AN INTERN’S EXPERIENCE

The word intern often seems to come with the connotation of coffee bitch or errand runner, but is this what an internship is actually like?

A genuine internship is not about being sent to run ridiculous devil wears pradaesque errands. It is about getting real world experience. Honing the theoretical knowledge gained from studies into practical skills. They are about building networks of contacts and gaining feedback about your strengths and weakness in the practical field. There is a reason nurses, teachers and the like have to do prac, and an internship is the equivalent of prac for the rest of us. It gives us a taste of what it will be like when that long awaited graduation day arrives and we are no longer university students but everyday citizens of the work force. So while you might occasionally find yourself doing a coffee run, the overall benefit makes it worth it, even if like me you are prone to spilling said coffee down your top; in which case take a lesson from ‘The Proposal’ and buy double.

To take on an internship is to immerse yourself in the real world industry you hope to one-day break into. It is an opportunity to get a step up from your competitors in your career path and gain real world skills and knowledge, which is invaluable in the current job market. At worst an internship is what brings about the realisation that a particular, firm or niche within your study area is not for you. So forget about the scares left in your mind from the horrors witnessed in the ‘Devil Wears Prada’ and take a chance. Apply for an internship and be better placed because of it.