Internships: Expectations Versus Reality

For most people there is a clear picture of what comes to mind when hearing the word “intern.” The scared, intimidated college student that brings coffee when needed, and stands by the copier making copies for everyone in the office. I thought the same thing for the longest time. Now I know there is so much more than just coffee and copies.

Internships give students an opportunity to get real life experience in a field they are interested in. internships allow for students to gain professional experience before they graduate from college and prepare them for when it is time to look for full-time employment.

More and more internships are allowing interns to choose projects to work on throughout their time at the company. This allows for the student to walk away with an excellent resume builder. With help and guidance along the way, interns can create great projects and gain an abundance of knowledge they wouldn’t learn in the classroom.

Expectation: You are only there to sort paperwork, make copies, and get coffee.

Reality: You will be given projects and normal work to complete throughout your time there. It is important that more companies realize that interns are there to learn and be a part of the team for the time that they are there. This is an opportunity to get real world experience before you find your perfect career path.

Expectation: You will be viewed as less than because you are “just an intern.”

Reality: Your coworkers around you will provide guidance and bring you in as a part of the team. It might be intimidating at first, but I am sure everyone you work with will be as helpful as possible if you ever need it.

Expectation: You will only learn things guided toward the career path you are in.

Reality: You will learn transferable skills that can be utilized in many aspects throughout your life. Interning has opened my eyes to so many different and unique career opportunities that could lead me to the future that I want.

Expectation: You’ll receive easy tasks to complete that other workers don’t want to do.

Reality: You will have the opportunity to handle challenging projects that could benefit the company. The projects and work that you will do will be a lot different than what you would expect as an intern.

Interning has been such an amazing experience so far. I’ve learned so many additional skills that I can use later in my life whether inside or outside of the classroom. There’s so much more that goes into an internship experience than what people think.