In the world of college life, a student may get the opportunity for an internship: some majors even require it. 

But what is an internship and why should you look for one?

An internship is a temporary position at a company that will allow you to get experience in the field you are interested in before you graduate. 

This is very helpful, as when you go to college for chemistry, you have more than one field you can go into: general chemist, organic chemist, biologist, science teacher, researcher. 

An internship can help someone find out what field they enjoy and if it is the right profession for them.

The advantages of internships boil down to four main points: work experience, networking, specialization, and increasing your value. 

A lot of those skills will be utilized after college and it is good to get into a company that will help you advance your career after college. 

At Castleton University, there are a great number of students who will take internships at Casella Waste Systems and Rutland Health and Rehab. 

Both companies have a high rate of keeping the interns on after the internship and giving them a jump start on their career. 

Networking is a very important task that we do every day; it’s the first impressions, it’s talking with professors, the deans, and even maintenance personnel. 

All of these people want you to advance your career and yourself. An internship allows you to work with managers and other individuals at an organization and if they like you, they can help you secure a role at a different company. 

If Bill Gates tells Microsoft to hire you because you are a hard worker, then you will have the job. Companies look at references both listed and unlisted. The unlisted you do not know about are the ones affected by networking and the internship.

Now, all we have left is your value. 

This value is not of a financial standpoint but a standpoint of knowing your own worth. Through an internship, you will gain experience in the field and you will have a better understanding of the field and business than someone who is applying without experience. 

This also comes into play when looking at future jobs: you will be more valuable with the prior experience to help land you a role that will pay you more then the starting rate.