Which fall internship should I go with?

College Life
1

Hi CC community! I’m hoping for some help deciding between two internships that I’ve been offered in the fall.

I’m a rising sophomore at a small LAC, double majoring in PoliSci & Education. Ideally, I’d like to somehow get into education advocacy or teaching adult learners. Neither of these 2 internships fall in line with this long-term goal, but both opportunities fell into my lap through connections. I don’t want to waste the opportunity to learn new skills, which I could use later down the line when applying for positions that are more relevant to my interests.

Internship 1: History Project Intern w/ local non-profit
The non-profit is doing a ‘history project’ in the local area. I would be interviewing locals about their experiences and doing research. The subject of the project itself is pretty interesting, and I would value learning those research skills. I bet I would also enjoy interviewing people. However, most of my time would be spent by myself doing research, not interacting with people or learning about non-profits’ operations. The subject of the project is interesting, but I’m not sure if that makes up for being alone so much. 1 semester commitment (starting in fall).

Internship 2: Remote HR Intern w/ online magazine
I would be helping with the hiring process for other new interns (interviews, references, etc.) & learn about admin work. I’m a real people person, so this appealed to me. It is ‘remote,’ so I wouldn’t be there in person, instead using Skype and frequent emails/texts. I feel like it would be fun to get to know people & learn about how job candidates are evaluated. I am friends with a girl who did this last semester & had a wonderful time. 6 month commitment (starting this summer).

One of my main issues is time: in addition to being an RA, I will be working 2 part-time jobs (18hr/week total). I like the HR Intern position because it is remote, and I could schedule it around my other needs. However, I like the History Project position because it has a structured time slot, and wouldn’t bleed into anything else.

What would you guys suggest? Thanks for the help!

2

Holding down 2 part-time jobs, being an RA (presumably a good one, since there are RA’s that just phone it in in exchange for free housing), and pursuing a double major with a high enough GPA should you need it for graduate school would be enough. Just because an opportunity is presented to you, it doesn’t have to be accepted without thought to how it impacts the things already in place in your life.

That being said, I’m a big believer in being be able to get positive lessons out of any type of experience. If you are determined to take one of these, Option A seems more suited to your majors; Option B would fit better into your schedule and seems more like a third job.

3

From reading your post it seems that you would rather take the Remote HR internship. And just like you said you’d learn a lot about interviews, the hiring process, etc., which can be extremely valuable.