Friday, January 29, 2010
Get an unpaid internship or wait tables?
I found this article about a student in grad school very interesting. She asked the columnist for advice on whether she should work in the upscale restaurant she has been and earn enough to pay her tuition or take an unpaid internship she has been offered. The author gave some helpful advice on what factors the woman should take in to account. Things such as what your duties will be, how helpful the company is at helping you find a job after graduation or if they usually hire interns, and would the experience give you knowledge you will use in your job after graduation. The woman was studyin engineering and I am currently planning on being an engineering major. My mom had me send her a resume to try and set up and internship type situation at her office. I too have worries about whether i should do this or find a job because of the debt i am going to have after college. I feel like it is very important to get job experience before you graduate because it will help put you ahead of those without it and get you hired and working more readily.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I can see how this could be a difficult decision to make because of the positive and negativeaspects of both sides. However, even though employment may help you acquire some extra cash and pay off some debt I seems to me that gaining job experience in your field of study could be highly valuable in the long run. I agree that it would help you to get ahead of others who did not have the same experiences and that it would also allow you to examine what working in your desired profession is like.
ReplyDeleteI'm also currently trying to make this decision. All through high school I had a job that paid very well (for a part-time job) and that I could return to this summer. However, my parents are strongly urging me to pursue an internship for the summer, even though it will mean earning far less money. An internship, though, will give me valuable job experience which may end up being more valuable in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wyckoff. While the job is going to benefit short term, the internship will help prepare you for your future career. It will get you experience, which will also look good on a resume (it will show you've gone out of your way to prepare for your future). So for the long run, the intership would definetly be the best decision.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the comments made so far. It depends on what your situation is and how much u need the money at this point. If its a situation in which you have no absolute need for the money I would suggest that you take the internship. I think its better when you work as an intern for a while and gain the necessary experience needed to help you make the a lot more money in the future.
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to this. I feel like K does a really good job of making it seem like if you don't do an internship/externship then there is something wrong with you. But, seriously, money is money and personally, I think that (as of now) I would have to with working because that way I'll at least know I'll be able to pay for school rather then be able to put one more thing on my resume and just hope that it will help to land a job.
ReplyDeleteSometimes having a part-time job can be the best way to get a great internship or obtain other job connections. While I was working at a waitress, one of my regulars eventually hooked me up with an internship at the National Kidney Foundation working in management/communications, which has given me a lot of great experience. I think the point of internships is really the networking opportunities, and while your typical internship is normally seen as the best way to acquire those, you really can get creative with the possibilities any job offers as long as you're a good people person.
ReplyDeleteI'm having this same problem. I want to find a job that is both: a career-oriented experience, interesting, and pays.
ReplyDeleteI am totally pro-internships. I've never actually had a normal job before. In high school I was a teaching assistant in a math program, after graduating high school I interned at Blue Cross Blue Shield and last year I did an internship at a non-profit organization. The best part was definitely the networking opportunities that I had and the fact that I have people that are willing to write me a reference letter when I do apply for a job in the career of my passion.
ReplyDeleteI'm willing to do externship or internship...Because any working experience before graduate is very useful. Study is more than learning in class, all the knowledge we learned in school are all for our furture positions in the social community. So I think no matter the internship paid or unpaid, it is worth to do it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that there might be more benefits in doing an externship in the long run. I would do an internship rather then just get a summer job. Money is hard for most people right now and a summer job is a great thing too. You only get one life and I think that anyone should do the most they can to make their life the best possible. (A)
ReplyDeleteIt's a question bothering many students now, I agree with the comments above that participating in unpaid internship will do good in the long run, since it provides us experience and exercise. But it doesn't hurt to do some part-time jobs for money since it is a kind of necessary.
ReplyDeleteGo where the job market allows you to go. For example right now Germany is experiencing a lack of engineers and are paying big money to get from from other countries like the united states. So if you don't mind traveling and researching a bit, you can find markets that are in need and bypass the table waiting other than getting enough money together to move.
ReplyDeleteI think that as long as it is good internship, that the marginal benefits of job experience and networking, outweigh the marginal costs of making money at another job.
ReplyDeleteE, T
This decision seems like such a gamble to me, especially since I'm facing the same decision. I have a job back home that I can return to whenever I want, whether it's long breaks or the summer. However, if I get the externship I'm applying for, I may not be able to work enough at my job for them to keep me as an employee.
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning towards the assumption that an externship may be the better investment. If it helps me find a better job after I graduate, then that's great, since the job I have now probably won't help me pay off loans substantially.
If I do take the externship over the job, though, it will hurt in the short run. You have to think at the margin.
T, E, A
I feel that taking an unpaid internship is a good way to go, but people have different circumstances in their lives. I think that an internship would be very beneficial because you are possibly working for a company that you either hope to work for one day or work for something similar. However, if money is an issue, finding a job immediately would be a great idea. You would earn valuable work experience as well as money to help with your tuition. I feel that either way situation would be beneficial, personally I would take the internship.
ReplyDelete