[aHumanBeing]

Look around for summer internships at companies you would be proud to work at. There are new grad internships that pay nearly as well as full time employees. They are specific to new graduates so you need to look for them now. Don't rule them out just because it says internship. If you go in with the attitude that they won't hire you after the internship is over then they likely won't. Go into an interview with the mindset that you'll work there forever. No employer likes wasting valuable training on an intern who is only there to get the experience and leave. Obviously you can leave...but you need to show them you are an FTE they want to keep and pay well.

Northern Virginia, Denver Colorado and California (extreme cost of living here though) are great places to look.

I worked retail for a decade before getting into IT, it's a job. If you need money take a job, if not I'd go the intern route.

 

[CptAsian]

I'll second the suggestion to seek limited-time internships and similar experiences. If nothing else, they'll teach you the sort of work environment and roles that you may or may not prefer before committing to a full-time position. That's been something I've learned from my two internship/co-op experiences I've had in college, and I hadn't considered that benefit beforehand.


Maybe not the most useful advice for you at the moment, but its something to consider.