The population of traditional students in the state of Oregon continues to be dwarfed by that of “non-trad.” Whether the factor is age, enrollment or independence the non-traditional student is the growing majority throughout Oregon universities.
The population of traditional students in the state of Oregon continues to be dwarfed by that of “non-trad.” Whether the factor is age, enrollment or independence the non-traditional student is the growing majority throughout Oregon universities.
For said students, the classes approaching graduation are often time consuming enough—mandatory tasks take the foreground in pursuit of a degree. This can often rule out the idea of the extracurricular, or even an internship.
Internships have the possibility of being very positive, formative experiences if approached correctly. This could mean developing an understanding of the position before committing to it and agreeing upon some sort of compensation.
Many internships offered through Portland State are in accordance with the academic calendar, spanning over one term and varying in hours. That said, the worst-case scenario would entail the following: Somewhere in week three, you uncross your eyes from an Excel spreadsheet and realize this position is not freelance beekeeping. It is you making coffee runs for nothing but the two cents from workers of all levels in the corporate tower.
This could have easily been avoided by a bit of sifting through an ornate job title on the (then-) prospective employees part, but bottom line is you, young Padawan, are fewer than two months away from leaving this establishment indefinitely. Fewer than two months away from a learning experience that could have easily happened to you with a degree, or additional mouths to feed, in the often-predatory professional world.
An internship is capable of more than just getting your foot in the door. The competitive application process pushes students to hone a skill many careers require—be it a rolodex or a touchscreen—to make your fingers dance, and commence the craft of networking. For one criminal courts intern, Briana Sullivan, this meant emailing a judge whose jury she had served on in a pivotal July 2010 case.
Because of the high volume of law students seeking internships, Sullivan submitted upward of 20 time-consuming cover letters and applications to similar positions before remembering this seemingly distant, unreachable contact. A year and a half after the trial, Judge Habas remembered the case, and Sullivan was promptly hired after a bit of email correspondence.
In a recent nationwide survey, 23 percent of graduates who participated in an internship were lined up with a job before graduation, as opposed to only 14 percent of those without the experience. As a self-proclaimed softy, I can’t help but feel these former office interns who currently have an intern working for them would have increased compassion, and a sense of familiarity with the sometimes doe-eyed do-gooder.
“It is more acceptable for an intern to have questions,” said one intern at a prestigious tax firm, who asked to remain anonymous. And mistakes? “Co-workers expect mistakes; there is a learning curve so long as you don’t make the same mistake over and over.” There must be a sense of paid dues in the accounting sphere, too, like street cred? “No, not entirely.” Oh.
This intern was recruited for this tax firm through PSU about six weeks ago. Special circumstance found this student being offered a paid internship position and a conventional full-time position simultaneously.
He opted for the internship, with the condition that the latter would be available after graduation. He must keep a GPA above 3.2, something many firms require, and the internship has become so time consuming he has withdrawn from classes this term. It has suspended his education, he admits, but the real world experience is well worth it.
A similar philosophy is necessary for a formative internship experience. Ideally, the internship allows the experience and education to align. If this is unattainable, however, the field experience being received must be worth the sacrifices being made. How can you make this work for you?
As suggested earlier, internships ought to be compensated in some way. I find no element of the internship too philanthropic that compensation would take away from the experience and would suggest a volunteer position to anybody searching for that sort of self-validation. Compensation is broad, but could mean wage, salary or earning college “credit by arrangement.”
This is an option the internship department at PSU offers by means of finding a professor in the field of interest, having them sponsor your internship and giving relevant assignments accordingly.
Although there are exceptions to this rule, 160 hours of work typically equal four credit hours. For some this could be the favorable experiential learning opportunity to a classroom.
An analytical eye is the first step in choosing the right internship for you and can come as early as reading the job title. Towel drying test tubes for a few credit hours is acceptable—if that is the duty agreed upon. It should go without saying that agreement of proper compensation is a necessity. Many may disagree with the latter tip (about 25 percent of internships offered by PSU are unpaid at the moment), but demanding people value your time is a skill in the professional world that is just as important as others, if not more.
It is in the nativity of our careers we must start believing this, and save accumulative hours of our mirrored, mid-life self receiving this affirmation.
