Career advice needed: to intern, or not to intern, and at what expense?

I'm 23 and went back to school in fall 2011 to finish my undergrad (bachelor's in journalism w/focus on advertising & public relations, business minor). I am almost done with my junior year and am now eligible for some internships for credit, which puts me between a rock and a hard place.

When I started school again in 2011 the only job I could get was washing dishes for minimum wage. That was miserable, but I stuck it out as long as I had to. This past March I found a job as a technician working on Swiss mail inserting equipment; it pays $17/hr+ with benefits, and although it's full time, I have some extra time to work on homework on the job, etc. Although I'm good at it, I absolutely hate it and it's in no way related to my field of study, which leads to my current dilemma.

Any/all Ad/PR internships I can find pay either nothing at all, or minimum wage (and it's VERY few that even do that). However, it's hard to put a value on getting your foot in the door, especially if it leads to a job right after graduation. On the flip side, going from $34k a year to, well, nothing (or even minimum wage) means I'm gonna have to look at private loans, likely at an exorbitant rate, since FAFSA expects my parents to contribute to my college although they will not in any way do so.

OTOH, I could stay where I'm at right now. For 23, I'm doing pretty well, though I hate the work and the full-time work mixed with full-time school has started to play with my sanity; after almost 2 years without a cigarette I have begun smoking again, much to the chagrin of everybody I know. Also, I've had a few friends who have been in this situation - and they stuck it out until school was over - and they STILL had to take unpaid internships after graduation in order to find jobs, which sounds insanely frustrating. Seeing as my current job is totally unrelated to the work I want to do, I have a feeling I might have a similar experience.

The other side to all this is that I would basically be selling everything car-related I own, cars, tools, and all, to get into one sensible vehicle and simplify my life as much as possible were I to go the internship route.

What say you, GRM? Considering the stress and lack of relevance of my current job, I am currently leaning towards the internship path, since my whole return to school will have been pointless if I can't get a job after graduation. Then again, being totally broke and starting over from square one, yet again, is stressful in a different way.

Any/all advice is appreciated.

I would not be the best to give advice, but I will say, Good Luck in your endeavors, whatever you decide!
Oh, and quit smoking now, just do it.

Continue what you're doing now, make the business minor a major so that you'll be able to find a job after graduation and unpaid internships, and stay in school another year longer to get the second major. Oh, and quit the cigarettes.

FWIW, I'm 22, recent graduate (May) with a decent job, and one of my only regrets from college was not staying an extra semester to turn my business minor into a major. It would have made it much easier to find a job, and it probably would have been better paying. Job market absolutely sucks. You probably don't need me to tell you that, but I'm just reminding you. You will want to hold on to that job you do have until you have to let it go--of course, it could be for personal reasons, that you need to let it go now.

From talking with my friends/family/acquaintances in advertising and PR, there is good chance you won't be making 17 an hour out of college, if you even can find a job even with the unpaid internship. I'd at least keep at what you're doing until you have enough saved to go without an income for awhile. I would try really, really hard to avoid student loans (or private loans) at all costs. Just my 2 cents.

mtn wrote: Continue what you're doing now, make the business minor a major so that you'll be able to find a job after graduation and unpaid internships, and stay in school another year longer to get the second major. Oh, and quit the cigarettes. FWIW, I'm 22, recent graduate (May) with a decent job, and one of my only regrets from college was not staying an extra semester to turn my business minor into a major. It would have made it much easier to find a job, and it probably would have been better paying. Job market absolutely sucks. You probably don't need me to tell you that, but I'm just reminding you. You will want to hold on to that job you do have until you have to let it go--of course, it could be for personal reasons, that you need to let it go now. From talking with my friends/family/acquaintances in advertising and PR, there is good chance you won't be making 17 an hour out of college, if you even can find a job even with the unpaid internship. I'd at least keep at what you're doing until you have enough saved to go without an income for awhile. I would try really, really hard to avoid student loans (or private loans) at all costs. Just my 2 cents.

Unfortunately I'm already three years deep into student loans, although all are at least federal and some are subsidized loans. Also, to switch to a business major within the UW curriculum, I'd have to go a LOT more than a semester - more like four extra semesters - which is not something I'm about to do.

If you enjoy mechanical things, my advice would be to look at Technical Writing (or don't the lack of qualified people keeps salaries nice). Add a few classes and keep sticking it out part-time.

