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Paths to success

Going to class and completing assignments is just one way college students can earn credit hours.

Going to class and completing assignments is just one way college students can earn credit hours.

Internships are another way. Internships give students the opportunity to earn college credit, and possibly extra cash, by working in the career field they are likely to pursue after graduation.

Arizona State University Associate Director of Career Services Elaine Stover says that while an internship – referred to as “experiential education” at ASU – is a symbiotic relationship between student and employer, the goal is to ensure that the student ultimately benefits more than the company.

”The student is getting hands-on experience. It also begins the networking process to get to know people in the industry. People like to hire people they know, so it’s a lot more likely an employer will hire someone who’s worked for them after they graduate,” she says.

Sometimes, internships can prevent a wrong career choice.

“Students gain relevant experience in their field, but it can also help determine if that’s something they want to pursue,” Stover says.

Jack Perry, senior career counselor at the University of Arizona, says he encourages students to pretty much have their minds made up about a career before taking an internship.

“An internship can be a long commitment and you could spend months in it. We suggest maybe doing a job shadow or something that lets you explore that field so you can be sure it is of interest to you,” Perry says.

At UA, only a handful of the school’s 125 major departments require internships. Perry and his colleagues do their best to convince students that putting in the extra time and effort with an internship will be rewarding in the end.

“We bring in a lot of employers, from big corporations to non-profits, and government agencies. We stress that it’s a very, very good idea in terms of professional development because they’ll be working hand-in-hand with professionals in their field, in addition to the fact that it makes the student more marketable,” Perry says.

Here are some ideas to keep in mind when considering an internship:

• Check with counselors in your department; they have good connections in the business community and can streamline the process for you. Both ASU and UA have special programs and online databases that also help facilitate the process.

• Be wary of Internet searches and Web sites that require a fee to have access to their internship opportunities; there are many free options.

• In the interview, ask questions about what the internship will entail. University of Arizona’s Jack Perry says that he has heard “horror stories” about interns stuck in a cubicle with a computer and ignored for six months. Perry advises students to ask whether they will have access to top professionals, be included in meetings and other detailed questions and not assume anything.