Internships More Important Than Ever


It used to be that simply graduating from a four-year university was enough to land you a good job after school. Having a bachelor’s degree in anything put you above many other candidates and finding a good entry-level position was no sweat. But alas, those golden days are no more. These days, more and more graduates are finding themselves out of work and out of luck, picking up shifts at fast food joints and wondering why they went to school at all.

This happened for starters because there are far more people attending college these days than there used to be. It also happened because the economy crashed, leaving the job market badly damaged and many out of work. Getting a decent job is incredibly difficult, especially for college grads with little to no professional work experiences.

That’s why now, more than ever, internships are important. Free or paid, internships give students the opportunity to gain professional experiences while in school. This can give them an “edge” when applying for jobs later, and may even provide a shoe-in to a particular company.

Students who are in the know often begin searching for internships during their first or second year at school. Currently, there are an incredible number of internship programs, which range from working at small businesses to wellness centers to some of the country’s biggest corportations.

The Posse Foundation, for example, places its student interns at companies like Moody’s Corporation, which is run by CEO Ray McDaniel. At Moody’s, interns have the opportunity to work with experienced professionals and attend meetings where they are often asked for input. Particularly well performing interns may also be offered positions after their internship is up and they have graduated from college.

Another interesting internship program is one put on by Indiana’s Purdue University, which is headed by president is Mitch Daniels and Chairman Keith Krach. Called Interns for Indiana, Purdue’s program is set up to match students with high-tech companies (including startups). The state has increasingly higher numbers of talented students leaving for other areas of the country that offer higher pay, high-tech opportunities, and Interns for Indiana hopes to help combat that.

But programs like Purdue’s will still need to compete with internships offered by top companies like Google, Microsoft, MTV, State Farm, Intel, and more. These companies offer internship opportunities with top pay and the chance to work at a well-known company, which will appeal to many students. But the positions are also extremely lucrative and coveted, and competition is fierce, so very few students will be lucky enough to be offered a place. 


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