STUDENTS TAKE ON SUMMER INTERNSHIPS
September 2016
Watch out, summer job. Internships are on the market, and they're proving to be popular.
According to a Pew Research study, the number of teens taking on a summer job has dropped from 58 percent in 1978 to 38 percent in 2014.
This trend has been in the making for decades. Many students are choosing to invest their summers in internships rather than in jobs. Paid or unpaid, they offer something that summer jobs may not have.
"It was about the experience. If I was working out of a garage, that would've been great as well. However, at an internship, you can do programming in a professional environment with other people who share similar interests," said junior Edward Vendrow.
Vendrow interned at Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace company. He's one of the several students who interned at tech-oriented companies.
One factor for this change in priorities is due to college tuition. According to The Atlantic, an average student's annual college tuition is equal to 991 hours of work.
That doesn't mean that paid internships pay more. Vendrow's salary would cover "maybe 1.5 percent of a year's college tuition."
Either way, paying for college by working over the summer isn’t as realistic as it was for many students. Due to this impracticality, many teens have changed their game plan for their future.
Money isn't a priority for everyone. Some choose to focus on finding their interests, such as junior Maddy Li, who interned at an online publishing company.
Li said, “Money isn’t a priority, whereas experience helps me so that I can learn more about what I want to do [in the future]. For example, from this internship I realized that I would rather not work in an office.”
Instead of money, internships offer a boost that could help them in the long-term -- experience in a specific field.
“The experience from this internship could help me in the future when applying to companies. I can get a higher-paid job and make more than minimum wage,” said junior Josh Vendrow, who interned at cPrime, a computer company.
The modern college application is formulated in a way to emphasize experience.
In The New Yorker, author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell illustrates the history of college applications.
Gladwell claimed that in modern times, the most important category was “that mysterious index of ‘personal’ qualities. According to Harvard’s own analysis, the personal rating was a better predictor of admission than the academic rating.”
One way for students to increase their ‘personal rating’ is by showing interest in and excelling at a particular field. Internships offer that appeal --for these three students, they were able to gain experience not possible without the opportunity.
It’s not that internships are necessarily better than a summer job. Priorities are evolving, and they differ for every student.
“One thing that’s good for one person might not be good for another. For me, I think that kids need to learn how to be hardworking and be responsible for themselves, which is why I chose to get a job,” said junior Kalea Pasion, who lifeguarded over the summer and continues to do so today.
For students who take on an internship, it could mean the difference between being good and great.
For Josh Vendrow, he got ahead of the game by being immersed in a business environment at his internship.
For Maddy Li, she was able to find out more about her personal interests and what she would prefer in the future.
And as for Edward Vendrow, he already has an interest in programming -- he codes in his spare time, learning on the way. One extension that he coded to help out with his brother’s internship reduced a week’s worth of data entry into a half-hour’s worth.
Edward Vendrow said, “I wasn’t really in it for the money. I wanted to focus on experience. I want to pursue my passion, and it just happens that I got paid for it.”
Students will always have a chance to learn, whether that means applying to the local Jamba Juice or calling 15 different companies before finding an opportunity.
According to a Pew Research study, the number of teens taking on a summer job has dropped from 58 percent in 1978 to 38 percent in 2014.
This trend has been in the making for decades. Many students are choosing to invest their summers in internships rather than in jobs. Paid or unpaid, they offer something that summer jobs may not have.
"It was about the experience. If I was working out of a garage, that would've been great as well. However, at an internship, you can do programming in a professional environment with other people who share similar interests," said junior Edward Vendrow.
Vendrow interned at Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace company. He's one of the several students who interned at tech-oriented companies.
One factor for this change in priorities is due to college tuition. According to The Atlantic, an average student's annual college tuition is equal to 991 hours of work.
That doesn't mean that paid internships pay more. Vendrow's salary would cover "maybe 1.5 percent of a year's college tuition."
Either way, paying for college by working over the summer isn’t as realistic as it was for many students. Due to this impracticality, many teens have changed their game plan for their future.
Money isn't a priority for everyone. Some choose to focus on finding their interests, such as junior Maddy Li, who interned at an online publishing company.
Li said, “Money isn’t a priority, whereas experience helps me so that I can learn more about what I want to do [in the future]. For example, from this internship I realized that I would rather not work in an office.”
Instead of money, internships offer a boost that could help them in the long-term -- experience in a specific field.
“The experience from this internship could help me in the future when applying to companies. I can get a higher-paid job and make more than minimum wage,” said junior Josh Vendrow, who interned at cPrime, a computer company.
The modern college application is formulated in a way to emphasize experience.
In The New Yorker, author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell illustrates the history of college applications.
Gladwell claimed that in modern times, the most important category was “that mysterious index of ‘personal’ qualities. According to Harvard’s own analysis, the personal rating was a better predictor of admission than the academic rating.”
One way for students to increase their ‘personal rating’ is by showing interest in and excelling at a particular field. Internships offer that appeal --for these three students, they were able to gain experience not possible without the opportunity.
It’s not that internships are necessarily better than a summer job. Priorities are evolving, and they differ for every student.
“One thing that’s good for one person might not be good for another. For me, I think that kids need to learn how to be hardworking and be responsible for themselves, which is why I chose to get a job,” said junior Kalea Pasion, who lifeguarded over the summer and continues to do so today.
For students who take on an internship, it could mean the difference between being good and great.
For Josh Vendrow, he got ahead of the game by being immersed in a business environment at his internship.
For Maddy Li, she was able to find out more about her personal interests and what she would prefer in the future.
And as for Edward Vendrow, he already has an interest in programming -- he codes in his spare time, learning on the way. One extension that he coded to help out with his brother’s internship reduced a week’s worth of data entry into a half-hour’s worth.
Edward Vendrow said, “I wasn’t really in it for the money. I wanted to focus on experience. I want to pursue my passion, and it just happens that I got paid for it.”
Students will always have a chance to learn, whether that means applying to the local Jamba Juice or calling 15 different companies before finding an opportunity.