The Benefits of Doing an Internship

By Kara Scozzari

The challenging job market has made it virtually impossible to find a full-time job after graduation without any experience. Internships are the perfect way to gain real-world exposure and build a network of contacts before graduation. Having relevant work experience on your resume can give you an edge and set you apart from the competition.

An internship is a temporary position that is usually done by college students seeking to gain experience in their field. Internships may be paid, unpaid, or done for school credit. Unpaid internships have been on the rise in the past few years, as this provides employers with cheap means of labor. Most unpaid interns are compensated with class credit instead of monetary reimbursements. This can be beneficial for students who are behind in their courses and can complete internships over the summer in order to catch up. Also, many seniors who have already completed their major courses will do internships in their last semester so they can be a full-time student and also gain experience at the same time.

There are many benefits of doing an internship including the opportunity for the intern to determine if they have an interest in that particular field. Doing an internship with a company can give a network of contacts and they may offer the intern a full-time job. Employers generally see interns as prospective employees and may offer their interns a full-time job after the internship is completed. If the intern is a sophomore or junior in college, it is not uncommon for the company to keep the intern on every year or every summer until they graduate. It makes more sense for a company to hire interns than to interview new applicants, as they already know that their interns are capable and knowledgeable about the company. If they are not currently hiring, the employers may also help interns find a job with other connections they have outside of their company. Another way that internships can greatly benefit students is by giving them the extra confidence they need. The more schoolwork a student has completed, the more knowledge they have to use in their future careers. The same goes for an internship. The more work experience a student has had, the more confident they will feel in their field and will be able to continue meeting future challenges in their career.

Doing an internship is a great way to figure out what kind of career you may want. You may realize after doing an internship that you don’t want a particular kind of job, or perhaps that it’s perfect for you. It’s a great way to test out a career without a full-time commitment.