Internship program to further careers
As summer approaches, some students are still looking for a plan for their summer. For some Utah State University students, those summer plans involve an internship.
“Internships sit someplace between vital and not-so vital,” said Mike Sweeney, the journalism and communication department head.
“Vital if you want to be able to find a job and not so much if you’re not worried about it,” he said.
Different departments throughout the university have different requirements regarding internships. For some, like programs in the College of Education, internships are required for completion of the degree and graduation. For others, it is just heavily stressed.
For students thinking about taking an internship compared to a summer job, there is much to think about.
“There is a difference between just doing a summer job and doing an internship,” said Maureen Wagner, the academic services adviser for the College of Natural Resources. “Students in internships get an opportunity to have different experiences compared to just the basic summer job routine.”
Internships serve different functions for different programs, but many colleges agree that having one is a must in today’s world.
“For our students,” said Wagner, “it is essential. Almost all the jobs for government require at least two years of experience. For the private sector, that is up at five.”
For David Herrmann, an executive-in-residence and lecturer, internships are important for management/ human resources programs as well.
“Those who have the experience get the jobs. Good jobs go to the ones that have done something related to what they want to do,” he said.
Concern for many students comes when deciding on whether or not an internship is the next step.
“We encourage all of our students to take internships. We usually don’t even hold any summer classes because we want our students out in the field getting experience,” Wagner said.
The search for internships varies with the field, but most professors believe looking early is the key.
“We recommend that our students start looking around Thanksgiving for an internship. By January, they should have a good idea about where they plan to go,” Sweeney said.
With an early start, students will have a better opportunity to pick and choose between the different offers.
With the option of choosing between different opportunities, students can help determine a clearer course for their future.
“You have to be really well connected to not have experience when the work is specialized,” Herrmann said. “Internships provide the networking to get the job or get further in a career.”
Sweeney agreed. “Apply to what you can and don’t just go with the small positions. Look to expand yourself. Pick the big papers or magazines as well as the small ones,” he said.
When it comes to location, students are often worried about where their internships can take them.
One concern several advisers expressed was that students were either unable or unwilling to travel to get the experience they need.
“We see a lot of non-traditional students who are unable to get out of Cache Valley,” Wagner said. “This puts a real limitation on what they can do with an internship. We really try to get them [the students] out their but they get trapped by full-time jobs and families.”
Looking only to Cache Valley for an internship is a difficult path because the options are often low and not widely varied, Sweeney said.
One question among many students is whether or not compensation will be involved.
Marni Lee, the assistant manager and education coordinator at Hardware Ranch, said she would like to offer an internship to a student to help with preparing a classroom to teach elementary students about the native wildlife, but lacks the money to pay.
She, instead, has offered a place to stay for free while the internship occurs, but said there won’t be any monetary compensation.
“Some of these internships just don’t pay a lot,” Sweeney said. “When it comes to areas like broadcast, historically, they don’t get paid at all. There are just a lot of people who are willing to get a foot in the door.”
For those who need help to find internships, compensated or not, there are a lot of options available.
Each program at Utah State offers an adviser who assists students in finding an appropriate internship for their needs.
“I currently have two opportunities for every student in natural resources. We just don’t have enough people to fill them,” Wagner said.
The Internet has also opened a gate to students who are looking.
An Internet search pulls up 226,000,000 different hits involving internships.
Some of the more prominent Web sites, internship.com and internjobs.com, allow students the ability to search for a specific direction with hundreds of results coming from across the globe.
Students from across the country are competing for similar jobs throughout the United States and it is the experience that will make the difference, advisers say.
“If you want a good job, you need to have some experience to back you up. Employers will look at the degree but they want to see what you have done and can do with what you’ve got,” Herrmann said
-nebutler@cc.usu.edu