I am quite surprised that this did not come up until after I attended the logistics webinar with my faculty advisor, but I now have a dilemma on my hands. While I feel like I am one of the most valuable assets on the solar car team, I also feel a great amount of pressure to get an internship so that I will be more marketable when it comes time for me to obtain a full-time job. Considering that scrutineering, qualifiers, the race itself, and the trip back will take about a month, the two are mutually exclusive — I cannot have my cake and eat it too.

So far, my friends, family, and professors said things along the lines of:

• Do what you will regret least.
• What is your opportunity cost? (about $7,000, although travel expenses will come out of team funds)
• You will have all your life to work, but you only have this one time in your life to participate in a race.

Please feel free to offer your advice in the comments section.

Update (2/3): I am currently considering graduate school as a way out of this dilemma.   I can get an internship after my senior year and continue on to graduate school, which has some pretty nice courses about power.