We get it: the financial struggle is REAL at times! Taking out student loans, paying bills, managing expenses and saving money all require strategic planning and decision making.
The resources below may help you in your overall spending and set a foundation for future savings.
Financial aid can come in the form of grants, work study, student loans, parent loans, scholarships and other awards. A counselor is available to help walk you through your options.
UMBC's Monthly Payment Plan (MPP) can help you budget your out of pocket costs not covered by financial aid. The plan enables you to pay tuition and fees as well as university room and board on an installment basis.
Students who attend UMBC full-time may consider enrolling in (and finishing) 15 credits per fall and spring semester. Not only will this plan help students graduate within a timely fashion, it also yields other financial benefits such as lower overall tuition/educational expenses and lower student loan debt.
This site provides students with information on finance-related topics such as credit, investing, job seeking, and budgeting.
Speaking of budget, we encourage you to check out our new MyBudgetCoach program. This online platform allows you to work closely with a trained coach who will help you make informed decisions and develop a budget to meet your financial goals.
For ongoing announcements and updates on financial education and literacy opportunities at UMBC, join the Financial Smarts myUMBC Group.
Not all textbooks are available to rent, but for those that are, this can significantly cut down on your book budget for the semester! Renting can often be a good option for your non-major courses.
It’s simple, carpooling saves on gas. UMBC has partnered with Zimride by Enterprise to help connect you to other UMBC students in your area who are looking to carpool.
Some other tips include:
Using an app to manage your money – There’s an app for that! Online Banking, websites like Mint.com, and budgeting spreadsheets can provide you with plenty of ways to keep your finances organized.
Keeping an eye out for student discounts – From museums, to movie theater tickets, to cell phone plans --- don’t hesitate to ask retailers and businesses if they offer student discounts!
Planning for big expenses in advance - Putting a little money aside each pay check will help you avoid the strain of having to decide between splurging on an afternoon at the mall or paying for school expenses such as text books or meal plans.
Being conservative with credit cards – Having a credit card or two can be good if you use them strategically. Start by maintaining one card and make at least one charge to it every month, such as gas or groceries.
And for fun, check out Baltimore College Town for your weekly run-down of free and affordable entertainment in the area!
Do you have some financially savvy ideas you would like to share? Feel free to post them below!
Freshmen and Sophomores: When should I start looking for internships, service learning or other types of experience?
UMBC: It is never too early to start! In fact, we recommend that you start exploring right away!
You may have heard the word “experiential learning” several times during your initial visits to UMBC, new student orientation, and other presentations. Experiential learning encompasses activities such as internships, shadowing experiences, study abroad, independent research, or service learning. In essence, experiential learning allows you to reflect on your experiences while doing the work that really matters. Learn more about Kolb’s experiential learning theory.
We take pride in our experiential learning opportunities here at UMBC. Below are ways that you can take your experiences to the next level. Gaining experience now can translate into future job opportunities.
UMBC is committed to undergraduate research and our Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships has opportunities for students in STEM, Social Sciences, Humanities, international students, graduating seniors, and more!
The annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) will take place on April 24th! Although the deadline to submit proposals has passed, we encourage you to check out the event for some future ideas!
Studying abroad is one of the best ways to acquire global and intercultural skills. Applications for Summer 2019 programs are currently being accepted. In order to get started, you must first attend a Study Abroad 101 session held by the Office of International Education Services. Sessions are held:
Mondays: 12:00 pm -1:00 pm
Wednesdays: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Thursdays: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
All sessions are in the Administration Building, Rm 301.
If you are living in the Baltimore area and looking for spring/fall opportunities, we encourage you to apply for the Bmore Abroad Scholarship!
Want to become a social change agent? The Shriver Center can connect you with opportunities for service learning and civic engagement. Scholarships for service are also available!
You can stop by the Career Center at any time, but keep an eye out for Career Month in April! The Career Center will host several opportunities to connect with prospective employers who are hiring UMBC students for internships and co-ops. In some cases, you can even earn academic credit!
Shadowing and Volunteer Opportunities
You can learn "on the job" skills and training through shadowing and volunteering as well. Whether you are tutoring middle school students or shadowing clinicians in a health care facility, you are gaining invaluable experience that can prepare you for the real world. If you find a place you would like to explore, we recommend reaching out and asking about these opportunities.
Remember, it is never too early to get a head start on your career! Take the first step today!
The Brookings Institution
is looking to hire UMBC Research Interns for this summer. The
positions are full-time, paid ($14 per/hr) and are open to
undergraduates and graduate students.
