Which companies recruit on campus?
Popular Top Employers included Amazon in Tech, Optum in Healthcare, and Liberty Mutual in Financial Services. While these large companies hire many students, we recognize that students look for a broad range of opportunities. We are proud of the fact that 110 different employers hired CICS Undergraduates from the Class of 2019.
Do students get internships in their first summer?
Yes. Last year, first-year students interned with Liberty Mutual, IBM, Dell, and Fidelity, to name a few. First year students are encouraged to attend our fall and spring careers fairs, as well as other specialized recruiting events such as the Startup Recruiting Night, which is in the late spring when first-years tend to be more prepared. There are also other opportunities for professional growth for first-year CICS students who are not doing internships including Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), projects, and preparing for technical interviews.
Can students do co-ops?
Yes, but with some restrictions. Co-ops, which we define as internships during the academic semester (possibly extended through the summer break), are one of several types of experiential learning opportunities for students. Unlike other schools, they are not required since most students have successful post-graduation outcomes with summer internships. Domestic students can follow the UMass co-op process. Career Developer, Johnny Wu, an Informatics student in CICS, recently completed a co-op at Liberty Mutual, in Boston.
International students are restricted by the F-1 student visa CPT requirements. At this time, international students are not eligible to do co-ops during the academic semester when they are required to remain full-time students. We are working on new models that could enable this option in addition to the popular summer internships, which are supported using CPT.
How does CICS Careers prepare students for the world of work?
CICS Careers offers individual coaching from the moment students step on campus. We help with the essentials of resume review, cover letter writing, and search strategy. However, our career center specializes in helping CICS students with their personalized career plan. For example we focus on preparing students for technical interviewing by leading our "Ace The Coding Interview" (ATCI) program, both inside and outside the classroom. We also offer one-one-one mock tech interviews and other types of appointments with our student team to share knowledge gained from courses, internships, and interviews.
What is the advantage of studying for a B.A. in Computer Science?
Job descriptions typically group Computer Science majors together, not distinguishing between the B.S. and the B.A. Recruiters also rarely focus on this aspect when reviewing a resume. Both degrees give students the same fundamental knowledge and skills and make students eligible for the Bay State Programs, which provide scholarships to continue studying Computer Science at the Master's level. The B.A. allows additional flexibility to explore other disciplines, especially during Junior and Senior year. Some students choose to complement their CS studies with more courses in math, which lends itself to success in data science. Some students choose to study Psychology, in addition to CS, which makes them attractive candidates for careers in user experience/user interface (UI/UX) design, because of their knowledge of Human-Computer Interaction.
How can students get involved on campus?
CICS has numerous clubs and organizations, ranging from Women in Informatics and Computer Science to Cybersecurity Club. We also host two hackathons each academic year, HackUmass in the fall and HackHer413 in the spring. We encourage students to get involved to develop their professional portfolios, while building community and a network on campus.
Further career-related questions?
Email us at cicscareers@cics.umass.edu.