Why an internship?

   Next to earning good grades, work experience is the best way to enhance your resume. In fact, many potential employers never see your grades, but they will see your work experience on your resume. Internships are an excellent way to determine if your career path is right for you. A good internship experience can reinforce classroom learning and introduce you to new skills as well.

Applying for an internship or summer job.
    Not every internship or summer job will be a perfect work experience, but there are some steps you can take to reduce your chances of becoming a library gopher instead of a laboratory assistant.
 

• Read the job description carefully. Determine that the job is what you want to do, not where you want to be.

• Obtain additional information from the contact person. If you are interested in doing research, find out how much of your time will be devoted to your own work and how much work you will be doing for someone else. Many summer positions involve being an assistant for a post-doctoral student or a graduate student. Be clear about what the job responsibilities are.

• Determine what the working conditions will be. Almost all of the jobs that require working under adverse conditions are clear about those demands. That Grizzly Bear DNA project in Glacier National Park might seem perfect, if you don't mind carrying putrid liquid bait, backpacking for 9 days, and working under rainy conditions with biting insects for long hours. Research can be relentless, regardless of the conditions.

• Make sure that you are in agreement about start and end dates. Many internships and summer positions are dependent upon you for accomplishing a significant amount of work. Most employers understand the constraints of an academic schedule, so you can often negotiate your start and end dates if they differ from the job advertisement.

• Make sure that you are in agreement about compensation. You mean pay!? Yes. There is certainly no reason why you should not be reimbursed for your efforts. Sometimes the pay can be meager, such as in the form of room and board and a small stipend (that's the price of experience sometimes). Sometimes it can seem downright lucrative, in which case, we're sure you won't complain.

• Some of the positions in the listings require that you register for internship credit. Many of the positions listed are suitable for internship credit. If you have questions, see Professor Kleiner in Annex 204  or email at kkleiner@ycp.edu.

        Link to web-sites of employers with laboratory positions

        Link to web-sites with listings of field and organismal positions