No Sophomore Summer Internship, Feel Like An Idiot Doing Everything Wrong

CollegeMamb0
Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:56:31 +0000

Humanities majors do get internships and jobs, especially if they attend an Ivy.

Rather than focus on content, which may be harder to equate to a job, think about skills. Although I’m a therapist now (and I concur with @compmom that you need to find your own!), I used to be a management consultant. I have a degree in Geography! I also used to help with recruitment for the firm.

You need to be able to-

write well, (your degree: check)

research, (could you work with a prof during the year?)

summarize complex ideas and data succinctly, (degree)

have decent quantitive skills and feel comfortable on a spreadsheet (what quant classes have you taken? Don’t worry about the grade, have you mastered the skills?)

get on well with lots of people (this is where the retail/waiting jobs come in handy!)

be self motivated (those low key jobs again)

understand client service and relationship building (those jobs again)

be tenacious (and again)

We always looked for graduate recruits who had held these jobs at some point as it showed grit, determination, ability to deal with less than nice people/situations, willingness to follow rules (uniform, clocking in time), self motivation etc.

Even if not a consultant, there are lots of different companies, organizations and industries out there, and lots of different types of roles. They might not all sound sexy, and may not be in NYC/SF etc, but they will launch your career, pay a decent salary and get you away from your dad.

Wishing you all the best - and find a therapist!