After uni has finished for the summer, it’s easy just to consider spending your summer lying around, enjoying your free time, and generally doing Not Much. The prospect of spending another summer working in a local café, or sweeping floors at the hairdressers for minimum wage has got less appealing since you’ve come to university and been able to bask in that student loan, but there are so many good opportunities around, which are more fun.
Internships can seem very difficult on the surface. From the application form up front, to potential interviews and training, as well as the already necessary skills, it can seem impossible to find an internship to suit your needs, and actually let you enjoy your summer simultaneously.
A good way to find your perfect internship is to go down one of two paths: either look for one which benefits your degree, or look for one which is something you’ve got a big interest in, outside your degree choice. If you’re really lucky you’ll find one to supplement both parts!
There are lots of different internships out there, and it’s possible to spend two months or so in pretty much any field you wish, with a bit of searching. Here are some of the possibilities.
IES Consulting is a company based in Barcelona, Spain, who offer internships starting at 8 weeks in a range of fields from hospitality, marketing, travel and tourism, pr or communication to plenty more. Their internships pay and are given in a whole host of different countries, so you can even include a holiday in it too! It’s helpful to be able to speak the language of the country you’re going to, so this one may be better suited to language students.
The Global Internship Programme (commonly known as City Internships) offers eight weeks paid training / interning at locations like London, New York and Los Angeles. It has internship streams ranging from journalism, to law, to engineering. The company is known for giving out job offers after successful completion of the internship so it’s a good option if you’re looking to the future with an open mind, too.
If you’re studying a science based degree course, or aiming to go into something within that field, an internship with Unilever is a good option. Their internships last for 12 weeks and pay more than most, and have good reviews from previous interns. The company makes everything from Dove to Magnums, so it’s an excellent option for name-dropping to future employers as well as the benefits from the internship!
For everyone who likes to enjoy a drink or two, Vinoa are offering a paid internship for their new start up wine tasting company. Calling themselves “the Netflix of wine” their internship is suited to a designer who enjoys using the likes of Photoshop, and HTML. A bit different to your usual 9-5 job, and weekly drinks are almost guaranteed, so if you’re local to London and are fine with drinking on the job, it could be a good option.
For someone looking to go into management consultancy or marketing, China Internship Placements is a good choice. Although, obviously, slightly further away from home, the internship offers the opportunity to learn a language for a few months and lead a completely different experience to normal university life. They give their interns a competitive wage and lessons to learn Chinese are included.
Something a bit different to most engineering based internships, Lloyd’s Register give students the chance to work in a few locations by the sea around the UK dealing with ship structure and electrotechnical works. You’ll be part of a team of a large project to either complete or push forward a new development, as well as taking care of your own day to day responsibilities, allowing you to network and make friends during your time there.
Nestle have a huge range of internship streams, and for anyone wanting to work for an international, well known company, they’re an obvious choice. From things like Human Resources to Sales to Finance, they offer a £16,500 pro rata salary across the summer and also opens up the opportunity to apply for their graduate scheme – a good way to get your future planned early.
Gousto is another food/drink inspired internship, and free tea, coffee and fruit is given to all staff everyday. It’s a six month paid internship, meaning it’s probably better suited to those of us with less contact hours and shorter university terms, but having won awards for their food by The Guardian, Time Out and others, they’re a good option for somewhere to spend your university summer. The role consists of test cooking and checking recipes, so is great for a food lover or a student looking to go into that industry.
Internships can look difficult on the surface, but it’s usually easy to pick out the pros and cons of each one with a bit of reading. Give it a try, and you might be impressed with how easy it is to spend your summer learning skills and earning money at the same time!
Have you had any great summer internship expreriences? Let us know in the comment section below!
Photo:Public Information Office/Flickr
Hi! I’m a 19 year old journalism student at the University of Sheffield. I’m currently in my second year and am spending my second semester studying at Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona! I love writing about my thoughts and opinions, as well as travel and student matters. You can check out my personal blog at: https://auseve.wordpress.com
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