Pros and Cons about Internships by Emilee Traylor

Today is National Intern Day!

As you near the end of your college career you are probably starting to wonder if you should take an internship before you apply for your first professional job. The answer isn’t as simple as it may seem. Most internships are like having a full time job, but you aren’t getting paid. This is really the only downfall though. If you can get past the financial downside of taking an internship you will see there are many advantages. Here are a few things to consider:

Experience

An internship allows you to “test drive” your career path. You will be exposed to the day in and day out routines of your profession. There is no better way to learn key workplace skills.

Work Ethic

Going from a classroom to the workplace is sometimes a difficult transition. Doing an internship gives you the chance to learn key things in the workplace. You are often given multiple tasks to accomplish at one time giving you the opportunity to learn multitasking.

Networking

Meet as many people as you can when entering an internship. Introduce yourself to everyone. Having connections will take you far following graduation.

Gaining Skills

An internship is meant to be a learning experience. You are fresh eye on the business so they want you to know your prospective. This is the perfect time to try to implement something new. If you get shut down it’s ok. You are there to learn.

An internship is a great opportunity to grow as a professional. You will find out things you like and dislike about the profession you took part of. This is also a great time to try out a few different fields if you aren’t certain where you would like to plant your feet in the business world. You never know, you might end up with a job offer at the end of it!

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