Internships Are Overrated

It’s officially internship season on LinkedIn, and we all know what this means. 

Lots of “humbled and honored” student posts celebrating their anointment to Big Corp internship land. And it wouldn’t be complete without a giant logo of the company, or the student posing in front of said photo. 

Many students see these photos and say to themselves “I am so jealous and I wish I were them. If I don’t become like them I will be devastated and my career prospects will be ruined!” 

If you’re one of those students, then this post is for you. Because internships are way more hype than substance, particularly at big corps. 

But before I go on to making the argument that they’re mostly hype, I do want to acknowledge the other side of what’s good about them (which is one of the fun parts of my long form newsletter writing. I can be more subtle here). 

To start, they’re great resume fodder. Some recruiters and employers will be impressed that you worked at <fill in the fortune 100 company here>. Also, these programs tend to be well organized, so you’ll have ample time to meet fellow interns and go to exclusive events with company execs. And finally, you might work on a cool project that you can add to your project portfolio. 

All good things! 

But here’s the counter argument: you can accomplish all of these wonderful internship benefits without an internship. How so? Well, let me tell you! 

Do A Project Of Your Choice 

The biggest advantage to not having an internship is choosing a project to do during the summer that is better for your portfolio. For instance, if you’re a marketing student, volunteering to do marketing at a non-profit could be an amazing experience. Or if you’re a data person, working with census data in your country, formulating a hypothesis, and making visualizations would be super impactful. 

More Time For Networking Events 

Since your schedule is more flexible, you’ll be able to attend networking events at your university or other venues during the day. And since these networking events aren’t limited to one company, you’ll meet a variety of folks from different backgrounds. Sure, it’s more work on your part to find these, but they could pay off handsomely if approached effectively. 

Chill And Fun Time Aplenty!

Internships will take up your whole summer, and you’re a student. I wrote a viral post this week about students needing to have more fun, so without an internship, you can indulge your Fun and Adventurous side more readily. As I said, you have your whole life to work, but only one small shot at being a student. 

But here’s the 5 million dollar question y’all have for me. Will internship experience lead to a better job? The answer, of course, is: it depends. If you want to work after university at the company where you interned, then sure, an internship gives you a leg up to work there. 

But I’d say for the most part that most hiring managers don’t care too much about this when they’re making an entry level hire. Your attitude and project experience matter way more than brand company name. And if the hiring manager cares about the brand name, well, that says something about who they are, doesn’t it?

So relax, dear students. You don’t need a big corp internship. If you’re willing to put the work into networking and building your project portfolio, you’re gonna be just fine.

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You know why internships are important?

Because they help you figure out what you don’t want to do.

When I was 16, I had an internship at an investment bank. My manager took me aside and said “you’re doing terrible. You really don’t want to be here, do you?”

Needless to say, that kind of treatment was uncalled for. So I ruled out investment banking as a career and never looked back.

So when you’re interning, pay keen attention to what you don’t like. This will help you get closer to doing the thing that you’re meant to do.

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Young peeps - you realize that your career can be Just For The Money, right?

Yeah, yeah. I know. Everyone says “find your passion and you’ll never feel like you’re working.” This can happen, sure.

But guess what? You don’t have to find fulfillment in your career. You can find it in a million other things.

Your Etsy store. Your world travels. Your guitar compositions. Your friends and family.

So take the pressure off of needing to find Passion in your career. If it happens, great. If not, so what?

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Y’all university students need to have a lot more fun.

Do stupid s*it that you’ll regret later in life.

Talk philosophy and the meaning of life with a friend until 3 in the morning.

Join a salsa club because you always wanted to learn how to dance.

Whatever.

Because all I see on LinkedIn is stress, grades, and internships. So much worry.

But you have the rest of your life to work at a boring job and worry about stuff. College is a time of self discovery, mistakes, and fun. You only get one shot at it, so better make the most of it.

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