I currently work at General Electric. They have a program called (Information Management Leadership Program) IMLP Program.

Brief Desc:

GE's Corporate Entry-Level Leadership Programs combine responsible and important job assignments along with formal classroom studies. The rotational assignments cut across different aspects of a GE business, providing you with broad and valuable experience in a relatively short amount of time.

For more info: http://www.gecareers.com/Campus/it_program_guide.cfm

JonBoy, has some good advice about checking websites. I guess it would depend on what type of industry he would like to work in then getting the top players and find out what type of Intern programs are available.

Good Luck

 

Make sure the school he goes to has a good Unix program. Being able to develop for multiple platforms is the best insurance against a tight job market.

 

Judging from the answers to this question, it is incredible the vast distribution of knowledge among all the S2000 enthusiasts. But I think there is also a mix of information in there as well. As someone who dabbles in the "art", I'd like to point out a couple of things:

First, to say that your son wants "specifically" to focus on "software engineering" is a little too premature. "Software Engineering" is a very narrow branch of the broader discipline known as computer science. To say so early that he wants to focus on software engineering is akin to someone saying "I want to study how to treat toe-nail diseases" instead of studying pre-med. I would strongly suggest that your son keep his mind open and not be too narrow-minded so early in the game.

Second, being a "wiz" on computers can mean many different interests: there is the Hardware aspects and then there is the Software aspects; and there are programs that mix the two (these are the "architects"). Although it seems your son is interested in the software side right now, I'd again suggest that he keep his mind open to possible hardware interests -- or possibly areas that mixes the two (CPU architecture, Platform architecture, OS development, Compiler development, etc. require knowledge in both HW and SW). Berkeley and Stanford (just to name a few local universities) have programs that teach the mixed discipline (EECS at Berkeley). I am sure many other universities also have similar programs. To stay purely on the SW side, any university with a good CS department will do.

Third, even just in the SW world, there is a vast spectrum of areas to focus in later on in life. What the people in the IT (Information Technology) department do is very different from what a software developer does who work for Microsoft in their Windows development group. Don't narrow the interest too early. Go and explore the options.

Finally, the term "software engineering". In the trade, this term has very specific meanings -- generally it means someone who is more concerned with the "process" of software development (requirement specifications, interface specification, modular development, documentation, testing, etc.). Some software engineers are focused on the correctness proofing of software programs. This could become very theoretical and heavy on the math, with proofs of correctness and so on. If software engineering were free, then any software project would be doing it, no matter how small; but unfortunately, software engineering is both costly and time-consuming. So it is mostly used by DOD/NASA-related projects, or large projects where the correctness of the software is of high importance -- telephony, life support systems, fail-safe systems, etc.. If this is what your son is interested in, then good for him -- definitely consider joining the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). But still, take a look at what else is out there that may also interest him.

Good luck to your son.

 

The wealth of collective knowledge available on this site is truly amazing. My son is very impressed and thanks all of you for taking the time to give your input. Jack