Right now my semester work is tapering off, but my internship assignments are really building. I’m doing a virtual internship this semester (shameless plug: it’s for www.charactergrades.com, which is a must-bookmark for any TV addicts out there), and I can’t sing the praises of it enough!
For those of you that don’t know, many companies offer internships remotely—meaning you can work from school, complete assignments on your computer and have meetings via Skype or telephone. What this means is that you don’t have to wait until summer for your next internship!
I know it seems kind of scary to add an internship to the list of classes and commitments you have during the semester, but it’s actually quite doable. These kinds of internships are also fabulous for people like me, who have the dual issue of procrastination and focus-problems. With my virtual internship, my bosses give me deadlines for assignments, so I usually can finish my work the night before it’s due with Neflix playing in the background to calm me down. It also offers so much flexibility to work around my classes and exam schedules so that I don’t have to multitask or prioritize my work. With a virtual internship, I can schedule meetings around my schedule (and they tend to be much more flexible with deadlines, too).
It’s far less work than doing an independent study at school, and at the end of the semester, you have another internship to add to your resume and countless new contacts made. That could add up to three internships a year instead of the usual one, which looks so impressive on a resume.
Bottom line for you Econ majors, or for those of you who zoned out earlier: Virtual internships are low-cost, high-yield. They allow you to explore a lot of possibilities, learn new skills and make new contacts without having to wait for the hyper-competitive positions during the summer. All you have to do is do a google search “virtual [insert career field here] internship” and you’ll be surprised at how many results you find!
This could be you, lazing on the couch and being productive at the same time! Ah, bliss.