Career prototypes can be conversations, internships, research experiences, or other short-term projects enabling you to test assumptions + inform your future career decisions. Whether you’re building a solar car or organizing a conference about sustainability, you’re learning about an industry and trying something new. These experiences are interactive (mens et manus) and leave room to reflect (do I want to do this again?) At MIT you’ll have many opportunities to prototype a career through CAPD and the robust number of experiential learning programs offered at the Institute. Don’t see an option that suits your needs? Schedule an appointment with a CAPD staff member to brainstorm ideas.
Career prototypes
Ways You Can Prototype Your Career
Career conversations with MIT Alums
- Use MIT Alumni Advisors Hub to book career conversations or ask alums if they open to job shadowing opportunities.
- Search MIT’s Alumni Directory to find professionals you can connect with.
Internships & Micro-internships
- Review these resources to help you find an internship
- Complete micro-internships ( short-term projects) over IAP many are hosted by MIT Alums
Virtual Experience Programs
- InterSECT enables PhD-level scientists and humanists to explore future career options through job simulations
- Forage offers virtual work experience programs developed through company partners
Experiential Learning @ MIT
- Use ELx to find Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELOs) @ MIT including UROPs, MISTI and more!
- Join students groups that partner with employers
- Participate in hackathons, design or engineering challenges
Momentum is an interdisciplinary design course (16.682) offered to first and second year undergraduate students during MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP).
Momentum 2024 will be held January 8th – February 2nd, 2024. This year, Blue Origin is challenging participants to …
Looking for a short-term project or internship over IAP? Consider a micro-internship! Build skills, connect with employers and explore a career path. Check out these micro-internships:
There are more projects in Handshake and it’s really easy to search for them. …
Starting a new job is one of the most important — and challenging — parts of any professional’s career. All too often, employees struggle to understand the cultural norms of their new organizations, leading to a variety of workplace conflicts. To set …
“Experience” Hands-On Diplomacy as a U.S. Foreign Service Intern.
Spend two summers in an experiential-learning program designed to expose undergraduate students to U.S. diplomacy and the work of the Department of State. Established in 2014, this merit and needs-based opportunity is available to …
MIT Sloan School of Management’s offering from Wall Street Prep is a suite of online courses, which span foundational, advanced, and industry–specific topics and are designed to provide students with solid foundation across all of these areas within …
