Most college students and graduates can’t afford to work for free, but internships offer much more than money. Most jobs requiring a degree to obtain also require experience. As a result, many companies expect graduating students to have interned at some point during their time in college.

When students graduate and go into the world to find a job, they often complain that entry level positions require experience. They argue that it’s not impossible to have experience when all their time has been spent in school.

Thus, most universities, including St. Edward’s, offer internships for their students.. St. Edward’s will do its best to help you find an internship in your field and help you obtain it.

Some degree plans even offer the option of having an internship as part of the degree plan.

At St. Edward’s, students have the option to spend a semester interning as part of their education. By taking advantage of this, they acquire the experience needed for the entry level positions, so when they graduate, they’ll be able to obtain good positions doing the work they want to do.

Internships are also a gateway to higher paying jobs. Companies regularly hire in-house and they will offer higher paying jobs to their interns.

If a company knows you and is familiar with the quality of your work they’re more likely to offer you advanced positions. Internships offer a great way to get hands-on learning experience and the ability to see if you are a good fit for your desired field.

Another argument against internships is that they are not paid. There are paid internships out there, however, they are more competitive and harder to find.

Some of the top companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon offer paid internships, but these are much harder to obtain than unpaid opportunities.

Internships aren’t ideal for people trying to get money now and support themselves. Internships are a building block for a better life in the future. They offer a way to network with people in your field, further your skills in an office environment and your skills for your field of work.

Internships should be utilized more often. Seniors should spend their last semester off campus interning at a company in their field, so when they graduate a job is waiting for them.

Life after college is hard to get used to unless you are able to alleviate some of the stress before you graduate. By interning in college, the transition will be much smoother.