How important are internships?

[SCNCY]

I can't believe that an employer is going to care much about an internship from High School. I am not even sure what kind of work you would kive to a high schooler other than office b**** work. I may be off base here, but it sounds like your daughter is freaking/stressing out because the people she's met have an "internship" in their pocket and she doesn't. But I doubt those "internships" were much more than busy work.

With that being said, some large companies do offer internships to High Schoolers. I think Cerner in Kansas city does this, but I have no idea what they did.

 

[Cy$]

Having watched my son go through the process of obtaining a job, there are so many "entry level" jobs that require extensive experience. It's pretty idiotic. If he had three years experience and wants your crappy entry level job, I'd say he's failing on some level as his sights should be higher at that point.

So anyway, end rant, I'd say internships probably help in that regard.

I saw one that wanted 10 years of experience for an entry level job. Good luck finding someone.

 

[BCClone]

I agree with this to some degree. While I wouldn't necessarily take the "party summer" type job, I do wish I would've taken a more "out of the box" internship. After the summer working in a factory (referenced in previous post), I took two normal internships and then went right into grad school. I once met someone who did an internship with the Minnesota Parks Department maintaining trails up near the boundary waters. It was low pay, but he lived in parks all summer and spend his days walking in the forest and clearing brush. Sounds pretty good to me!

Those jobs are great both ways. Can enjoy things and for a first year or two summer job or internship it can be a great resume listing. Better employment than a mall worker, lifeguard, or flipping burgers is good to start with; although those are better than using your summer to just sit in the basement playing with yourself.

 

[SpokaneCY]

Every industry is gonna be different, but my job was obtained through an internship. See seems a bit young for one and I'd encourage to travel and have fun at her age. You have the rest of your life to work, plus employers will hire seniors, not freshman.

There is so much pressure these days starting at younger and younger ages. But all the window-dressing - clubs, projects, extra-curriculars, internships - makes a difference for so many different fields.

In the end - relationships pay off and it's the relationships you gain through these activities that give someone the leg up.

 

[CtownCyclone]

There is so much pressure these days starting at younger and younger ages. But all the window-dressing - clubs, projects, extra-curriculars, internships - makes a difference for so many different fields.

In the end - relationships pay off and it's the relationships you gain through these activities that give someone the leg up.

Very true. That's partially how I got my first internship - a guy I was friends with got an internship and recommended me. I paid it forward and recommended a friend to replace me when my turn was up.

It's paid off in the real world as well. A few years ago, we relocated to accommodate my wife, which made me have to leave my industry. Earlier this year, an opportunity came up that was in a similar industry. I made a call to a former boss/friend, who did some quick research and figured out that he had worked with one of the company's VP's. Greased the skids quite nicely.

 

[JP4CY]

I would say if they don't have an internship prior to Senior year in college it looks bad.
I had one after my soph and junior years and they paid well and got me post graduate jobs.

 

[Daserop]

I recruit at Iowa State for my company and an internship is the single most important differentiating factor. 2nd most is personal projects. Everyone does the same projects. If you have a project on your resume that is required for a class, I couldn't care less. An example in the engineering majors is the Mars Rover project or drone project. Don't care unless you won and took it to nationals or something. We actually cross out GPA when talking to them as to not have it bias us. So academics aren't that important

That being said, we rarely offer internships to freshman. We start junior year typically. She should try because of the experience, especially interviews but don't expect much like @cowgirl836 said.

I think after freshman or sophomore year is a great opportunity for a study abroad semester or summer. Obviously cost is a factor though.

Basically I'm saying if she was lifeguarding at the pool for a summer job, that does less than a study abroad or a relevant internship

Read my mind. I agreed 100% with everything said here.

 

[throwittoblythe]

There is so much pressure these days starting at younger and younger ages. But all the window-dressing - clubs, projects, extra-curriculars, internships - makes a difference for so many different fields.

In the end - relationships pay off and it's the relationships you gain through these activities that give someone the leg up.

What you're stating is 100% a real thing and I get that. However, my personal opinion is there is way too much pressure put on individuals to do all these things to so they get the absolute, 100% best internship possible. I think we overstate the importance of internships, projects, activities, clubs, etc and also overstate the consequences of not having the perfect one of each.

Sure, if you want to go work for McKinsey Co. or Google or Amazon, you're going to need to have a very high GPA with lots of clubs and internships to build your resume to get there. But what if you didn't have those things? What's the end result? You end up with a college degree and a good paying job at a lesser known firm?