The Brookings Institution is a highly regarded, nonprofit public
policy organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to conduct
in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving societal problems
at the local, national and global levels. It takes pride in being one of
the world’s leading think-tanks.
Culture: Our work environment encourages our employees in both research and non-research positions to have an impact on problems facing society. Brookings emphasizes individuality while promoting institution-wide collaboration, and fosters collegiality amongst staff in all departments and at all levels. At Brookings, employees have opportunities to engage with thought leaders and scholars, participate in professional development programs and attend Brookings events.
The following summer internships are available on UMBCworks (descriptions attached)TO APPLY
- Submit your resume, cover letter, and unofficial transcript via UMBCworks by Friday, March 8th. If you have any problems submitting your credentials, simply contact Christine Routzahn at the Career Center (routzahn@umbc.edu)
Name:Abhishek Dhaktod
Internship, Co-op or Research Site:Knorr Brake Company
Position Title: Project Management Intern
Major(s)/Minor(s):Engineering Management
Work Term:Summer 2018
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
Knorr Brake Company (KBC) is a part of the Knorr Bremse Family located in Munich, Germany. Located in Westminster, Maryland, KBC is a manufacturer of Braking, Door, and HVAC systems for the Mass Transit Rail Industry. As a project management intern for the Rail Services - Brake Division, I work on multiple projects all across the North America supporting Project Manager and their activities such as updating current database such as Bill of Materials, scheduling, procurement and supply chain activities. Currently I am working on a localization process in which I will be responsible of developing an action plan for the Knorr Brake Company to support projects that come under FTA/FRA "Make in USA" regulations. Since the project involves multiple departments and their internal processes, from the base level manufacturing processes, supplier quality assessment to upper level long term planning, I am getting the maximum exposure an Intern would expect.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I heard about the position in November 2017 during a career fair organized by UMBC Career Center. I met the HR representatives and since then I was taken regular follow-ups on the position requirements and status. The career center helped me design a resume specific to the positional requirements since the HR representative clearly told me that my resume was good for almost all available position but, it she was not able to point me in a particular direction. Finally I got an interview call in mid May which and a few weeks later I got a confirmation call.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
Project Management is a domain which will help you get maximum exposure in a company. A project manager here at KBC is responsible from the earliest contract stage of a project till the closure or warranty phase. After years of experience, a project manager develops multiple skills like marketing, negotiating, scheduling, managing budgets and customer relationship which is what I am looking forward to in near future.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
Project Managers usually handle multiple projects and they have huge responsibilities on them. These projects are worth millions of dollars and when an intern helps him/her in accomplishing a task at a faster rate, I believe it is a significant contribution towards the organization.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
The subjects we choose and previous experiences/projects and activities can definitely help someone land an internship like this.
Like the Career Center on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
#UMBCintern
Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!
]]>Attention Student Organization members!! Consider registering your organization to participate in the annual Reverse Career Fair, Friday, March 29, 2019. $200 prize for the organization that wins the Best Booth Contest. Full details and registration form is available HERE
]]>Registration is OPEN!
Attendee & Education Session Registration
Date: March 27, 2019
Venue: Turf Valley Resort
2700 Turf Valley Road
Ellicott City, Maryland 21042
Don't miss the largest Life Sciences Showcase in the region. Attend the
education sessions, join us for the keynote lunch or just attend the
showcase and After Party. So many options and a lot of new features.
Be part of the largest biotech / pharmacuetical conference in the area. Highlights include:
You don't want to miss this opportunity and it's FREE to attend the exhibit hall and After Party if you register before March 11th. Don't delay!
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Agenda:
12:30pm - 2:00pm Keynote Lunch
2:00pm - 6:00pm Showcase Open
Education Sessions
(You may sign up for 2 education sessions, but please note the times of the sessions when registering.)
2:15 pm - 3:45pm
Education #1 - Recruiting and developing talent in the Biohealth Capital Region
Education #2 - Single Use Technology presentation by AstraZeneca.
Single Use technology has been used successfully for decades to improve the flexibility of existing stainless steel manufacturing plants. More recently, entire production facilities are being designed with single use flow paths. AstraZeneca’s Director-level process and manufacturing team leaders will discuss AZ’s journey from the introduction of single use through current production strategies and the establishment of a single use management system.
4:15 pm - 5:45 pm
Education #3 - State of the Market. Panelists from different sectors of the industry to discuss trends and the state of the market.
