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To intern or not to intern


Roquen

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I met with my career adviser today after I finished rocking out on my math and game programming final and the meeting went really well. He told me about several internship opportunities in both the Atlanta area and around the country. I made sure to tell him that school was my number one priority and as along as I could keep taking classes to graduate, I was more than happy to go wherever. His response was that he completely understood and he couldn't see that being a problem. When I mentioned the meeting to my parents, they promptly went off on me as to how I shouldn't worry about an internship and just graduate.

 

So here's the two arguments. My parents' argument is that college is about eeking it out and graduating and then making the big bucks. Since I'm taking the max number of credits per hour and making ends meet, albeit just barely, I'm at the top and shouldn't change anything until I graduate. My argument is why not try to better my position now. I can't really see a difference between working where I'm at now and going to school vs. getting a better job and going to school. I'm firm on the fact that graduating is my top priority to the point that if any potential internship employers aren't willing to let me keep taking classes during the day, when need be, I'm gonna walk. Even if it's my dream job.

 

I've been down the road of internships before and yes it has gotten in the way of school. However, my argument for that is that at the time I was taking around 11 hours per semester and not really going to class all that much, resulting in a 2.13 GPA. Now, I'm working two jobs, taking 19 hours per semester, and have a 4.0 GPA. So I don't think is an exaggeration to say I've done a complete 180 from then to now. As such, I can't see how it would be a down grade to get a better job from the one I've got and keep everything else the same. I also can't see how getting a better job would cause all the hard work I've done in the last year to come crashing down.

 

There are two other points to throw into the mix. The first is that graduating for me has become not only a necessity, but a point of pride. I'm a year away from graduating and I want my degree!! Even if it just collects dust while its hanging on the wall and doesn't do me a bit of good after my first post-graduation job, its something I can look at every time I get home and have pride in as an accomplishment. The other thing is that I'm not happy with where I'm at right now. I'm 23 years old and I live at home, a fact that I'm not particularly happy about. I'm here because of past mistakes involving school and I've made my peace with that. But just as having a degree is a point of pride, having a place of my own is a point of pride. Because of that, it makes me want to get an internship even more so that I can get a place of my own and finally get out on my own.

 

So I'm looking for opinions and/or feedback. Am I totally off base on this one such that I should follow my parents' advice and just stick with my almost-minimum wage job and eek out the next year until I graduate? Or should I pursue a better job, sticking to my principles as I've outlined above?

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When would the internship take place?  During school or in the summer or something?  Paid or unpaid?  Will they cover travel and relocation?

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Ideally it would take place whenever they wanted me to start for however long, preferably until I graduate. Although, two of my conditions that absolutely have to met before I'll accept any job offer is they have to be willing to let me still take classes if they fall in the morning or afternoon (assuming that I will still get in my 40 hours a week if they want me too) and it has to be paid since I can't afford to go any length of time without a pay check. As far as travel and relocation, I'm not sure. One company I was told about is out in California so I would hope they would cover those expenses and if not then I probably wouldn't be able to take the job.

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To be perfectly honest getting your degree w/ a 4.0 is #1 priority and if its not broke dont fix it. Your employers will love the breadth of your knowledge alot more than they will the fact that you interned somewhere.

 

Having said that, the industry you're trying to get in is rough. My advice would be to take the internship. But if you notice that the repetition of your day to day "4.0" lifestyle is being screwed w/ then DROP it immediately.

 

I don't like the gaming industry; as a means to create a upper middle class/upper class lifestyle for yourself and would REALLY recommend finishing this major and taking the knowledge you get from this and living w/ your parents another 3 years and getting an advanced degree in fine arts and/with emphasis on motion graphics design.

 

"Living w/ your parents" in this current economy is where a lot of people who AREN'T IN COLLEGE are finding themselves, so don't be embarrassed.

 

If you have Game Design, Fine Arts and Motion Graphics under your belt, you can put yourself FAR AHEAD of your peers as far as ability and talent is concerned and place yourself in the upper 10 percentile of Americans; making 6 figures a year damn near from the get go....provided you are creative enough to come up w/ a spectacular portfolio.....and i know someone who can help you w/ that. smile.gif

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My argument is why not try to better my position now. 

 

I've been down the road of internships before and yes it has gotten in the way of school. 

 

There are two other points to throw into the mix.  The first is that graduating for me has become not only a necessity, but a point of pride.  I'm a year away from graduating and I want my degree!!  Even if it just collects dust while its hanging on the wall and doesn't do me a bit of good after my first post-graduation job, its something I can look at every time I get home and have pride in as an accomplishment. 

 

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Look I don’t know about the industry but I do know one thing and that is people. You said that your degree might collect dust, meaning that it might not be as useful as your parents think or others make it out to be. I say if you have an opportunity to intern you should do it. Why? Networking. Internships if done well can result in much more than a job down the road. They can start the beginnings of your reputation before you even get your degree.

 

Think of it this way. If you “only” graduate; your resume will be put with the same mountainous pile of other resumes that are just like yours. BUT if you do a few internships, yes you might take longer to get that “dust collector” degree, but you will have networked yourself. You will have already built a reputation that is worth more than anything your collage can give you.

 

You might get hired just because Bob doesn’t want Dick the guy you interned for to hire you first. Heck Dick might call you up and say “I know Bob wants to snipe you out from under me but I won’t let that happen.” BAM you get 10% more pay then what Bob offered and a company car.

 

Then again….

 

If I had to do it all over again, I would have done the school thing properly. You know, graduate High school on time, go to Collage then find a career. I didn’t do it that way but what I did do was network myself. What I do in the military at the places I have done it, has provided me the opportunity to work with lots of civilians. Many of whom have contacted me over the years asking if I was out of the Navy because they had a project they wanted me to work with them on. I like the military so I stay in.

 

My wife’s current job is another example of how networking can help you. She worked at a very small county law library. There she performed the same duties as her direct supervisor. That supervisor just so happened to be in charge of all the law libraries for the entire county. Well when we moved to So-Cal she learned that even the entry level reference librarians had Masters of Library Science degrees. Or they were Lawyers waiting to pass the bar or get a job at some big law firm. Her former boss networked for her and landed my wife a job at the main branch of the county library.

 

Fewer responsibilities for more pay and it was all because of good networking. Granted that first job was not an “internship” but the principles are the same. My wife built a reputation for being a good worker. Regardless of the fact that she “ONLY” has a paralegal degree from a school that only provided that course for one year because another school in the local area close shop and the students got hosed. She has stated many a time that her degree was a waist of money and it “Just sits in a box that collects nothing but dust and memories.”

 

Readers Digest version: I think you should do the internship.

 

 

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