Five Reasons Why You Need an Internship: advice from Summer of Tech Intern Nanda Hibatullah
1. Experience
The experience you gain from an internship is crucial in guiding you through the rest of your career. Gaining experience through an internship shows future employers that you are capable at the skills you claim on your CV which will give them a better idea of who you are. It show that you have the people skills to score an internship and will generally make future employments, especially a grad role, easier.
2. Learning
You learn on-the-job skills that would have never been taught at university. The main point of university is to teach you how to learn. Most courses brush on things and force you down a direction of 'memorising' things for an exam. This is not the case in the workplace. You learn things that interest you and things that progress you further in the field you are in. Most of all, you get rewarded from your learning much better than at university through peer acknowledgement, self satisfaction in your work, and you also get paid.
3. People
An internship introduces you to new people. This is awesome if you are on the extroverted side of things but don't worry, this is also good for those of you on the introverted side. With a bunch of new people in the company, there is a high chance for the diversity in the people there, that means there will surely be someone you can connect with. Most people are very friendly and approachable and are there to help. They know you are new and that's okay. Meeting new people also expands your personal network. This is beneficial for meeting potential new employers that you might want to work with in the future, or if you want someone to geek out about Stranger Things with.
4. Career
Like I said earlier, an internship will guide you through the rest of your career. It pretty much is the start of your career. Some companies in Wellington will offer you a permanent full time role after your internship and that ends up being your grad role! This is the case for myself. Some companies might keep you on part time if you still need to study until you are done and can work full time. Some might not do any of these things but will open so many doors for you in the future. You might even decide that the field you intern in is not for you. That's okay, in fact, that's good! You get that opportunity to experience that with pretty much no consequences and shift the direction of your career if need be!
5. Money
YOU GET PAID! Time to start earning some money and stop being a poor student. For most of you an internship will be your first real job. With Summer of Tech putting strict rules on a $20/hr salary, you get to live the good life. Over the Summer at least.
