Concentrating in engineering or scientific disciplines at Harvard can lead to a diversity of career opportunities. You may choose to pursue graduate study to become more specialized in your chosen field, or to focus on teaching or research. Opportunities can be found in government laboratories and research centers, as well as agencies and political institutions. From an industry perspective, both scientific and non-scientific organizations value the quantitative, analytical, and logical reasoning skills developed as an undergraduate in the College.

Finding Internships

Plan on completing both a research and internship experience during your undergraduate education. Along with your coursework, the best way to explore a career in science or engineering is by finding laboratory work in your field with a potential mentor during the school terms or over the summer. In addition, internships (ideally in your junior summer) provide real-world industry experience, which is directly applicable to future career paths. Consider organizations as varied as engineering firms, government agencies, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, the energy industry, technology companies, or scientific consulting firms.

Finding Jobs

The junior internship is an ideal stepping stone to a full-time job in engineering or physical science. Employers also like to see hands-on or competition experiences (e.g. completing a design project, or participating in a robotics club). Plan to attend events in the fall, and look for a majority of job postings and interview opportunities in late fall and the spring of senior year.

Graduate and Professional Programs

Deciding whether to pursue a research-based Ph.D. program versus a professional master’s degree hinges on your ultimate goals. In addition to speaking with an adviser at our office, discuss this decision with trusted members of the faculty who have advised or taught you in a related discipline. Faculty are often in the best position to describe the academic and research components of graduate education and may even connect you to their colleagues in departments and schools across the country for further information.

Tamarin Tales: Gabrielle’s Summer Research in the Amazon

Gabrielle Mostow is a junior from Adams House concentrating in Human Evolution Biology. This past summer, Gabrielle completed an eight-week internship with Field Projects International in the Peruvian Amazon, where she assisted in research on the behavior and ecology of …

By Summer Funding
Summer Funding
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Student Reflection: From Mather to Geneva – Meghan’s Summer at CERN

Meghan is a senior in Mather House studying Physics. During the summer of 2024, Meghan completed an internship at The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Where did you go? 

This past summer, I conducted research …

By Summer Funding
Summer Funding
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4 things to know about the Startup Fair (Friday, Feb 14 1-4pm ET @ the Harvard i-Lab)

To a great extent, all in-person career fairs follow a similar formula – employers will each have a table at the event, and you will be able to walk around and speak to representatives.  It is an efficient way to …

By Deb Carroll
Deb Carroll Interim Director, Mignone Center for Career Success
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GRADUATE SPOTLIGHTS

Hamza Boutaleb Joutei ALM, Management ’24

  • Technical Director CEFIS Groupe
Meet Ido
  • Herchel Smith Fellowship, Environmental Engineering Cambridge University
Meet Bella
Meet Emily
  • Fulbright Research Fellowship in Neurscience/Biomedical Engineering, India; then Medical School
Meet Harini
Meet Bryan
Meet Evan
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Physical Sciences Trainee Environmental Protection Agency
Meet Ben
Meet Clayton
Meet Lawrence
Meet German
Meet Janis
Meet Kyle
Meet Andrew
Meet David
Meet Marisa Borreggine
Meet Katharina Theresa Kroll
Meet Kelly Wang Zhang
Meet Malia Wenny
Meet Nicholas Deporzio

Contact & Location

Phone
617-495-2595
Address

Harvard University
54 Dunster Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

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Tuesday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
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The Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) is committed to ensuring access to a broad range of information and opportunities across all sectors. Our website contains external content that may be useful to our learners. The inclusion of external content does not necessarily constitute endorsement, recommendation, or agreement with the information.