Summer is the traditional semester for internships and seasonal jobs because it’s when students usually have the longest breaks from classes. But as the most popular semester to intern, summer is also the most competitive. Internships during the other semesters tend to receive fewer applicants and often have more flexible deadlines.
Many spring internship listings were popping up on company websites and job boards in October; because there’s less competition for these positions, they may work better than summer programs for some students.
But leaving campus during spring semester requires serious academic planning. Students are usually expected to take classes in spring, and if they’re not taken ahead of time or scheduled for another semester, they can complicate students’ graduation plans.
Jeff Rice, executive director at the Office of Career Management at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business in Columbus, tells students to “take a very critical look with an academic adviser on whether missing that semester is going to delay your graduation.
“Let’s just say that there’s a class that’s required for you to graduate that’s only offered spring quarter. Well, you’d probably want to take it instead of the internship, or else you’d have to wait a whole extra year,” Rice says.
When researching any internship, especially a nonsummer program, assess the quality of the internship. Will students learn new skills and build connections, or will they make copies and fetch coffee?
Rice says that sometimes nonsummer internships are less established and receive less funding, so they’re not as valuable to students.
“Summer internship programs, which are traditional, are well-invested. They have mentors; they have supervisors; they have well-defined projects; they have strong managers who are providing a new experience for the students; they’re offering market value compensation,” he says. “If those metrics (exist) for a fall, winter or spring internship, then I think it’s great.”
Students must be sure that companies’ nonsummer internships are as valuable as their summer programs, Rice says. He advises that students read the job posting carefully and ask the employer and past interns about the program.
Choosing any internship requires careful research to decide if the opportunity meets a student’s standards. It’s doubly important when considering a nonsummer program.
Distributed by Tribune Media Services
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