Internship Facts

WHAT IS INTERNSHIP ?

Simply put, an internship is on-the-job work experience that is either related to your career interest or current field of study. Internship can be paid or unpaid, and can take place during the academic year or during the summer. All internship are short-term but can last anywhere from a single week to a full year. Most internship function as training opportunities and some, especially ones that take place during the school year, can be research projects where a professor or a company wants a student to study a new topic of interest.

BENEFITS OF AN INTERNSHIP

An internship is a hands-on way to learn new skills at a company or organization rather than in a classroom. Internships are a great opportunity for high school students, recent high school graduates, college students, and even adults looking to explore a career change. Completing an internship can expose you to the workplace, letting you see what really goes on in a certain industry, which is helpful information as you consider various careers. It can help you understand whether the field or industry you would like to work in is the right path for you. This can help you avoid the costs of obtaining a degree in a field that is not a good fit for you or that you are not interested in. In addition to gaining valuable work experience, an internship helps improve your soft skills. You will advance your self-confidence, email and phone etiquette, and your awareness of a workplace. You also get the opportunity to get valuable professional feedback from people who work in the field. These skills are highly sought after by employers today.

Just like a job, you must go through an application process to get an internship. Applying and interviewing for internships enhances your job application and interviewing skills, which will be helpful when you apply for a job. An internship on a résumé differentiates you from other job seekers and makes you more competitive. Internships are temporary. They can last from a few weeks to a few months, with varying work hours. But they can lead to long-term benefits, such as job opportunities in the company and increased knowledge about the industry. In addition, your supervisor and colleagues can be a reference for a job, college applications, or even scholarship applications. While many internships are unpaid, the benefits of completing an internship are priceless.

WHAT TYPE OF EXPERIENCE CAN YOU GET OUT OF AN INTERNSHIP?

Regardless of when the internship takes place or how much it pays, the experience can provide you with a number of invaluable opportunities. For example, you can:

• Learn about different work environments and get a taste of the “real world.”
• Build new skills and tweak ones you already have.
• Broaden your professional network, gaining contacts and future recommenders along the way.
• Benefit from one-on-one mentorships.
• Get a sense of what happens in multiple departments at a company.
• Try out a career without having to make a full commitment.
• Possibly get college credit (if it’s an unpaid internship).
• Turn an internship into a full-time job opportunity after college.