Is an Internship necessary? /u/Chai_LattesSoCute CSCQ protests reddit

Hey there, I’m a junior at a state university and I’m debating on an internship which should probably be a no-brainer at this point but I’m truly wondering if its worth all the stress. I go to a state university and have an average GPA of 3.85 (not sure if this even matters). I’m debating going and applying for an internship for the reasons below. I am ultimately divided if i keep working on these things and go for the internship/do what i can or work on these things and take until august to hone my skills before I graduate. My gut feeling says to just go for internships and if nothing happens really work these skills more than I already am, but its also telling me to just wait until I grad and attempt to secure an entry-level position of some sort.

1. I’m currently working on a full-stack inventory management system I plan to implement in my parents liquor store they own, It’s not much but I feel developing a full-stack web app and creating my own front-end/back-end with user authentication is a larger project which I can actively work on more and more, I feel its good because I am both interacting with my parents as if its a customer-business relation since they take their business quite seriously and know next to nothing about software.

2. I’m also currently working on a video game I plan to launch sometime next year, It’s a psychological horror puzzle game with multiplayer. I’m currently working on this with someone who doesn’t know much about coding in general, however, I’ve had to learn processes of level design, making my own AI in C++, and general work flow to get the most done within a day. This has been an intense project where i’ve worked on this 12+ hours daily at times for the last 8 months having to learn the ins and outs of Unreal Engine 5.

3. With these two projects, I’m truly debating as to if I just spend my spring/summer until august getting these two projects done, practicing leetcode, and preparing for interviews by usings things such as Pramp. I’m thinking it might be a bit too late for an internship and I feel overall inconfident within my skills, the full-stack web app is still just scratching the surface and I have so much to learn I feel but things like leetcode and managing these two projects come easier and easier. I enjoy learning these things a lot and would love a career but I graduate sometime probably in Spring 2026. I am pretty financially stable currently but am just unsure if I work on skills and practice or do what I can and see if something happens.

Hey there, I’m a junior at a state university and I’m debating on an internship which should probably be a no-brainer at this point but I’m truly wondering if its worth all the stress. I go to a state university and have an average GPA of 3.85 (not sure if this even matters). I’m debating going and applying for an internship for the reasons below. I am ultimately divided if i keep working on these things and go for the internship/do what i can or work on these things and take until august to hone my skills before I graduate. My gut feeling says to just go for internships and if nothing happens really work these skills more than I already am, but its also telling me to just wait until I grad and attempt to secure an entry-level position of some sort.

1. I’m currently working on a full-stack inventory management system I plan to implement in my parents liquor store they own, It’s not much but I feel developing a full-stack web app and creating my own front-end/back-end with user authentication is a larger project which I can actively work on more and more, I feel its good because I am both interacting with my parents as if its a customer-business relation since they take their business quite seriously and know next to nothing about software.

2. I’m also currently working on a video game I plan to launch sometime next year, It’s a psychological horror puzzle game with multiplayer. I’m currently working on this with someone who doesn’t know much about coding in general, however, I’ve had to learn processes of level design, making my own AI in C++, and general work flow to get the most done within a day. This has been an intense project where i’ve worked on this 12+ hours daily at times for the last 8 months having to learn the ins and outs of Unreal Engine 5.

3. With these two projects, I’m truly debating as to if I just spend my spring/summer until august getting these two projects done, practicing leetcode, and preparing for interviews by usings things such as Pramp. I’m thinking it might be a bit too late for an internship and I feel overall inconfident within my skills, the full-stack web app is still just scratching the surface and I have so much to learn I feel but things like leetcode and managing these two projects come easier and easier. I enjoy learning these things a lot and would love a career but I graduate sometime probably in Spring 2026. I am pretty financially stable currently but am just unsure if I work on skills and practice or do what I can and see if something happens.