College students are always looking for the perfect chance to get ahead in terms of their aspiring careers — taking a summer internship, either at home or elsewhere, is the perfect window of opportunity to get the boost they need.

While many of us are enjoying the summer lounging outside, taking in some sun or going out with friends, there are those brave few who choose to use the summer for something productive that will ultimately help boost their career profile: taking a summer internship. These vary from simple, menial tasks like running errands for an executive at a big company to actually be able to work for the company in a more hands-on way, but the end for pursuing the internship is the same for all: to get experience in the “real world.”

companies not only encourage, but require an internship in order to get a job working for them, and the whole process can be tedious. Getting the internship is a task in and of itself; you usually have to go out and look for the one that you will benefit from the most. 

Jackie Wang, sophomore journalism major at UT Austin, got her internship as a writer at the El Paso Times by really going the extra mile. “I knew the news editor (Bob Moore) through forums [I helped organize in high school], and bombarded him with emails and phone calls until he responded. And then kept emailing the guy he put me in contact with until I got a response. It was a lot of emailing,” Jackie said. Pushing for the perfect summer internship can really pay off, though. 

Some, like Sam Burke, senior apparel merchandising major at Baylor, have the amazing opportunity to leave town for their internship. Sam got an internship with Kleinfield, a bridal fashion company based in New York City. “I thought an internship in NYC would be something along the lines of Devil Wears Prada where I am Anne Hathaway running around being someone’s pack mule, but I was completely proven wrong with Kleinfeld’s. I am actually working one on one with each consultant and learning more about the bridal industry than I could have at any other bridal boutique,” Sam said. 

Though working in a city like New York is an amazing opportunity, especially for a summer internship, you don’t always have to go far to get a great gig. Kelsey Mann, senior pro sales major at Baylor, is working locally in Dallas with Hormel Foods. She sees this as an excellent opportunity to see what a job in her career path entails. "It’s an incredibly exciting internship because I get hands on experience with their sales team and I get to have my own experiences by making my own calls, too! I think what I’m expecting out of this internship is to grow as a saleswoman and know what I want to do after college,” Kelsey said. 

Wherever it may be, a summer internship is undoubtedly an incredible way to keep busy over the summer; not only do you (sort of) have a job doing what you may possibly do in the future, but you also save yourself from what turns into a monotonous routine of doing basically nothing during the long summer days.