Education #4 - BIO 101: Overview of upstream & downstream BIO processing + cGMPS
Whether you are entirely new to the industry and trying to figure out how terms like process development, mammalian cell lines, and protein purification apply to what your company does, or you’re currently working in a GMP environment and looking for a way to grow your skills and knowledge to advance your career, this program is for you.
6:00pm - 7:30pm After Party -
Food and live music by The Fluid Guy and magic by Andrew Lees, Fina Biosolutions.
Hopefully, you were able to stop by the Career Fair last week and have been emailing with recruiters ever since. If not, never fear! The Career Center has a huge list of events happening this semester. You can see our full calendar here, and be sure to look at my guide below on what to expect from each type of event.
Single Events:
Just like the Career Fair, there are a bunch of once a semester or once a year events happening this Spring. I can’t cover them all here, so be sure to look at our full list of events, but I'll go over a few. The CAHSS Career Conference is happening March 7th!. It’ll be an evening full of employer panels, alumni stories and free desserts. This next event isn’t really one event, but instead a full month of events happening every single day. April is our Career Month where we have daily workshops, panels, or other events. And finally, if you’re a graduate student, we have an event just for you! Our Career Paths for Graduate Students event is a speed networking and discussion session. Be sure to register if you are interested.
Recurring Events:
Recognize a UMBC Professor or Staff Member for Making an Impact on your Career Success!
Has a professor or staff member made a positive impact on your career
goals, employment, and/or graduate school preparation? If so, take a
few minutes to recognize this individual as a UMBC Career Connector!
Say thank you in a special way!
Thank a professor or staff member who has written a letter of
recommendation, has helped you explore potential careers, or who has
made a positive impact on your life.
All those nominated will be recognized by the
UMBC Career Center with a small gift and provided with a recognition
certificate with your note of thanks.
Complete Your Recognition Today!
To participate, please complete your brief recognition via our survey HERE.
Feel free to recognize more than one person. Again, your note of thanks
will be shared directly with the person nominated with a small gift and
not on our website.
DEADLINE: Tuesday, March 5th, 5 PM EST
Nominated professors and staff will be recognized the first week of April.
Name:Savio Kay
Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Maryland Auto
Position Title: I.T. Analyst
Major(s)/Minor(s): Information Systems (Master's)
Work Term:Summer 2018 - Spring 2019
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (Maryland Auto) was created by the legislature of the State of Maryland. At Maryland Auto, I am currently in the Cloud Service & Business Intelligence department. My day to day responsibilities involved in creating, managing, and maintaining various Business Intelligence projects as well as participate in a project involving the development of a natural language processing unit led by AWS to help create a chatting application for the insurance company. This application is meant to facilitate in helping to address various queries from the customers about their policy and insurance. We believe that post development and testing phase, the final version would be proposed to use in the Maryland Auto’s live website for regular use in the near future.
In addition, I was able to use various project management tools and techniques to create and manage project schedules, identify milestones and involve in strategic project planning. Moreover, I was involved in preparing business analytical models & identifying key customers issues and create better business project strategies.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
Maryland Auto is a prominent partner of the Career Center and has recruited many interns throughout several years. The Company has made many strides in the financial sector. Being new to the discipline, I was eager to join the company to acquire more knowledge about the business furthermore corporate environment.
I spoke to a couple of seniors who previously were residents at the company, visited the career center for advice and to get my resume approved, contacted Maryland Auto and had a phone interview with their management. Along with a technical meeting, there were a phone and an on-site interview. After a thorough review of my options with my advisor, I was on my way to Maryland Auto for my internship.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
I enjoyed practicing what I studied from my Graduate courses to my work, almost directly. This gave me a further real-time outlook of the practical implications of theoretical concepts acquired in class. I also had multiple occasion to communicate and coordinate with cross-functional team members in a dynamic corporate environment.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I believe that my work in the Natural Language Processing & Cloud Services department will assist with servicing customer policy requests for residents at the company far more efficient. The project deployment is in the upcoming updates of the company systems. It enables the company to entertain more customer request while maintaining proper customer service. While sustaining an efficient workflow, it also utilizes individuals to their maximum potential.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
I believe there is a lot to learn from any internship experience. Other than your own personal learning goals towards the internship/co-op, you get to learn more with various activities on and off projects and also with and without team members. I would really advice being open to learning new things from the internship as the environment is vastly different from the school experience. The last thing I would want to say is Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.
I am always open to your additional queries regarding internships and converting it into a co-op.
Connect with me on LinkedIn | GitHub | Instagram
Like the Career Center on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
#UMBCintern
Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!
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