Jasmine
Should I try to get an internship my first summer or get a part-time job at home?
I am going to start college in the fall. In high school I worked part-time at a fast-food restaurant. Is it too early to look for a summer internship? Or should I go back to my old job? #internships #summer-jobs
4 answers
Josh A
Josh’s Answer
Frankly - I completely disagree with the prior response. Absolutely you should pursue an internship as soon as you can! You've already decided to attend college, and you're thinking about your future, so what are you going to gain from returning to your fast food job? It doesn't make sense that you would invest to much in your future and yet choose to blow off your summer.
Yes you're still young and you should have fun - but investing 3 months of your life now for a potential huge payoff down the road is a small price to pay. Not only that, but your internship itself should be fun - meet new people, learn new skills, possibly explore a new city. The implication from the other response is that your internship won't be fun; that's simply not true. And besides - is flipping burgers going to be "fun?"
One thing she did state correctly is that you may have issues finding internships - as many companies focus on upper classmen - but in the meantime you get the experience of making a resume, going to career fairs, getting comfortable with your college career center, interviewing, etc. which will all pay dividends in the future.
Final note - while it depends significantly on your major - internships can be very fruitful financially, too. You could take your summer job making maybe $10-12 an hour if you're lucky whereas some internships like engineering can pay $20+ per hour in addition to all the great experience.
Josh recommends the following next steps:
Hi Josh! I took your advice and worked on my resume and uploaded it to Indeed. I didn't get a summer internship in my major (most companies seemed to want students that were older), but I am working this summer, which is better than nothing. I plan to use my college job board to find something better next year. Thanks!
Jasmine
Great follow up and congrats on taking your first steps to getting ready for the job market. Your resume next year will be that much better for having done prep work now!
Josh A
Akshay Mahajan
Akshay’s Answer
No doubt, go for an internship during your summers! You might not see a direct benefit of doing an internship now but this impacts your profile and gains you credibility when you speak to interviewers while searching for jobs.
Getting a part-time job might earn you some bucks initially but in the long run, Internship is the one that's going to count the most.
Simeon Snow
Simeon’s Answer
Karissa Austin
Karissa’s Answer
<span style="background-color: rgb(253, 253, 253);">Hi Jasmine, Personally, I think it's too early to get an internship, and you may have a hard time getting into an internship with no college experience under your belt. But more importantly, just take the summer to enjoy yourself! College is a lot of work and you will have plenty of time for internships later on, and it will probably be easier to secure an internship with the resources from your school anyway. I didn't have my first internship until my junior year of college, and I've turned out just fine. I would say keep the part time job just so you can have some extra money for when you start school. But don't stress too much about building a resume right now and enjoy your summer.</span>
Thanks, Karissa, for the advice. I know I asked this question last year, but I just finished my first year of college and your advice is still solid! I plan to use the job board at my school to see if I can find an internship my junior year.
Jasmine