Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
Between my sophomore and junior year, I worked like mad - literally applying to every company that hires interns in my engineering field. My resume was well-polished and I spent like 10 hrs/week applying. I didn't get anything. The next summer I did the same thing and got about 10 internship offers, including NASA and several large defense contractors. If you want an internship, really work hard at it. Not only will applying and interviewing a lot help you now, it'll help you in the future.
I would say screw econ related work and get an internship in comp sci. Also, limiting yourself to something nearby is shooting yourself in the foot. Companies that hire computer science majors WILL pay you. When I interned as an engineer at a defense contractor, they payed me a ton of money in addition to relocation and a housing stipend.