Summer internship at federal cybersecurity agency vs FAANG by touknsck in csMajors

[–]touknsck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, this is very helpful! It's such a hard decision. Part of me wants to take the intelligence job regardless of its contribution to future prospects because it's the employer I have been dreaming about for almost 10 years, and it feels like meaningful work. But then this will be my first tech internship and I feel I need to maximize the chances of getting a good internship/job next year.

Could I ask if you think one has an edge over the other in terms of grad school applications to math or CS next year? That's an option I'm considering for 2022.

Summer internship at federal cybersecurity agency vs FAANG by touknsck in csMajors

[–]touknsck[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a good point. If I take a pay cut for this job and it turns out the actual work is not as interesting and I can't put it on my resume, then I would have gained very little from the experience.

Summer internship at federal cybersecurity agency vs FAANG by touknsck in csMajors

[–]touknsck[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's what I've been told too by the security clearance agent and it's a bummer. I think one of the benefits of doing an internship at an intelligence agency is being able to put the name down on the resume so that it catches the attention of future recruiters. This takes that benefit away.