Internships are a wonderful way to get a foot in the door of a particular field in which you are interested. But with the fun of learning new responsibilities and figuring out your career path comes some startling realities.
When I came back from my semester abroad in London, I was suddenly transported back to my senior year of High School as I snuggled into my aqua colored room surrounded by my graduation cap and photos of High School Mock Trial. Not the place I wanted to be. To make matters worse, I was taking the city bus (and tons of strange people talked to me) to my new internship in the Education Technology industry in Downtown Portland.
While I initially was reluctant to be back in my hometown, it turned out to be one of the best summers of my life. Not only did I get to explore the city I had lived in my entire life with new eyes, but also the job I had snagged gave me confidence and an excitement for the previously dreaded life-after-graduation. If you’re worried about the transformation from summer camp counselor to scurrying office intern, here are some things I learned during the summer of my internship.
High: The Experience
It sounds cliché, but as I stepped into my new office building on the 12th floor of a giant tower I instantly felt more powerful. Wearing suits to work, getting Starbucks at 6:30am, and learning how to update my LinkedIn profile already had helped me to learn about what life would be like after graduation.
Some days I did not want to wake up at the crack of dawn to take the bus to work, but I knew that the people I met and the tasks I was completing would eventually benefit me. At the very least the new job helped me decide if that was what I wanted to do in the long run. Education Technology is an interesting field because it attracts people interested in Tech and development, but also teachers and curriculum buffs. As an English major, I always thought that I only had a few career choices for after graduation, and getting skills like RegEx and public speaking from my internship helped me realize my potential for life outside the college world.
Low: The 5:30 A.M. Wake Up
I honestly did not think I would last more than two days of waking up before the sun shines, but here I am. As soon as school starts again in August, my wake-up routine always returns to 11 A.M. wake ups for pre-class brunch, so during the summers, 5:30 A.M. seems like it's that much earlier. Whenever I have to wake up early I always blare my alarm and set the coffee maker to start ASAP so I consume coffee before I do anything else.
High: The Experts
The entire point of an internship is to see if the field you are considering is the one you want to do. The only problem is that sometimes internships feel like a wonderland of too much coffee, tons of cheery faces, and occasionally menial tasks. In the beginning, I was not sure if the real world after the internship would actually look like the responsibilities I was doing during my internship.
A great resource is the people that you actually work with. I know, brilliant, but it turns out that a lot of people were in my shoes after their undergraduate was coming to an end. By getting to know people, I found mentors in the people in my office. Many people gave me their own stories in hopes that it would help me write mine. Along the way, I got to hear stories from people who had taught all over the world, and I found the assurance that most of them had no idea what they wanted to do before they graduated.
Low: Staring at a Computer
Okay. All wonderfulness aside, there are days when I sat in front of a computer for four hours clicking buttons and glancing at the clock in pure desperation for my lunch break. But sadly, this is sometimes what my work was like. I just needed to put it into perspective that for all the cogs to mesh in the company, someone needs to be imputing data, and some days, that person was me.
I found solace seeing higher up associates also being computer zombies every couple of weeks. It reminded me that sometimes real life is not like the fast-paced and crazy fun lives we live at college. Sometimes it is copy-and-pasting word documents for two hours.
High: Free Food! (And other perks)
I often fall prey to the starving college student stereotype, so the snack closet at my job was an added bonus. Like a sorority café from the gods, my company offered an entire closet of Swedish fish, Diet Coke, granola bars, fresh fruit and pretzels to snack on during the day. There were often food-related surprises, like someone bringing Blue Star donuts (Sorry Voodoo) to the office, to remind you to move around and not die of hunger while working. Plus, it gave all the interns an excuse to rush to the snack closet for a mini break.
Speaking of perks, if you do have a paid internship, the money you are making this summer can go to something exciting like the Weekender (woo!), or can prevent you from having to have a full-time job along with school during the year. For those lucky nuggets, this perk simultaneously works as a reminder that if you can make it through the next half hour, you will be rewarded with actual cash.
Low: Deadlines
Sometimes I would put off simple tasks that were assigned to me. Once I even accidentally missed an important email in a flood of early morning emails and had no idea I was supposed to be at the meeting that started 20 minutes ago. It happens. But in the moment I freaked out, asking everyone around me what I should do.
As it turns out, people miss deadlines semi-frequently. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t care to do your duties in a timely manner, but if it happens every once in a while, colleagues will understand. Next time you will remember to carefully read your emails, and maybe you can convince someone high up to have a one-on-one conversation with you about what you missed (if you’re brave enough). They’ve all been there. Having steadfast deadlines that you need to meet are part of having a job and part of growing up.
High: The Other Interns
Similar to the associates at the company, the other interns probably have interests that resonate with you. Even if you don’t have the exact same major and hobbies, something intrigued both of you to end up where you did. Since they are looking to go into the same field as you, other interns are also a great introduction to networking. Definitely add them on LinkedIn and Twitter, I promise it’s not that creepy. Plus, the benefit of having a cubicle smashed next to theirs is that whenever you want to go on a Starbucks run you always have someone to drag along with you.
In the end, we all need work experience and skills that can only be learned on the job. I was lucky enough to get an amazing internship at an interesting company and I am so thankful for that chance. Enjoy the internship fun while it lasts (but always bring headphones for the bus)!
