Summer internship can either be paid or not. However, what is most important is not the monetary gain but the experiences that are learned - most of which are never found within the four walls of the classroom.
One of the most valuable things that interns will probably get over the coming months is work experience. This is something that you seldom get in lectures and in class. Internships are especially valuable to college students who are volunteering for work in their field. This is because internships could be an additional plus on their resumes. Experience is a huge factor in employment and can give college students an edge in the job market and better chances for employment.
Aside from that, summer internship work can sometimes serve as a bridge for interns to actually get absorbed into the company and become full-paid employees. This is actually one of the techniques used by many companies in the country for finding and hiring good hands. Internships allow them to scout for possible people, test out their performance on the job and hire them if they turn out as an asset to the company.
Summer internships can also help you sort out your real plans in life. This is because this kind of work allows you to experience what it's really like to be on the job. Sometimes, students who do find that their choice of career is not something that they want to do for the rest of their lives get the chance to shift to another path, before it's too late.
Being on the field can also help you apply what you have learned in school. Theories and lectures may sometimes be very different when you are in the actual job and being able to see and experience that difference will mean better understanding and learning as a student.
Summer internship in a way, can help you build networks and know more people in the business. These people can help you in one way or another in the future. They can help you get a job later on after you graduate or they can simply be a good source of advice and inspiration for your choice of career.
Last but not the least, summer internship can also help you gain confidence not just in work but in every aspect of your life. After the experience, you can gain a better insight on your careers and learn more about people and of life in general.
Paid or not, the experiences and the lessons that you learn with summer internship is something that you can take with you for the rest of your life. So if you still have no plans for the summer, make those months one of the best learning experiences of your life by simply going into summer internship work.
