Internships – Are they worth it?

By: Kim Bonk

Working with a probation officer to monitor the compliance of teenagers age 12-17 was not my idea of the perfect internship.  All I knew was my professors and everyone around me kept stressing completing an internship, so I took the first one available through Career Services.  What I got out of the internship was invaluable.  I got to go on visits to homes and schools to meet directly with participants and their families.  I went to court once a week and met a judge, referee, and numerous other influential people in the field of substance abuse treatment. I was exposed to an array of psychological issues, living situations, and familial problems. It was a dream opportunity and one that many people may not ever get.

Most of those reading this probably assume that this life altering internship changed my mind about what I want to do for my career.  Naturally, having such a great experience would change my focus to working as a probation officer or at least working with juveniles who have trouble with drugs and alcohol.  Actually, the experience reaffirmed my goal of being a marriage and family therapist.  One of the most important things I got out of the experience is exposure to one facet of the job market that psychology majors can go into.  I realized I have no desire to work with that population or in that setting.  An internship experience is what one makes of it and in my opinion, any exposure to working with people is worth it.  Internships help a person grow and if anything, learn something new about them.