by Wilmer Mostacciuolo
The beginning of the year is the busiest period in the lives of many students. Hundreds of thousands of them all over Europe start their internship in some company, most of them in their homeland, many in their hometown. Some people choose another option, like going abroad! What is pushing these guys to cross the border, to challenge themselves with a foreign language, culture and people? Agnieszka, a student of Applied Linguistics at Warsaw University has no doubt: my internship in Italy was a valuable experience and now it is a strong point in my CV. She did her summer practise in Italian Philology in Palermo “to improve Italian language, visit Sicily and spend sunny holidays”, but only when she came back she realized she has gotten much more: experience in working in a young team, making good friends and even some important contacts for her future work. However, some students have doubts about the benefits of going abroad. Some think that they might not learn enough
professional skills if they studied abroad instead of doing an internship in their home country. Employers might see the situation from a different perspective: students who have been abroad are many times more marketable upon graduation. Of course, the area of study affects a lot on the matter whether it is more useful to go abroad or not. For instance, employers from engineering and technology fields could see an experience abroad as an advantege when recruiting new workers. In addition, going abroad is recommendable for students studying foreign languages and international business. A recent Financial Times poll indicates that the chances of finding a job after graduation will significantly improve if the student has completed a stage abroad. Nearly 2,000 Master of business graduates were interwieved in the survey. 72 percent of them had done an internship during their studies. The decision to do an internship is considered bold but useful.
between the students that did an internship and the students that didn’t. Even a year after graduation the unemployment rate was high among those who didn’t complete an internship. On the other hand 75 percent of the students that did an internship were employed wothin one month of graduating. The survey indicates that it is quite important to gain work experience during your studies as it helps your employment after graduation. Also, many of the surveyed said that it is a good way to experience different fields or industries. Besides gaining valuable work experience during an internship, you will improve your language skills, gain international contacts and start building networks. And of course, you will have loads of fun!
The survey also showed how it is easier for the students who had done an internship to change job or sector on graduation after the stage.
When people go abroad, they automatically become a lot more open socially. This results in the fact, that during your internship abroad you will meet dozens of new friends in just a few months! There are plenty of reasons to do your internship abroad and there is no point in reading them all in this article, so go find out yourself !
The most significant news in the article is the big difference in finding a job
Do you feel that you could an internship abroad? Then just apply for it!
express magazine | 25