No summer internship

[David Payne]

I did not get a summer internship so far and its unlikely that I will anytime soon. I am still trying though. I do not have any previous work experience or projects. I do have a certification in Java though, besides some knowledge of html, databases c, c++.
Can you suggest a plan B for the summer in case I dont get an internship. What would you suggest ? Make a project of my own ? If yes, then where do I begin and where do I get help from ?
Should I just pile up more certifications during the summer for use later ?

Please help.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

David,
Welcome to CodeRanch!

What year are you in school? This may affect the answers.

Have you ever made a website just for fun? This would be a good summer experience. As would be trying to contribute something to an open source project.

[David Payne]

Jeanne Boyarsky wrote:David,
Welcome to CodeRanch!

What year are you in school? This may affect the answers.

Have you ever made a website just for fun? This would be a good summer experience. As would be trying to contribute something to an open source project.

I am a grad student in the first year. I have some ideas for a website (which I guess are novel) which I could implement if I don't get an internship. But, from the numerous tools, techniques and technologies available, I just dont know which ones to use for a personal, super small project. I don't even know how much such projects would be appreciated by potential employers in the future. Besides, I dont know how I will exhibit a project once I decide to make it.

[David Payne]

Bounce!

[chris webster]

One of the benefits of things like internships or temporary jobs is the opportunity to learn from colleagues and build your network, and it looks good on your record. Maybe you could look at doing some free work for local organisations/charities e.g. you have web/DB skills so maybe you could help them with web sites? This might not be the most interesting work in technical terms, but it gets you involved with real-world projects and meeting people, which will be useful and hopefully fun. Is there an organisation that matches IT people to charity requirements in this way (here in the UK we have IT4Communities, for example)? Or try your local web or Java user groups?