Fifty percent of students who complete an internship decide that it is something they do not want to do, said Francine Blume, director of Experimental Education at AU.
"It's not that it was a bad internship," she said. "But something about it made them realize they aren't interested in this particular field of work."
Internships provide students with a chance to observe what a job in a particular field involves.
"What better way to learn what jobs are available and whether you would like the kind of work than to spend several weeks immersed in the field?" asked Paul Albergo, chief of correspondents for the BNA Inc. and a member of the adjunct faculty for the School of Communication.
Students looking for job and internship opportunities filled Bender Arena on March 18 for the Career Center's annual Spring Employment and Internship Fair.
Sophomore Greg Simon saw the fair as a place to get serious about lookin for a summer internship. "It is important [to get an internship] because I need to get an idea of what career I want to pursue once I graduate from AU," he said.
Many interning AU students try to remain in D.C. However, New York, Los Angeles and various places abroad are also popular destinations.
Some students want to stay in D.C. simply because there are more opportunities than at home.
"My job at home is a janitor," said junior Lindsey Kerr. "I don't want to be a janitor anymore."
Sophomore Ed Davis said he's staying in D.C. because he is interning at the same place he did last summer.
Sophomore Eric Friedlander is content on going back home to continue at his job from last summer.
"I couldn't find enough resources to find a good audio-tech job in D.C. to stay here, so I went home," Friedlander said.
By going home, Friedlander will avoid competing with the many students looking for internships who come from schools outside of D.C.
AU students have an advantage over others because they are already in D.C. and can start an internship immediately after the school year ends, Blume said.
However, students coming from outside of D.C. tend to go through programs or services that find and place them in internships. To override this disadvantage Blume recommends using resources available at the Career Center.
Senior Robert Clark found his Career Center advisor very helpful when looking for an externship during spring break last year.
"She told me about the program and coordinated the logistical aspects of the externship," Clark said.
Though the Career Center has valuable resources, students such as Davis and Simon decided to look for internships on their own. Both Davis and Simon have explored jobs posted on MonsterTrak.com and have not found the process very difficult.
"There are a lot of work options out there," Simon said.
Whether looking for an internship through the Career Center or on your own, Blume said the key is to build a resume and gain experience before a first paid job.
"An internship is an investment," Blume said.
Getting that experience was rewarding for Clark, but one of the major perks of interning in D.C. was doing it with his friends.
"We would all meet and power lunch downtown and pursue the monuments," he said. "It was definitely different and better than spending my summer surfing in San Diego"
