The transition from high school or college to “what’s next” can be intimidating for many teens, especially as you’re taking on more adult responsibilities that will shape your future. When you’re just out of school, you may have questions like:
Should I get an internship or a part-time job? (Or both?)
Would an internship be a good way to get my foot in the door at a company?
What skills do I need to get a job?
How do I get experience to qualify for an entry-level job?
What career would be a good fit for my skills and interests?
An internship or a part time job is a great way to explore career interests to see if they’re a good fit for you. You’ll also make connections and build skills to be job ready.So what’s the difference between an internship and a part time job? Part-time jobs are paid work experiences across a set number of hours, less than a full-time, traditional 40-hour work week. Part-time jobs can also range across experience levels and skill sets based on the work.An internship is usually work experience (unpaid or paid) toward the beginning of someone’s career where you are learning the ropes of that industry – and it’s a great way to network, add experience to your resume and see if this type of work is the right fit for you.
What does an intern do?
Tasks at an internship will depend on the company, but regardless of your age or the field you’re interning in, you’ll learn what the company is like, what type of work employees do and how everyone’s efforts ladder up to the organization’s goals. Some teens start as early as high school with summer internships. Getting an internship early is a great way to explore a potential major or field that you are interested in pursuing but don’t know much about, in addition to keeping engaged and learning during the summer months between school years. As an added bonus to learning workplace readiness skills, sometimes internships can lead to teens finding a great mentor to help steer them in the right career direction. After all, in an internship, you’ll meet all kinds of people, potentially even the owners or different leaders at the organization, and as well as potentially get experience working with customers and clients. For college students, an internship can also be a game changer for securing a full-time job once you graduate. Working an internship during your college years may open the door to full-time employment with that company or help connect you to other job openings so that you have something lined up after graduation day.
Why should you get an internship?
You’ll gain what every employer is looking for – experience. When you scroll through jobs on sites like LinkedIn and Indeed, you will see that almost all jobs require some kind of prior experience – an internship is a great way to get a head start on building those skills and your resume.
You will have the opportunity to network and build work-world connections. Not only are these great skills to develop but with professional connections, an internship can lead to long-term mentorship opportunities and can often help connect you with future job opportunities.
An internship is a great way to explore a career interest before committing to more permanent work. Internships allow you some flexibility to learn about your area of interest, often with a more finite schedule (a semester, a summer, several months, etc.). If it’s not a good fit, you’ll have that knowledge, your new skills and an end date to explore other opportunities.
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