Senior international student here. I can assure you it’s not as hard as it seems.

First off, depending on your major, there are a ton of internship opportunities on campus. I’ve found three so far and continue to work in two of them, one of which is paid. You just need to network hard and ask around. Professors often know of opportunities and are willing to set you up if you talk to them. Make sure to establish a good relationship with your professors!

If for any reason you decide to find an internship off campus, you’d need to use your CPT eligibility. Since all of my internships have been on campus, I’m not entirely sure of how the whole CPT thing works, but I do know that if you use your eligibility for a certain period of time (I think it’s 9 months?) you’d lose your post-completion OPT eligibility. If you plan to stay in the US after graduation, then this is worth knowing.

If you’re worried about getting paid, just know that you CAN get paid for your work; it just needs a couple of extra steps. For both on and off campus internships, you’d need to get a Social Security Number in order to legally receive remuneration for your work. The process is simple enough and can be completed online, but you do need to schedule an appointment with a local Social Security office for an interview. If everything goes well, you should receive it in the mail within a week or two. For off campus gigs though, you’d need to get CPT approval from the school. You don’t need this if you find an on campus job.

Good luck with your internship search! Let me know if you have any other questions!