COLUMN: Internships are an undergrad necessity
Reality bites. The simple fact is that a university education doesn’t go as far as it once did. Today’s undergraduate degrees are loosely equivalent to yesterday’s high school diploma, and having one no longer makes you overqualified to flip beef at Burger King.
With the job market barrier tougher than ever to break through and more than 1,000 students set to graduate at USU in May 2012, one must admit I don’t think a diploma from a standard 4-year institution holds nearly as much weight as it once did — and that’s scary.
I’m not saying that you should throw your diploma in a shredder with last month’s bank statement, and I’m not telling you to do anything less than bust your butt at studying for your next physiology exam.
What I am saying, however, is that it seems obvious to me that students who are committed and take initiative outside the classroom are the ones who are competitive in the real world.
What, if anything, is there to do about it?
Since my senior year at Pleasant Grove High School, I’ve completed four internships, and I’ll finish up with my fifth in March.
After months of doing everything from making copies to intense research, my honest opinion for you is this: Rather than spending your next summer knocking on doors, coercing people to buy alarm systems or perching over a receptionist’s desk, why not do an internship in your chosen field of study?
For me, pursuing these internships has yielded not only a genuine competency in my field of choice, but also a solid job offer for after I graduate.
Most USU students don’t know about the university’s Institute of Government and Politics, or that the outfit employs a communications director who has spent the last several months collecting information about hundreds of internships for students from every major.
With a quick call to the director’s office, you could be on your way to diversifying yourself from future job market competition.
Here’s an example that illustrates my point. I spent my summer interning on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Frequently, there were receptions held in the Capitol Complex for many organizations and special interest groups.
At one event, I was acquainted with a gentleman who was partially responsible for hiring the entry-level positions for a Senate office.
At one point, during our conversation about college graduation and the realities of post-college life, he told me when he’s looking to hire, he’ll often take someone with a bachelor’s degree and “Hill experience,” over someone with a graduate degree and no experience. It was a simple statement with profound implications.
An internship is a fantastic way to test drive a field of work.
Ask any recent USU graduate and they’ll tell you what I’ve observed. There is a strict dichotomy between hands-on experience in the real world versus the experience derived from reading a textbook, or listening to a professor discuss the application of a theory, without actually seeing it put to work.
Dawn McKay, a career planning professional and author from About.com wrote: “An internship is a great way to get an inside glimpse of a company, an industry, and a particular occupation. It can help you discover if the career you are considering is right for you.” And I couldn’t agree more.
On top of that, it seems obvious that employers are coming to expect to see internships listed on the resumes of potential employees.
I could go on forever about other advantages I’ve gained through internships — everything from a vastly expanded ability to come up with test answers on the fly, even when I haven’t studied, to absolutely indispensable networking opportunities.
My overall point, however, is simple. Do an internship — get ahead. Isn’t it about time you get something from college, rather than simply get through it?
Opportunities for internships are everywhere, including USU’s Institute of Government and Politics. Take initiative and do something that could change the way you see the world for the rest of your life.
Don’t let reality bite any harder than it has to.