Pave Your Career Path With Internships
We come to university to prepare ourselves for our future careers, whatever those may be. We pick a major that we believe aligns with our goals, and we’re all set, right? Well actually, preparing for a career after college often involves a lot more than just attending class and making good grades. In fact, a diploma can only get you so far. To stand out, you’ll need a memorable resume.
Fortunately, there are many jobs and internships designed for college students that will not only look good on your resume but will also provide you with invaluable experience. Oftentimes, students learn more from real-world experiences than they do in class.
Kate Green graduated from Texas A&M University in 2019 and is now a junior graphic designer in Austin, Texas. While she was still a student, Green worked as a graphic designer for the Communication department at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Through her student worker position, Kate learned many of the skills needed for her current career.
“Since I have design and printing experience from my student worker position, I'm able to learn things so much faster,” Green states. “It also helped me learn time management and juggling multiple jobs and tasks at a time.”
Aside from hands-on experience, Green’s work as a student helped her realize what the right career path was for her. Often, people don’t know what they want to do until they try it. You might think you want one job only to realize it’s not the right fit for you when in the position. The beauty of working as a student is that there is no obligation to stay at that job if you no longer enjoy it.
“My job gave me experience in an actual print shop with a team of professional creatives to support and help me,” Green said. “It was also a great way to check in with myself and make sure I was choosing the right career, kind of like a trial run but I could also make money and gain experience!”
Student worker positions don’t only apply to office jobs. Those in STEM fields can find real-world experience through research and lab work. Nathan Mitchell, an industrial engineering senior at Texas A&M, was an undergraduate research assistant for physics and nuclear engineering labs.
“I did a lot of solidworks designing as well as part machining; both of these are highly sought after in the industrial engineering field,” Mitchell said. “In addition, there were a lot of team-based roles that prepared me for workplace projects.”
However, Mitchell said he learned invaluable skills in class that he could apply to his work outside of school.
“Lots of the programs we learn are sought after by companies, but we don't learn enough to make it by,” Mitchell said. “I think the work experience was also really helpful, but ultimately classes taught me more.”
Finding work opportunities as a student can be daunting, but there are many resources at Texas A&M that can help. The Career Center can help you prepare a resume and cover letter, and your academic advisors can provide advice on how to find jobs or internships within your major. Your professors are another invaluable resource.
“Reach out to as many professors as they can, and see what connections they can make,” Mitchell said.
If you have a dream job in mind, it’s never too soon (or too late) to get your foot in the door. Reach out to your dream company for an internship or part-time position—you might be able to start your dream job before you even graduate!
“The job market gets more competitive every year and it’s such an easy way to give yourself a little extra on your resume,” Green said. “It can go a long way.”
Written by Hannah Falcon, Photography by Stephanie Carrillo, Design by Isabela Esparza, Media by Kristen Phillips