IMPORTANCE OF INTERNSHIP
Internship synonymously known as apprenticeship, externship, practicum, cadetship or commonly training is defined as a “period of time during which someone works for a company or organization in order to get the experience of a particular type of work” or “a period of time during which a student, a newly qualified professional or a recent graduate gets practical experience in a job.” The word internship originates from the Latin word “internus” which means inward or internal and in a literal sense too internship is like getting inside the working of a company temporarily to learn about their workings and adopt them in practice for the future. Internships are of various types full time-part time, on the job-off the job, paid -unpaid, but every form of the internship has its own significance in terms of the impact it has on one's career.
Today's world is the world of dynamism. It changes in the blink of an eye. What was trend yesterday is alien today and in order to survive in this rapidly changing world one needs to keep up with its pace by learning new and new skills and one of the most prudent ways to do so is by doing different internships with different companies and organizations. No matter from which generation you are now is the time! “Because the major risk-takers in today's world are those who do not take a risk and step out of their comfort zone.” For anybody who is on a path of self-growth, be it a 30-year-old woman or a retired man, they can find what they are looking for through different kinds of internships as it is depicted in a very famous NetFlix movie “INTERN” where an old retired man refuses to halt on the path of his personal growth and with his efforts becomes the most valued asset of the company.
Though, today everyone is striving to keep up with the pace; the one faction of society that has to face a lot of competition, anxiety, and pressure are none other than us- “the students”. According to many great thinkers, student life is the foundation for the entire lifetime to come. The habits and skills learned in this phase of being, pay for the entire lifetime. So internships play a very crucial role in the life of a student especially college students or the students pursuing a higher level of education because the next big step in their career would be to look for a job and get independent. And internships help a great deal in this step. It helps the sophomores to learn new skills and aptitudes which are prerequisites for the job they would do in the future. It aids them to interact with the senior officials of a company, find a mentor in them and learn from them directly. Internships give them worldly exposure in real terms.
Many of us are not clear or are confused about what exactly we want to do ahead and internships help us to get clarity as we peers can try various internships and gain experience until we find our field of interest. Going through the same phase myself I can say that there is no task more important for a sophomore than to build his/her CV or resume and internships can help a great deal to build up the CVs. Also, a freshie who just passed out of college is clueless about how the industry works in real terms and he has nothing much to say in a job interview but internships give them the opportunity to relate their classroom learning with the practical environment and hence help them surpass their interview with flying colors. The significance of internships is not just limited to learning some practical skills on the working of the company but it also helps in grasping traits like integrity, commitment, teamwork, self-motivation, leadership and professionalism, etc that are essential in various spheres of life.
College life is considered to be a very raw stage. Everything is just so new and there is too much to be experienced. There are some needs that the grown-ups and parents don't understand or you don't want to trouble them asking for money and hence there is always scarcity of funds in our pockets. Well internships, especially paid internships, solves this problem too . They not only help us to get independent financially but also fills us with a lot of self-confidence and esteem for ourselves. Some students who excel as interns don't even have to look for jobs further as the company hires them as their permanent employees. A live example of the importance of internship placement is the story of the very famous business tycoon and motivational speaker “Chris Gardner” who was struggling to make ends meet selling medical equipment but then he landed an internship with a brokerage firm, showed excellence and got hired and the rest is history.
Be it Elon Musk or Chris Gardner, Steven Spielberg or Bill Gates; They are what they are today because they were willing to take risks, never let go of an opportunity, and understood it was very crucial for them to figure out their interests and internships paved the way for them. So step out of your comfort zone people! Don't be scared and never let go of an opportunity and start as an intern because there is no better way for you to learn besides being an intern and you never know what treasure is hidden for you in it because:-
“ The expert in anything was once an Intern”
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