Take Software Architect role or aim for consulting internship.

Hi all,
I'm a rising sophomore at a large state school. I'm finishing up a software development internship at a Fortune 500 financial services company. They have asked me to return in a software architect role. I'm torn, because, while the architect role would be a really big deal, my goal is to go in to strategy consulting. I don't know if I should pass up this offer while there's no guarantee that I'll be able to get a consulting role next summer. There are a few summer programs aimed at sophomores that I think I would be competitive for, but I know that there is a very real chance that I would not get anything. And in case it influences your suggestion, I would have no problem getting another software dev internship at the same company ( or a few others) if I were to pass on the architecture role. I would appreciate any advice on the matter.

7 Comments
 

You can negotiate with them to keep the offer open till later. You're already doing well being a rising sophomore with that opportunity. Next summer if you take the internship again you'll have more leeway to cater your workflow towards a strategy consulting job the next summer.

But definitely try to negotiate leaving it as an open offer and then apply elsewhere.

 

You are offered a software architect role right after internship? is internship the only experience with software or have you worked as a developer prior? but getting a software architect role just after internship sounds a bit sketchy. Architect role requires thorough understanding of software development, business and other management skills. Without development experience, you are going to have difficult time. Unless you are the only IT guy for that company who does coding and being an architect. Look up software architect job functions.

 

Sorry if I wasn't clear. It's a Software Architecture internship. I have about a year of prior experience in professional software development in addition to my current internship. The position would likely involve dealing with high level design for various projects. They offered me this role because they know I'm interested in consulting and it's the closest job they have in their IT department.

 

In my oppinion, you should apply for some consulting roles. Option 1: You recieve an offer in consulting. Option 2: As you state, in case you do not get the consulting offer this time, you always can rely on another software dev internship opportunity.

Just to ensure: Even if you are interested into strategy consulting, I also recommend to apply for some other consulting roles.

 

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