I guess it's time I fess up on how many internships I've done...
My last semester of interning has begun. This is a chapter in my life that started three years ago; summer of my freshman year to be exact. That's three years of free labor in an industry I whole heartedly love, three years of figuring out which direction I want my career to go, and, three years of soaking up valuable knowledge.
I'm no Intern Queen, but my final internship count is 10. I've held 10 positions at different magazines, websites and companies. Each one helped me grow as an individual and helped me meet some truly amazing people.
I can honestly say I did 10 internships by accident. I only realized I hit the double digits this past month. I'm kind of embarrassed. I think I hit such a high number because I built my whole college career around interning. I wasn't satisfied with what my professors were (or weren't) teaching me in my classes so I sought out my internships to give me the information I was lacking. Since the summer of 2008, I worked in different places (sticking with a couple for over a year) because I was trying to figure out which part of the communications world I really liked.
At the same time, I'm proud of myself. I look back on the past three years and wonder how I ever managed to juggle good grades, an internship, at least two regular jobs, and then run a couple school clubs while being an editor at my school's newspaper.
Would I advise you to follow in my footsteps and do one too many internships? No. You should create your own path, but I will say that intern where you could see yourself eventually becoming a full-time employee. If your internship turns into something you do not like, leave--in a timely fashion of course. Take it as a lesson learned and chase after a new one.
xx
