High school internship is a more recent concept, however, something that is rising at a very expeditious rate. Most students at this age are not clear as to what career theyâd like to choose when they grow up. Internships, whether paid or unpaid prove to be a great mechanism to explore the possibilities and cut down to some choice.
Of-course there are more ways to do so, like aptitude tests, psychology tests, current ratings on the subjects, movies, experiments and much more. However, internships, are the one and only way to gauge this in the closest possible manner, because the students probe their interests while actually doing the job in an internship, that is, in real world business situation â exactly the true one and no replica or simulation.
Why are Internships So Important, Even if Unpaid?
High school internships let students with a chance to apply everything theyâve learned in school to practical scenarios, thus enabling companies and organizations too, to check if the creativity and output of a particular student suits them or not. About 60% -70% of the students receive a job offer from the company they interned in, as per latest data. So, whether it is paid or unpaid in the beginning or during the internship period, must be out of question ideally, and a good, reputed, and dream company must be something that high schoolers must target.
Not only this, a student who is not hired during or immediately after the internship, still carries a higher chance of being placed with some company of repute after completing college and the next internship, or after completing all of the educational course. Internships do count as important on their resumes, and high school internships show their dedication and zeal to enter the industry fast by this means.
Kinds of Unpaid Internships
There are two forms of unpaid internships that exist today. One is physically being on the job, and second one is a virtual internship. Sometimes this is differentiated because of the job role, like many customer care jobs, or AI jobs can be performed remotely pretty well. On other occasions these virtual mechanisms exist because the companies want to cut down on their per-seat-in-office expense. And yet on other occasions, companies want only in office physical setting interns to carry out the tasks. The third one is the best one as an intern, simply because it gives the student exposure to office environment and culture too, which is even more important to learn at an early stage if it is some corporate MNC. Nonetheless, whatever be the type or kind of internship, it definitely leaves a positive impression in the eyes of the prospective and future employers.
Should You Hesitate from Unpaid Internships?
Ideally, you must never hesitate if you are being offered an unpaid internship too. At this stage money must not matter, rather the company and the job role must matter. As the concept of high school internship is still new to the American education industry, even the worldwide education industry for that matter, paid internships are few and get filled up rapidly. So you must not feel that you are not capable or inferior in terms of preliminary industry skills expected from a high schooler, it is a matter of chance too, that where, when and how you apply.
