Opinion: The expectation of internships promotes a competitive, discouraging environment on college campuses.
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College students often find themselves overwhelmed with balancing their studies and social life. Class at 8 a.m., club meeting at 11 a.m., finish an essay at the library and hang out with friends at 7 p.m. But there’s one universal thing that keeps us up at night: internships.
The pressure really starts to kick in junior and senior year. Upperclassmen are asked the same old questions: Are you building your resume? What are your plans after graduation? You’re aware employers look for applicants with work experience, right? Yes, we are well aware.
Admittedly, the expectation of work experience comes with good reason. In a recent study, graduates with an internship on their resume were 14% more likely to get an interview. And it doesn’t stop there. A Conversation article wrote, “Students who had an internship have 15% lower unemployment, 6% higher wages five years after graduation, and final year grades that are 3.4% higher than those who did not have an internship.”
Sydney Greene, a senior at the University of Oregon, recently joined the student publication Flux Magazine. As most students do when graduation approaches, she wanted to build her resume.
“Time was biting me in the butt and I figured I needed something to put on my resume. Flux seemed interesting, but I applied mainly because I didn’t have anything under my belt journalism-related,” Greene said.
Unfortunately, not all college students are able to secure an internship. In a survey of 1,060 students from schools in Wisconsin, Maryland and South Carolina, 64% of students said they had hoped to take an internship, but could not.
This was due to numerous reasons. Students end up post-grad without valuable experience on account of five main obstacles: already working a paid job, too many classes, scarce opportunities, being unpaid/poorly paid or lack of transportation.
Even with this being a common occurrence, universities advertise internships as mandatory in being successful.
“I put part of the pressure on myself, but it’s also professors telling us how important internships are. I think it’s kind of heavy,” Greene said.
I, too, had an internal battle with this expectation. All throughout my sophomore year, my journalism courses scheduled presentations focused on career-building. Advisors talked about building connections and resumes. Students gloated about the numerous publications they were a part of.
Instead of feeling encouraged, I felt extremely behind. I ended up taking their advice; I wanted to get more involved and apply to different publications on campus. Yet I always received the same response: “We’re looking for applicants with more experience. Build up your resume and apply again.”
How am I supposed to gain experience if no publication will hire me?
I eventually got my foot in the door, as I now write for the Daily Emerald. But the unrealistic expectation that a college student must achieve an insane resume to be successful is degrading.
Other UO students struggle with finding internship opportunities. In a small lecture, I asked my peers if anyone had any work experience. No one raised their hand. This was a predominantly junior/senior class, mind you.
“When I would finally get to graduate college, I thought it was going to be super rewarding. It is, but there’s a lot of stress that comes with it. You’re graduating into the freshmen year of the rest of your life,” Greene said.
Attending college and figuring out a career path is competitive as it is. But the pressure of building the perfect resume that’ll catch every employer’s eye promotes isolation. One will be successful, with or without experience.
The most reassuring career advice I received was from a fellow student: “Not getting an internship isn’t the end of the world.”
