My post yesterday directed at college students looking for the perfect job after graduation has received a lot of feedback. I have had many readers email me to further discuss the topic and the general consensus was that I should further analyze each of the three strategies. Since one of my major goals behind Studenomics is to help young people make optimal career decisions I think I owe it to the readers to dig a little deeper into this subject. As a result I’m excited to inform all of you that I will spend the rest of the week expanding on my three points from yesterday. Today I want to give all of you a few questions to ponder when considering if a college internship is the right move for you or if graduating sooner is the better option?
How is your education being funded?
Since I pay for my education on my own by working full time hours while in school, it makes sense for me to participate in a work term because it will give me a chance to save even more money. If your parents are paying for your education then graduating sooner could be the better option for you. The stress of owing thousands of dollars is definitely a motivational tool to earn money whenever possible.
What are the odds of finding work in the field?
If you are confident that you will find a job after graduation without any experience than all the power to you. Unfortunately, there aren’t many jobs out there where work is given to inexperienced individuals.
Is your field recession proof?
Certain fields will always earn money while others suffer greatly during a recession. The more your field suffers during a recession the harder it will be to find work in the next few years. Earning a degree in the business field has me motivated to gain as much real world experience as possible before graduating college.
What will the internship require you to do?
If a company is looking to hire someone to be the coffee boy or the chores guy then that isn’t exactly the best growth opportunity. If your school has the reputation of finding sub optimal positions for students then graduation is a better idea.
Whats is your networking progress?
Have you managed to make any key contacts in the industry? If you have then they are probably waiting for you to graduate to hire you. If not then an internship would provide you an easy opportunity to establish some strong contacts in the industry.
After reviewing these questions you should have a clear answer when it comes to deciding whether you should pursue an internship position or graduate quicker.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
You have to have experience! HAVE TO! If you’re looking to do anything in business & finance (where I’m headed), you’ve got to have some decent experience. Later I’d like to get an MBA, and that is going to require having some decent experience.
But it all depends on your field. You made that point.
I think internships are vital. I did an unpaid 15 hour a week internship the summer before my senior year of college. Financially, the national guard paid my way through school and I worked par-time for extra cash and also was a full time student year round. Was I busy? Absolutely!
The internship had me filing and other basic administrative tasks. I knew that having something on my resume was important though so I showed up each day dressed for success and eager to work. Apparently, it made a good impression because I got hired to work there part time for the rest of college and eventually turned into a full time job after college (financial advisor). So yes, from my perspective, an internship is vital if you want to get ahead.
You HAVE to invest your time into internships and other venues to get out there, make connections, and gain experience. I am a big beliver! Great post.
I had an internship in college that had nothing directly to do with my major but enjoyed it anyways, learn some new things and made some connections. I would say take any internship if you can, even if not related to your major. The reason is because it’s almost necessary these days to have one or companies won’t even give you an interview. Any internship is a resume builder and can be spun around to make it look like more was accomplished. Even boring useless internships can still get you recommendations or if nothing else advice from people there.
I would highly recommend that everyone does a internship.
1) You get to meet new contacts
2) You find out if you really want to do this type of job for the rest of your life
3) Looks great on your resume
4) You make some money
Great article!
Seems like all of the feedback I have received in regards to an internship is very positive. I just had my meeting with the director of the internship program yesterday and I came out feeling pretty good about the whole idea. My plan is to TRY to find a 1 year internship starting in September. I will postpone my studies for a year because I really don’t see the point of graduating from college during such a economic downturn. If I am able to secure a 1 year internship I would focus all of my energy on the job and this site in the evenings. Wish me luck!
What is your definition of internship? I worked summer internships in between each school year. It was a great opportunity to get some experience in my field and make some good cash. I was able to pay off all of my loans with my internship money.
Internships don’t always have to be a Co-op style where you work while you go to school. I’ve even had friends do internships during the month off in January.
Hum, internships might have been a good idea. Good luck to you, Studenomist on finding an internship and getting some real world work experience.
As for myself, I had a scholarship from my university that completely covered my tuition, at least during the normal school year. Had I taken classes during the summer, I would have had to pay for them myself, and so I worked instead. I wish I had made more of an effort to look for summer internships or other positions related to my field during my breaks, though; that would likely have helped my initial job search.
I think a lot of prestigious companies offer very competitive co-ops that inflate your resume a lot more than the typical internship.
An internship being a paper shuffler won’t do you much good if you don’t grab the bull by the horns and ask for responsibility, either!