Internships mean different things to different people.  The National Society for Experiential Education defines an internship as “A carefully monitored work or volunteer experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning through the experience”.

Some basic guidelines for what an internship is and what it is not:

An internship IS:

  • An on-site work experience directly related to career goals and/or fields of interest
  • Supervised, emphasizing learning and professional development
  • Evaluative, provides system for feedback and communication
  • Either paid, unpaid, for-credit, not-for-credit

An internship IS NOT:

  • Routine, repetitive tasks unrelated to identified learning goals
  • A job that does not offer career related learning opportunities and experiences
  • Unsupervised, not evaluated experiences

An internship is not doing tasks in a workplace but rather learning and growing professionally.

Why do you need an Internship?

Internships expose you to a learning environment where you can apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to a professional setting. In fact:

  • MSU collegiate Employment Research Institute found that: 50% of employers surveyed agreed students should have 1 internship, while the other 50% believed students should have at least 2 and 10% of those said at least 3.

What does this mean?

Students are going to have to gain work-related experiences (internships/co-ops) earlier, as soon as their freshman or sophomore year, and plan on having more than one before graduation…

Internships allow you to:

  • Bring the classroom into the “real world” and gain the opportunity to take what you’ve learned in the working world back into the classroom through projects, papers, etc.
  • Test out a field. You can try out different career fields and employment settings through internships to see if the job is really what you thought it would be.  Would you buy a car without driving it first? Why then would you spend 4+ years working towards a career you haven’t “test driven”?
  • Make contacts in the industry you are interested in: Network, Network, Network.  Not only do internships allow you to make contacts but many companies hire their interns upon graduation.  Think of internships as an extended interview.
  • Potentially earn academic credit. Some degree programs offer internship or independent study credit.  The best way to find out if you can gain credit while doing an internship is to check with your academic advisor or faculty member of your department. 
  • Gain experience in the 12 Essentials for Success

Graduating with internship experience you’re more likely to:

  • Select a career with confidence
  • Create more contacts through networking
  • Receive more job offers upon graduation
  • Move up in a company quicker
  • Make more money