I have a Journalism degree, specialization in Public Relations. $17/hr is better than what you are likely to do with our degree in the current economy.

I would reevaluate your expenses so that you can save enough to pay for the internship period out of pocket. I make ~ $5/hr less than you, but I still cover all of my living expenses and tuition out of pocket. It can be done, but you have to live lean and always look for deals.

Also: Get as many contacts as possible from school.

I would recommend doing the internship sooner rather than later (it sounds like you're going to have to at some point). You're going to meet people, make professional connections, and the sooner you do that, the more opportunities you'll have.

While things worked out for me, it took quite a while for me to find a full time position in my field. For a variety of reasons, I didn't do an internship while in college. I would have had a significantly easier time finding work if had done an internship while still in college.

My wife just started a new career, after 2 years of being back in school, and for a year of it, without income. So seeing your income drop dramatically is definitely frightening. That said, if an internship is a mandatory step in your career, you probably won't be more ready any time in the next couple years than you are right now.

So that's my advice, worth every penny it cost you.

I'm in relatively the same position you are. I will graduate in less than 2 weeks and have never had an internship. I have been working all through college both full and part time (currently full time) although not making as much as you are. I decided not to do an internship since it would mean giving up the pay that I had from working.

Hopefully I can find a job soon but I'm sure it would be easier if I had an internship.

You're young. Keep working at the job you dislike for another two years until something snaps one day and you say, "berkeley this E36 M3. I'm going to do whatever it takes to become a [something]." Then you will have found what you actually want to do in life. Pursue that with all your might.

SlickDizzy wrote: I'm 23 and went back to school in fall 2011 to finish my undergrad (bachelor's in journalism w/focus on advertising & public relations, business minor). I am almost done with my junior year and am now eligible for some internships for credit, which puts me between a rock and a hard place.

The business minor is going to get you farther than the journalism stuff. A TON of those jobs have simply dried up in the digital age.

I'm saying this as someone with a worthless Communications BA.

Sad that I was making close to $17/hr fixing bicycles and a degreed position with all sorts of requirements pays that now. The field has really devalued itself over the past 10 years.

Thats because people are encouraged to go to worthless schools like UW-Whitewater to major in "Business" or "Communications" or "Marketing. No one goes to trade schools to learn a real trade or skill any more.

I recieved credit for my "internship" working full time in my field of study.....does that help or seem applicable?

Beer Baron wrote: You're young. Keep working at the job you dislike for another two years until something snaps one day and you say, "berkeley this E36 M3. I'm going to do whatever it takes to become a [something]." Then you will have found what you actually want to do in life. Pursue that with all your might.

You don't seem to understand; three years in the workforce as a tradesman is why I went back to school in the first place

I think my plan so far is to stick the job out until my final semester, then go all-in for an internship. Luckily I have some pretty decent connections and I have a few friends that have done well in the business. I am also well-liked by a few of my professors and would be willing to move for work in the long run, all of which help my chances.

FWIW I don't think the job market in PR is THAT bad, one of my best friends here at UWM graduated this past spring and walked into a job as PR writer for Mozilla. Yes, Firefox, that Mozilla. She's making about 2x what I am, and loves it.

SlickDizzy wrote:

Beer Baron wrote: You're young. Keep working at the job you dislike for another two years until something snaps one day and you say, "berkeley this E36 M3. I'm going to do whatever it takes to become a [something]." Then you will have found what you actually want to do in life. Pursue that with all your might.

You don't seem to understand; three years in the workforce as a tradesman is why I went back to school in the first place I think my plan so far is to stick the job out until my final semester, then go all-in for an internship. Luckily I have some pretty decent connections and I have a few friends that have done well in the business. I am also well-liked by a few of my professors and would be willing to move for work in the long run, all of which help my chances.

I was half-joking; describing the situation that lead me to decide on my current path of brewing that pays me poorly, but that I really enjoy.

I think your current plan is good. It sounds like you just haven't figured out what you really really want to do in life. This is fine. I didn't figure it out for myself until I was 29. Most people never find that thing that really lights a fire for them. Working something that covers your expenses until you're able to "go all-in" is a good plan.

You're not behind the curve. Don't compare yourself to classmates or friends because you will be able to find people who you can cherry-pick a few key elements of their life that you envy and get depressed about what you don't have.