Internships surely have their pros and cons. One of the biggest cons: many of them are not paid. There are definitely a fair share of internships out there that are paid, but majority of the time, they are not. However, even with that huge con, there are plenty of pros to make up for it!
Internships give you the additional skills and experience needed in the field.
When you take classes for your major, you learn numerous different skills (i.e. different software, strategies, etc.) While you learn these different concepts, it is normal to wonder how these methods that you are being taught, will be applied in your line of work. Even though you will take the things you learned in class and apply them to your internship, the opportunity will teach you many things that you haven't gotten to learn in class. There may be different software that is used that you didn't get to learn at school. This just puts you ahead of the game in class and in the future when your looking for a job. Employers like to see things you've learned in class, but if you've already used those skills on a professional level, thats just an added bonus.
Internships allow you to network with various individuals in the industry.
When you start a new internship, you will be meeting so many new people, and you never know what kind of connections each person has. It is very important to be knowledgable and professional at all times, because you never know who you will run into. Once you graduate, you might be able to get a job from someone who has seen your work at one of your internships, or because someone in the industry recommended you.
Internships provide an experience in the field that can help you determine if that job is what you wish to do the rest of your life.
We hear it all the time, that many college students wind up changing their major. A class setting is much different than the professional setting. Having an internship gives you the opportunity to get a glimpse of what post-graduation is like if you stick with the same objective. You may like the classes, but once you work at your internship, you may completely change your mind about what you want to do once you graduate, and that's OK! It's better to find that out halfway through your college career rather than after you graduate. This allows you to take time to look at other majors and get a degree in something you would rather be doing in the future.
If the internship does not offer pay, they will offer college credits.
Many internships do not pay you for your work. If they don't there is a good chance that they will offer you some college credits. Of course you will probably have to write a paper at the end of the internship about your experiences, but at least that may be one less class that you have to worry about in order to graduate!
Internships are just overall a great way to solidify the occupation interests that an individual wishes to achieve after graduating from college. They help you grow as a person, both personally and professionally, they help you achieve more in the future, and are overall an amazing learning experience. The best part is that the companies know that you are new at this and it is OK to make mistakes. The most important thing is to work hard, prove yourself, and always do your best!
