The Pros and Cons of Getting an Internship

If you’re a busy college student, you might not have nailed down your summer plans just yet. And that’s totally normal. Between the busyness of classes, extracurriculars, and studying for exams, no matter your major, you probably have a full plate.

But with winter break right around the corner, there’s no better time to catch your breath and begin thinking about your summer plans.

You may have plenty of offers from friends for things like cross-country road trips, long weekends at amusement parks, or chilling by the pool, but if you can manage to squeeze an internship into your summer plans, your future self will thank you.

Unsure of the pros and cons of spending your summer interning? Read on for the scoop on all things internship related.

Pros

Work experience

Relevant work experience is one of the most important reasons to consider spending your college summers interning.

The experience you gain will depend largely on the field in which you intern. If you take a marketing internship, for example, you might learn how to use tools like Google Analytics or MailChimp. And if you take a business internship, you can almost guarantee you’ll learn Excel functions you never knew existed. Or, let’s say you take an engineering internship. Then you may have the opportunity to learn a new coding language that will help you land your dream job after graduation.

Needless to say, no matter the field you intern in, you’ll gain some kind of valuable experience that will increase your employment opportunities once you’re out of school.

Networking opportunities

Doing internships in college will also provide you with endless networking opportunities.

By dipping your toes into your field interest sooner rather than later via summer internships, you’ll build connections with coworkers and managers that may ultimately lead to your first job out of college. Even if you don’t end up working for one of the companies you intern with, internships are a great chance to build rapport with others in the field that can serve as references for you down the road.

Pay (Not applicable in all cases)

It’s no secret that paid internships can be few and far between, but if you can land a paid internship, that’s even more reason to spend your summer interning.

You can put your earnings towards tuition--or at the very least, have a little extra spending money for weekend trips with your friends.

Cons

Not all internships are compensated

As you likely know if you’ve applied for internships before, it can be a struggle to ensure that your internship is paid. Especially if you’re a Humanities student, you may have to take an unpaid internship or two before earning a paid one.

Regardless, the experience you gain at internships, whether paid or unpaid, is valuable.

But if you’re considering taking an unpaid internship, be sure that you find the work worthwhile. Working an uncompensated job that you wouldn’t enjoy or gain value from is never a good idea.

You may have to say “no” to your friends sometimes

Generally, summer internships involve longer workdays than those in the school year. Summer interns can be expected to work as many as 40 hours a week, which is a big commitment. A commitment that will require that you turn down invites here and there.

In other words, taking an internship may keep you from joining in on your friend group’s spur of the moment beach trip or Wednesday at an amusement park.

Most companies are willing to give interns a day off here and there (or maybe even a week if you have a vacation planned).

But if you’re concerned about taking time off during a summer internship, it’s best to clarify your manager’s expectations in regard to this topic prior to starting.

It may not be a good fit

There’s also a chance that you will realize soon after starting your internship that it’s not a good fit. You may even realize through this kind of experience that the field you thought you wanted to work in might not be the best fit for you.

Obviously, finding yourself in this kind of situation would be upsetting. But at the end of the day, by seeing what’s not a fit for you, you may gain insight into what is. And this can save you lots of time and frustration later on.

Ready to begin your internship hunt? Glassdoor and Indeed, are great resources that can help you find a wonderful summer internship.