I don't mean to say that trying to achieve what you are suggesting is wrong, because if that is what someone wants, they should go for it. I also think it's important to realize that a person not get too caught up in "resume building" and/or make an internship in their chosen field the end all/be all. Get some life experience, learn something about yourself, don't lose sight of what's important in the end.

 

[DeereClone]

I'd do at least two, and possibly three internships over the summers in college. Maybe the field your daughter is in is different than mine, but I didn't know of anyone that in Ag that took an unpaid internship. I was paid $16-$18/hr for all of mine and that's been a few years ago now.

 

[intrepid27]

I recruit for a number of Crop Input companies. I don't work a lot of entry level positions but I support a lot of earlier posts that claim internships have value.

As a new grad there isn't a lot you can put on a resume. Even an internship will help with some type of industry experience.

Probably more important is that someone in your industry can serve as a reference. Professors are generally pretty worthless as a reference because: 1. They have not observed you outside the classroom. 2. They will say anything to get their kids placed.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I did not have any. Played a lot of video games instead. Did not hurt my career any. Worth it.

 

[ChE2010]

Having more internships certainly isn't going to hurt. As many have stated, not having an internship after Freshman year isn't going to be a big blow to trying to get a career.

For me, not having had an internship due to a late career path change definitely hurt me trying to get a job. It also was difficult having graduated in 2010 when the job market still sucked.

 

[JeanValette]

When I was at ISU, I was fortunate to be an agronomy major, which had many opportunities for paid internships.

I do know that certain PR/journalism classes have projects that allow students to interact with private companies, which later may offer them internships. May be a good idea for her to talk to her adviser about them.

Another thing that internships can be useful for is to dissuade you from career paths. After stints in plant breeding and aquaculture I had a pretty good idea about which classes to take and which to avoid later on in my undergraduate years.

If she cannot get a hold of an internship, studying abroad would also be a major way to set herself apart. It also helps you grow as a person, in my opinion.

 

[Sparkplug]

One of the positives of an internship is if you get credits. Four hours of 4.0 sure helps the GPA

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

One of the positives of an internship is if you get credits. Four hours of 4.0 sure helps the GPA

Uh what. That's not universally true. I got no credit for any of my 4 internships. Orrr I really ****** up

 

[Sparkplug]

Uh what. That's not universally true. I got no credit for any of my 4 internships. Orrr I really ****** up

Sometimes you have to be creative in getting the credits and sometimes it means having an advisor that is creative and likes you.

 

[Cystheman]

My daughter just finished her first semester in college. She has already applied for a few internships this summer, and is researching more right now. How important is it for her to have an internship at this point? To me it seems a little early—I would prefer that she just make money this summer. She says that she is already behind because others did internships in high school. Any thoughts on this? She is a public relations major with business/graphic design minor.

Taking an internship, even as a freshman will make her more attractive to other companies for internships/full-time opportunities in the future.

 

[cowgirl836]

I recruit at Iowa State for my company and an internship is the single most important differentiating factor. 2nd most is personal projects. Everyone does the same projects. If you have a project on your resume that is required for a class, I couldn't care less. An example in the engineering majors is the Mars Rover project or drone project. Don't care unless you won and took it to nationals or something. We actually cross out GPA when talking to them as to not have it bias us. So academics aren't that important

That being said, we rarely offer internships to freshman. We start junior year typically. She should try because of the experience, especially interviews but don't expect much like @cowgirl836 said.

I think after freshman or sophomore year is a great opportunity for a study abroad semester or summer. Obviously cost is a factor though.

Basically I'm saying if she was lifeguarding at the pool for a summer job, that does less than a study abroad or a relevant internship

Great point on study abroad/travel course. I always ask about those experiences and like to see them.

 

[cowgirl836]

Uh what. That's not universally true. I got no credit for any of my 4 internships. Orrr I really ****** up

I could only get 3 credits in ag, dh got none snd he was cpr e like you (?)

 

[spierceisu]

I agree that internships are important, but not necessary after freshman year. I had one after my sophomore and junior years and it helped a bunch after school. In about any job you get after your freshman year, you can still gain work experience and develop certain skills, such as customer service/communication which is still valuable. The job is more about what you take out of it and how you can apply it rather than just the title and company you work for.