Education Questions and Answers
What is a good internship?
Question:What should I look for when seeking an internship? I alreday got one and I didn't like it. My major is computer science, and I was just fomatting excel spreadsheets. It was a big company but the internship had none to do with my major, so I'm looking for an internship where I can learn to code and program in the real world. It's getting hard to find., but I have some chances to get another. How do I know if it will be benefitial for my career? Thank you
Answers:
Realize that no company is going to turn over its major clients to an intern. In fact, when you get out of school, it still may be a while before you are able to use all of the knowledge you got in school. I find that whether an internship is a good one or not has more to do with the student's approach to it than it does with the job itself.
While you were formatting excel spreadsheets, did they have you sit in a little room off by yourself, or were you working in close proximity to others who were doing the kind of work you are interested in? If others were around, you were in a good position to learn about how they approach their jobs. I've had students jump from internship to internship, convinced they were all terrible, complaining that they weren't allowed to do anything. When I question them, they were often deliberately included in meetings, located in an area in which important work took place, etc. As an intern, you are the low (wo)man on the totem pole and you will be doing the grunt work, certainly at first, but how much you get out of that depends upon how much you listen and observe.
Secondly, you will be working at a company where there are useful connections for you. Did you ask anyone if you could sit down with them and talk with them about their jobs? When they asked you if you had any questions, did you just say no, or did you ask them about the real work that they do? Ideally, you should always have a set of questions ready to ask of anyone who might offer to give you some time on an internship.
When you interview for internships, of course you should ask them what you would be doing. Ask if there is a formal internship program, or if they just use you as needed. That, however, should not be the key question. You want to know for whom you will be working and with whom (and what they do), where you will be working, and their willingness to include you (as a silent observer) in meetings, both internally and with clients. Ask them about their last intern; what did they like about the way s/he worked, and what didn't they like. Do they know what happened to that person (did they hire him/her?)?
Use this as an opportunity to write a resume telling companies what you want to do as a result of your education and training.
Also write out your expectations of the internship and the questions you have.
If you are working through a College internship coordinator share these things with them. If not make it part of your introduction to companies.
From experience small companies most likely will let you do more important/significant projects earlier. Consider that, they need to know their staff can pick up what you've worked on and all documentation and processes have been followed.
If the experience (and not big bucks or possibly any bucks) is your primary goal, think of organizations that are desparate for help (perhaps non-profits) and low security risk (perhaps an organization headquarters like habitat for humanity). You can get a list of not for profits in your area by zip code on the internet. I can't remember the site right now. If you have trouble contact places like your local volunteer organizations to see if they know how to access the national non-profit web site.
Also try your alumni in your program. Maybe one of them would take you under their wing. Maybe they went through the same problem. If they can't give you an internship, maybe they can give you a contact or advice on how to get one.
Maybe your school's department or one of the departments could use your talents.
Consider getting bonded. Example, when a new bank teller gets employed the employer has them bonded right away. It's a security protection for employers. It may make you more employable.
Good luck.
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