AbstractDevice in  
Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin 

Return offer is a second internship?

I was hoping to get some perspective on a career question, as I'm not sure how to feel or respond.


Some background: I have an bachelor's degree in physics and in the middle of changing careers. I'm about to finish my Master's in CS. Last summer, I did a software engineering internship (in U.S.) (equivalent to ~60k) and at the end, the company offered to extend my internship indefinitely.


Since I was really hoping to be hired full-time, and I didn't think I could balance the work and do well in class, I decided to end my internship and focus on finishing my degree.


Recently (fast forward 2 semesters) I reached out to the company to see about a possible full-time return offer (since many previous interns seem to have returned as full-time employees) after finishing the degree, but I heard back that the company is only willing to offer me a second internship.


Is this type of half return offer (extended internship) normal? And would it be a possible path to a full-time position at that company? I'm worried because the interview process to even get the internship was very difficult, and I'm dreading doing it all over again for a full-time role.


I can't tell if I'm being taken advantage of, or if I'm really this bad at software engineering that I'm only worth ever hiring as an intern. Should I give up on this "return offer" and just focus on applying to full-time roles at different companies, or take the return internship offer given the current market?


Anyways, if you guys have any immediate thoughts or perspectives, or options I haven't considered, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

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eightysixerSoftware Engineer  
When do you graduate? Companies typically only offer internships to people still in school. Your status might be driving the decision making here. Companies only make an internship extension offer to the summer interns they like; the fact that you got that offer is a positive sign, and if they're offering you another internship it's a sign they want you full time (if they didn't, they would offer to someone else). Don't overthink this or allow any imposter syndrome to creep in. They want to pay you for your services. At the very worst, it's going to look positive on your resume that you had two internship stints at the same shop. Interviewing junior engineers is such a crapshoot, so seeing signal like that is very helpful to a hiring manager. You should definitely keep applying for full time roles if you are graduating this year, but there is a good chance this shop will want to convert you to full time after you get your degree.
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AbstractDeviceComputer Science  
Thank you for this perspective and I appreciate the encouragement! Thank you for this perspective. I told the company I was graduating in August and could start by early September, so I would already have the degree before I start (not in school) which is why this outcome is disappointing. I hadn't thought about the worst case scenario (two internships at the same company) being seen as a positive, but you're right.
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