Students’ educational sneak peek of the future

Faced with unlimited opportunities, discovering the right career proves to be a mind-numbing challenge for many. Although researching careers or speaking to those experienced in their trade can be helpful, they are not the same as having a first-hand experience.

In addition to providing behind-the-scenes views of interesting careers, internships also bring those that take part in them one step closer to finding their future career.

While internships often introduce students to jobs they want to pursue, they can also eliminate jobs students are no longer interested in. Some students still apply for internships regardless of their cons.

“I had to work eight hours a day and I was always tired after working,” says senior Stephan Chan. “The job itself wasn’t really boring–I think concentrating and always doing something productive just makes one tired after a long day.”

Chan interned at a biomedical-research company called Cordis/Conor Medsystems last summer.

“[The positive aspect of] the internship was learning new things, and talking with my co-workers. I enjoyed gaining new skills and knowledge that would help me complete certain tasks, and gaining knowledge that could help me with my daily life . . . I had a lot of fun talking to [my co-workers], learning about certain invaluable lessons that could help me in the future. They were very kind to me, and helped me greatly with a lot of the projects I was assigned.”

Junior Anna Olson, who interned at Stanford University’s Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology this past summer, says, “Working in a lab environment with such a high degree of independence was new to me, and it had its pros and cons. Getting up somewhat early every day each week was a bit of a con, given that it was summer vacation, but my schedule was pretty flexible; overall, it wasn’t bad.”

Olson adds, “I enjoyed working under my supervisor, Dr. Mitra, and knowing that I was contributing to her project was quite fulfilling. The highlight of my efforts was probably being listed as one of the authors on a poster that she presented at that year’s Gordon Research Conference on Synaptic Transmission.”

In addition to looking them up online or hearing about them through personal connections, students can use school resources to find internships to apply for.

“[One way] you can go about finding them is looking on the Naviance Family Connection website. Under the college tab, look for “enrichment programs” on the left hand side, then type “internships” into the search bar. Also, in the office, when we get information on internships, Mrs. Walsh always tries to advertise,” says College and Career Advisor Lauren Tezak.

As the two are quite similar, volunteering can serve as an alternative to interning; however, the experience may not always be the same.

“[If you’re] interning, your hours will be set and you’ll be working there just like you would for a job. Volunteering is a bit more lenient as far as your time goes,” says Tezak.

Available for a vast variety of careers, internships are a great opportunity to achieve a practical experience regarding possible future jobs.