More and more college graduates earn their degree merely to discover that no one will hire them because they don’t have any practical experience in their field. Unfortunately, this appears a catch-22. How can you gain practical experience if no one will hire you? The answer lies in internships. Internships are a good way to make the transition from learning to practicing go as smoothly as possible. It’s a good idea for people who are about to graduate, or who have just graduated, to look for internships.
The term ‘internship’ generally refers to a short-term work experience where an undergraduate or graduate works for little or no pay in order to gain experience, and possibly to be hired on at the end of his internship. Internships may be sponsored by the university, by the business, or may even be created by the individual interning. It’s possible for you to offer to work for a while at no cost for a company you like or for a non-profit organization to get the desired experience. Companies are usually amenable to such offers. Internships vary in length, usually from about 250 hours to a full year.
It’s much easier to get internships than to get jobs. Internships often pay low or no salary; so many students write them off. But the benefits gained from doing internships are enormous, greatly offsetting the lower pay. First, the intern has a chance of being hired after his internship, which is much easier than searching for a job, preparing resumes, and doing countless interviews. Second, the intern gains valuable job experience, which makes it much more probable that he will successfully obtain a job in his area of expertise, even if he is not hired by the company he interned with.
It’s also possible to get academic credit for internships, sometimes up to nine credit hours. This can be especially nice when the internships are paid, as internships then meet requirements for both school and work. This saves the student time, and to the busy student, time is an extremely valuable commodity. Some majors even require internships, but it’s a good idea for everyone to do internships, even if your major doesn’t require them before graduation; especially if your major is one that is not in high demand. For example, it’s not very hard for a computer science major, or a nursing major to find a job even without doing internships, but for someone majoring in humanities or marine biology the process of finding a career may be much more difficult; this process may be greatly aided by completing a relevant internship.
It’s not as easy as most university students expect to get a job after graduating, especially when the careers in their field are limited. Remember, there are many other college graduates competing for the same jobs, and one great way to set yourself apart from the rest is to look for internships, and gain the valuable experience required to get a job in the future.
By Riannon Cutler