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The Value of Internships

by Ben Olsen 7 Comments

The value of internships aren’t monetary, but rather through the skills and experience you can gain. This means that while your friends are working on a summer job making $8.05 an hour, you will be learning skills that will help you throughout your entire career.

Howdy, I had the greatest opportunity four days ago. I watched the sunrise from the beach. Watching the sun peek up over the horizon before showing its full face was beautiful. It never ceases to amaze me just how awesome our world and Creator are.

The point of that story,  beyond the fact that it was a really cool experience, is that the trip to the beach brought me past the Chamber of Commerce building. Last year I had the opportunity to intern with the St. John’s County Chamber of Commerce and I thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as learning many valuable skills.

The Value of Internships

What I Learned From My Internship

We are going to dive into several of the skills I learned right now and show why it is worth it for *you* to look at an internship this summer. Let’s start with a few general pointers I learned.

  • Connections are key. I should copyright that phrase and sell it! Seriously though, I saw  business deals occur time and time again because person A had a relationship with person B. Money often had little to do with it.
  • Being able to present yourself confidently is extremely important.
  • Leading is important,  but often being able to listen is a far better choice. I learned how helpful this tip can be early on there. Because I listened I was able to meet and associate with many business leaders in St. Augustine.

I learned from the Chamber just how important each of these facets of business are. The president of the committee I worked with was extremely helpful in helping me understand how each piece of the puzzle fits together.

Is Interning Really Worth It?

Internships are great opportunities,  they also takes a bit of a short term sacrifice. I have thoroughly enjoyed interning. I would do it again in a heartbeat (for real – I am working on another one this summer) but there is also something that you have to give. Money. You won’t make much money with an internship. The value of internships aren’t monetary, but skills gained. This means that while your friends are working on a summer job making $8.05 an hour,  you will be learning skills that will help you throughout your entire career.

Is interning really worth? I had to answer this question last year, and I just answered it again while contemplating this summer’s plans. I think that it is definitely worth it. And I have a good reason for saying that. During my internship with the Chamber last year one of my jobs was to go through resumes and help select the individual who would fill the “Government Relations Manager” position. When going through resumes with the president, I repeatedly saw her select individuals with *Experience* over position. Sure, last  summer I didn’t make money because of the Chamber. But I left with so much more knowledge (and many more connections) than my friend who spent the summer helping as a lifeguard.

What Kind of Internships Should You Consider?

On top of all the benefits of an academic internship, many other kinds of internship are available. You can also consider interning with a local church ministry or a place like “Foster Closet” which is a great organization here in Jacksonville. Or, if you are looking on a national or international scale, sites such as (http://www.goabroad.com/intern-abroad) could be beneficial to you. No matter where you end up interning this summer, the benefits of internships are endless.

The value of internships aren’t monetary, but rather through the skills and experience you can gain. This means that while your friends are working on a summer job making $8.05 an hour, you will be learning skills that will help you throughout your entire career.

Here is what you have to decide, do you want to make a little bit of extra money this summer or do you want to help your career as a whole and make yourself more desirable to hire in the future? When I looked at it this way it was a pretty simple decision. I decided that long term hire-ability was more important than a little extra summer cash. In my humble (ish) opinion,  there is no better way to spend your summer than building up your future.

Share the Wealth!

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Comments

  1. Kaira

    May 5, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    I had the opportunity to intern last February with a Representative during our very short legislative session, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I learned so much and had a ton of fun.

    1
    Reply to Kaira" aria-label=' Reply to Kaira'> Reply
  2. Kylie Travers

    May 7, 2016 at 3:22 am

    I’m based in Australia where interning isn’t as common and the laws are quite strict. I think it is a great opportunity for others to expand their skills, learn things they wouldn’t learn at a regular summer job and if you can afford to do it that way instead of working it is definitely something that should be considered.

    2
    Reply to Kylie Travers" aria-label=' Reply to Kylie Travers'> Reply
  3. Logan Cook

    May 9, 2016 at 9:59 pm

    I absolutely agree. Internships do a lot for newly graduated college students. They help to gain valuable experience for gaining later jobs.

    3
    Reply to Logan Cook" aria-label=' Reply to Logan Cook'> Reply
  4. CentSai

    June 2, 2016 at 2:02 pm

    Wow, really interesting article! Thanks for sharing! Internships are really helpful things to put on your resume whether they are paid or unpaid. If your internship is unpaid, a great way to make some money is through side hustling. That means doing short term jobs on the side of you internship in order to make some money!

    4
    Reply to CentSai" aria-label=' Reply to CentSai'> Reply
  5. Centsai

    September 19, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    Internships are a great way to get experience for students coming out of college! They also look great on your resume when you finally apply for your first real job!

    If you don’t mind me sharing, we have an article on internships and we would love for you to check it out and hear your opinions on it!

    Here is the link:
    http://bit.ly/2aTkidw

    5
    Reply to Centsai" aria-label=' Reply to Centsai'> Reply
  6. Hope

    October 30, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    In summer 2019 I am going to be applying for government internships. My top one is with the CIA and it is a paid internship! Id urge teens to applying to internships that they find intresting and if at all possible ones that pay!

    6
    Reply to Hope" aria-label=' Reply to Hope'> Reply
    • Eva

      November 16, 2017 at 11:56 am

      Great idea Hope! Thank you for stopping by!

      6.1
      Reply to Eva" aria-label=' Reply to Eva'> Reply

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Hi guys, I’m Eva!

Welcome to TeensGotCents, my name is Eva Baker and I founded this site when I was sixteen. I'm a complete money nerd and I love helping teens learn how money works. Also, I watch too much Netflix. Although I still have a lot to learn about personal finance I hope you will use my successes and failures to help reach your own goals whether you want to go to college debt free, get a part time job, work on a fun DIY project that will save you money or just read about ways you can learn to manage your money well as a teen. So glad you're here! Read more about my story here.

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