Paid, year long undergraduate internship opportunites in accelerator science

nicholls

I was wondering if anybody knew of any good paid internship opportunities in the field of accelerator science/engineering or related fields for undergraduate students? They could be located anywhere in the world, but at least accessible for Canadian students. These internships would be approximately one year in length, and would be taken between say the third and fourth year of university.

I've looked into places like SLAC and CERN but have not found anything suitable. CERN offers exactly what I am looking for, however, I would have to be from a member state which I am not, so I cannot participate. I am wondering if anybody knows of any smaller companies or research institutes located anywhere in the world which may offer such internships.

A little extra information so you don't have to ask:
I am going into my third year of engineering physics at the university of toronto in Canada and I am planning out what I will be doing one year from now. Currently I am planning on participating on an exchange to DESY/university of hamburg in which I will go to class like a standard college exchange but will also participate in a year long research project in the Internation Max Planck Research School for Ultra Fast Imaging and Structural Dynamics. This is a great opportunity for me as I will get the chance to produce and publish a paper in a field I am interested in. However, money is an issue, and I will not be getting paid during this exchange. Thus I am trying to see if maybe I could find something equally as beneficial with which I could make money at the same time.

Right now I am considering graduate school in physics or engineering. I have a strong interest in high energy physics, and I have the academic capabilities to pursue this interest in graduate school, but I am debating as to whether it is the right career path for me. I am considering a more applied career path in which it might be a bit more easy for me to find a decent job, earlier in life (maybe before I'm 30). Accelerator science/engineering interests me as it is very applied and requires both substantial physics and engineering. It also is the backbone of research in experimental high energy physics plus many other important fields.

tldr: read the first paragraph

MATLABdude

I TLDR'd (okay, I skimmed the rest--I highly suggest you don't plan on going to grad school for the money / prestige).

We have a few of these in our own backyard. Granted, not as high-powered or high-price-tagged, but there's still good science going on there (and you're more likely to qualify and get paid for the internship or summer research / NSERC / NRC).

TRIUMF (TRI-University Meson Facility)
http://www.triumf.ca/home/employment...s-scholarships

CLS (Canadian Light Source)
http://www.lightsource.ca/careers/

NRC Canadian Neutron Beam Centre
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/cnbc.html

Do well at any of the above, and you'll probably find a contact or few (and their references) who probably knows / conferences with a guy / gal at one of the bigger names (pay may still be an issue--that's academia for you...)