Interning: Summer Vs. Fall/Spring Semesters

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In today’s world, interning as a college student is very necessary to gain experience before entering the workforce. Depending on what type of internship you choose, you will have to intern either during the summer or during the spring or fall semesters. These two different times to intern are very diverse and both have their pros and cons.

Interning during summer break can be a lot less stressful than during a semester, considering you do not have five or more classes to worry about on top of your intern duties. Although, giving up your summer for an internship can be tough on your social life. You will have to deal with watching most of your friends partying and doing fun summer activities while you’re at work. This is something you do not really deal with during a fall or spring internship, since all of your friends will be in school or even working as well.

Being a full-time college student while interning can become super stressful. Balancing five or more classes and an internship will get difficult, especially during midterm and final exams. You will definitely be giving up your social life (and a lot of sleep) if you decide to intern while balancing the workload of a full-time course schedule.

A pro of interning during the fall or spring is that it is less competitive than the summer internships. Most students try to fill their summer rather than semesters with internships, so this leaves many more spots for the non-summer internships. If you do not have much experience to compete with, maybe a non-summer internship is for you. By interning in the fall or spring, you will also be able to relax and have fun all summer.

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Since many companies go through a slow period during the summer, you will get to experience working during its busy time. This can make your internship more interesting and give you more experience to learn from for the future. Because you will be super busy at school and at work you will have perfected time management by the end of the internship and will be ready for anything in your career!

On the other hand, since more students intern during the summer, you will be able to meet more college students with similar interests in work. This will not only allow you to make more friends, but maybe even future connections to jobs.

If you intern during the spring semester, right before you graduate, it may be more likely to turn into a full-time job. Getting your foot in the door with potential employers is extremely important, and with a spring internship just before your graduation you will still be fresh in the employer’s mind for hiring.

Although summer and semester internships have their different pros and cons, it is smart to not just limit yourself to one or the other. You will only benefit from gaining as much experience as possible before graduating, so interning in the summer and then taking a break for the fall and interning in the spring may be a smart choice to increase your odds of getting hired.