W H AT I S A N I N T E R N S H I P ? An internship, defined at CSUCI, is any career-related work or service experience in a professional setting in which a student has specific learning outcomes and reflects actively on the learning process. The experiential learning opportunity must be supervised by professional staff who provide ongoing training for the benefit of the intern. Internships can provide real world experience to explore and gain relevant knowledge and transferable skills required to enter the working world. Internships should provide the following: • Opportunities to work in pre-professional positions and apply their academic skills to practical work-based projects. • Intentional learning goals outlined to benefit the student through the mentorship and guidance of an expert in their industry. • Foster professional development to make networking contacts in their field of interest. • An avenue to explore different career choices, while gaining work experience specific to the student’s intended industry/ field of study. Other pre-professional experiential learning opportunities and industry training programs: • Research/field/laboratory assistant programs • Leadership development programs • Fellowship with short-term work experience in nonprofit, government, or academia • Classroom-related experience such as externships, practicum, or cooperative education • Leadership training and rotational programs for recent college graduates A well-designed internship will provide students with professionally oriented activities and experience similar to that of an entry-level professional in the field however, the student will not assume work that a regular employee would routinely perform. We insist that only 20% of tasks are administrative in nature (e.g. filing and scanning documents, answering phone lines or cold calls). About 80% of tasks should be hands-on learning opportunities for student interns to acquire new skills.
e Path of Internship Success 1
Recruiting
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• career fairs • on-campus/virtual recruiting • on-campus/virtual info sessions
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Retention
• higher retention is seen in employees who started as interns • more than 75% of employees hired as interns stay longer than 1 year • more than 62% stay 5 years or longer
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Conversion
• 58.6% of paid interns become full-time employees • 61.2% are offered full-time employment • 86.5% accepted offer
Hiring
• increased intern hiring seen in all geographic regions and industries
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Compensation
• $16.21 Average Wage / Engineers make the most: $20.79 • 80% of companies offer benefits (social activities, paid holidays) Source: 2019 NACE Internship and Co-op Survey
T H E I M P O RTA N C E O F I N T E R N S H I P S For students, internships provide an opportunity to see if a particular career path or field of study is right for them and to hone their skills. Academic credit internships integrate the students’ academic study with practical experience in cooperating organizations. Through the integration of practical and academic experience, students enhance their academic knowledge in their area of study, their personal development, and their professional preparation. The teaching faculty and the on-site supervisors share in the educational process of interns. CSUCI Internship Toolkit
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