As a junior, the time has come for me to freak out about what I need to do to get a job after I graduate. It has been ingrained in our heads that we need an internship in our field in order to get a good job when we get thrusted out into real world. But I’m here to tell you that it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t get that golden internship.
The one thing college students care about most in the world is getting a job after they are done with their schooling. Yes, there are many other benefits to getting an education, but most of us have one of two goals in mind: continuing on for a master’s degree or getting a full-time job. And when you consistently get told that experience is what you need to get a job and an internship in your field is one of the only ways to do this, you tend to freak out if you’re going into the second half of your junior year and you have yet to find an internship.
What a lot of people don’t think about are the logistics behind avoiding internships. The majority of internships are unpaid, and spending an entire summer without getting paid is not an option for some of us. Many of us use our loan money to pay for everything, but that does not include some of the things we have to pay for ourselves, like rent and food. Summer is a prime time to save up for the school year that is approaching and not saving up at all is just going to hurt us later. Along with finances, some of us just don’t have the time. When you have a full school schedule, especially when you are taking harder classes, classes and homework take up all of your time. What is the point of college if you are not going to have the time to do well or actually learn what you will have to apply after graduation?
This is not me telling you not to get an internship during college. This is me stressing that an internship is not the only thing that will get you a job. In some majors, you graduate and internships are the only thing you’ll be able to get because employers want you to start from the bottom. Focus on your classes and the studying you need to do. Don’t feel inadequate because you haven’t had any internships. Focus on getting involved in student groups or within your Greek house. An internship will look better to some employers, but sometimes being an executive officer of a group will look just as good on your resume.
Instead of going crazy and forcing yourself to get an internship when you have outside forces such as finances pushing against you, focus on developing the skills that you will need to get a job in the future. This can be done within your group or in your classes. In college, you should be focusing on learning as much as you can. An internship can be great experience and if you get the opportunity to have one that is great, but we should all stop stressing about it. College stresses us out enough for a lifetime.
