Tips for Fitting an Internship into Your Schedule
It’s time to sign up for next semester’s classes and you really dread waking up for an 8 a.m. class, so you search for a later class. No big deal right? Well, maybe not your first year, but if you plan on landing an entry-level job in the future, you may want to consider fitting an internship into your schedule. Here’s how:
The first thing you will want to do is find an internship that interests you. It is important that you research the company and see what their office hours are, because most work will be done before 5 or 6 o’clock. Once you complete your research, you should determine how many credit hours you need to take the next semester. Next, you should try and schedule your classes to be placed in either the morning or afternoon with no big gaps in-between. If you do place big gaps, then you will have less time to work, and normally the company you will be interning for would like you there 10-20 hours a week during the semester. Be sure to give yourself time for a lunch break so you feel energized at your internship.
Here is an example of a student wanting to intern with a company that is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Let’s say the company asks you to work 15 hours during the week and you need to take 15 credit hours during the semester.
Monday: Class 9-10, 10-11, 11-12; Lunch from 12-1 (You can then be at your internship by 1 or 1:30 and have 3 1/2 to 4 hours to work)
Tuesday: Class 9:30-11, 11-12:30, Lunch until 1:30 (You can now be at your internship at 1:30 and have 3 1/2 hours to work)
Repeat your Monday schedule for Wednesday and Friday. Repeat your Tuesday schedule for Thursday. When you add up your available work hours you have about 19 hours available to work.
If you absolutely cannot fit an internship into your semester, then look for available internships in your hometown over the summer. Be sure to check out collegerecruiter.com’s internship page!
