the Intel language and culture. The company relies on acronyms that are “comparable to having to learn a new language,” Russell says.
Intern and co-op program managers organize networking workshops, barbecues and other outings for student employees. Permanent employees and students have access to social activities that range from motorcycle clubs to volleyball tournaments.
Intel supports its diverse employee pool by encouraging membership and participation in external organizations like AISES, NSBE, SHPE, SWE, the National Urban League, the National Black MBA Association and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. The company also recruits at the annual conferences of these organizations, Russell adds.
The company looks primarily for people with degrees in electrical engineering, computer science and computer engineering. People in other engineering and business disciplines are also in demand. Candidates often have advanced degrees. Campus technical recruiting managers visit thirty-six different universities, including Cornell (Ithaca, NY), North Carolina A&T (Greensboro, NC), University of Texas–Pan Am (McAllen, TX) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA).
Intel provides scholarships and fellowships to students to encourage research in science and engineering. The company provides the framework of the research needed as well as funding, and students and professors prepare proposals to perform the work. “We try to give bachelors students an opportunity to get hands-on experience in doing research that relates to Intel’s core business,” says Russell. “It benefits both us and the student, and we hope it builds a pipeline for the student to pursue a masters and then even a PhD.”
Intel also supports advanced degree fellowships of the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Science and Engineering (GEM, www.gemfellowship.org) and the Semiconductor Research Corporation (www.src.org). Fellowships awarded by Intel include funding for tuition and other fees, along with an Intel mentor and an Intel personal computer.
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www.intel.com
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Headquarters: |
Santa Clara, CA |
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Employees: |
94,100 |
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Budget: |
$35.4 billion (revenue) |
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Business: |
Semiconductor chip production and advanced technologies for quad-core processing, business, gaming, software development, hardware design and healthcare |
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