Internships are valuable training experiences that are provide students
with first-hand views into career paths. Moreover, students with
quality internships on their CVs have an advantage when applying to
advanced training and post-graduate degree programs. A quality
internship may or may not include a stipend or other forms of
compensation - the true value to the student is the experience that they
gain as well as valuable networking contacts that they make during their
training.
The problem may be that not all internships provide students with the
same quality of education experience that the label "internship" would
imply. My question was whether there was some forum for feedback on
different internship programs. In the absence of reviews or testimony
from students who have completed the program I would advise students to
be cautious.
To assess whether an internship program will provide a quality
experience, I suggest that students should be asking the following
questions:
1. Does the person in charge of program have a terminal degree (usually
a PhD in academic fields), or are they working at least at the same
capacity (level) that the student aspires to for their career (applied
fields)?
2. Does the person in charge have a record of success in the field?
This would be publications and grants in academic fields, but could be
reports on completed projects or other evidence of success in applied
fields.
3. Are there other individuals working at various levels of training?
This would be graduate students and/or post-docs in academic fields, and
could be individuals with different numbers of years of experience and
types of backgrounds in applied fields.
4. Does the program provide opportunities to engage in original
research or the implementation of applied projects under the guidance of
qualified mentors (individuals described by criteria 1-3 above)?
5. Will the student have opportunities to have input and to be engaged
in decision-making processes?
Question #5 is perhaps the most critical as it distinguishes
worker/technician positions - where students are just following
directions - from internships.
In any case I would strongly recommend that students gather as much
information as they can about internship programs before they commit.
Most importantly, ask for contact information for students who are
currently in the program or who have recently completed an internship
and get candid feedback on their experiences.
I would be curious to here about input on the criteria listed above. I
would also like to know whether there are students who have had bad
experiences in programs that did not provide the type of education and
training that they had expected.
Mitch Cruzan
On 8/15/2013 10:29 PM, Neahga Leonard wrote:
A while back I posed a similar question to the Ecolog community and
found that many were skeptical and bothered by the prevalence of
unpaid internships, but were only willing to post their skepticism
privately. There were a voluble few who posted publicly
and vehemently defending the internship system.
I'll be interested to see what replies you recieve, especially in
light of some of the class action suites surrounding this issue in
the journalism profession.
On Thursday, August 15, 2013, Mitch Cruzan wrote:
Hi John,
I'm glad you brought this up because we see a wide range of
internships advertised on ecolog and it is difficult to tell which
ones are going to be the most beneficial for students. For
example, there are some non-profit organizations in the tropics
and elsewhere that offer internships, but is unclear whether there
are mentors available with adequate training and background to
make these optimal education experiences. I share many of these
posts with a large number of students here in the PNW via forwards
to our "Biology Opportunities" email listservice, so It would be
good if there were a rating system or feedback forum on these
different organizations - I would like to know that these are
actually valuable education experiences for students and not just
a mechanism to get cheap labor.
Mitch Cruzan
On 8/15/2013 9:41 AM, John Gerlach wrote:
I've been researching opportunities to gain experience in new
areas in order to qualify for a wider range of jobs. A common
theme is the "pay for experience" "careerships" and
internships and receive training and some form of
certification. One example is coral reef survey work and SCUBA
certification with stays of at least 4 to 8 weeks and PADI
Advanced Open Water or Dive Master certification. There are a
plethora of these on Koh Sdach Island adjacent to Cambodia's
Botum Sakor National Park that seem to be mostly British
non-profits and private companies.
I'd appreciate information and advice about these kinds of
programs in general as well as those on Koh Sdach and other
reef areas in particular.
Thanks,
John
--
Neahga Leonard
/There is not just a whole world to explore, there is a whole universe
to explore, perhaps more than one./
http://writingfornature.wordpress.com/
