Return to Career Services home page
 

Ways to get career-related experience during college

Whether you will work indoors or out, at a desk or not, get experience!

There are many ways to get relevant experience.

The vast majority of VT grads had more than one type of experience during college. Read right sidebar ->

Even so, for six years, one-fourth to one-third of VT graduates wished they'd gotten more experience!

Freshman year is not too early to start! Look for volunteer work, a part-time or summer job that will be a stepping stone to something more competitive later.

Types of opportunities available vary by career field.

More below about:   externships & shadowing |  internships  |  cooperative education = co-op  |  volunteering  |  field study  |  undergraduate research  |  part-time & summer jobs  |  leadership & involvement in student organizations

Externships | Shadowing

  • Shadowing or externships are really a bridge between exploring career options and getting a look at a real world environment. They are short-term in duration: a few hours to a few days, or perhaps a few hours per week over a semester. You have a pre-arranged time to spend at a work environment to watch and learn from people in the career field or type of work environment that interests you. Individuals and organizations who host externs or permit shadowing are contributing their valuable time to give you a free learning experience; you don't receive compensation and you do not pay for the learning experience. Externships and shadowing are mostly for the purpose of learning more about a career field or work environment, but if you make a very good impression on the people you meet, it could open the door to another experience (internship, co-op, summer job, etc.) later.
  • Career Services provides shadowing | externship guidance to prepare students to conduct yourselves professionally and to use resources to seek and apply for shadowing and externships to learn more about your career field of interest.

Internships

  • Internships are usually one-term experiences and are often in the summer, though not always. Internships can be paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, and are sometimes for academic credit; these factors vary by career field and employer. Internship eligibility varies by employer; some offer internships to students who are freshmen; others require a higher academic level. Note that academic credit can only be granted by an academic department, and involves paying tuition. You should absolutely make yourself aware of opportunities and requirements in your academic department.
  • Learn more about internships.

Cooperative Education, a.k.a. co-op

  • Co-ops are typically full-time, multi-term work agreements with one organization. For example you might work for your employer the summer after your sophomore year, and the following spring and fall semesters. You might change departments or projects within your organization. Note that some employers use the term co-op to refer to other kinds of work arrangements. Read and listen carefully for these details as you search for co-op positions. At Virginia Tech, between 2003 to 2011, co-op program enrollment by major/college has been comprised of 82% to 92% engineering majors and 5% to 11% business majors. Students in other majors do occasionally enroll in co-op, but many others get their experience in other ways.
  • Undergraduate Cooperative Education & Internship Program (CEIP) at Virginia Tech.

Volunteering

  • This is sometimes a first way to get a foot in the door of an organization or career field. Volunteer work can be something you do as an individual, or as part of club or organization involvement.
  • Volunteering can develop skills and experience that you can list on your resume and thus can be a stepping stone to help you get other kinds of experience. Volunteering shows initiative; always a good thing.

Field study

  • These are typically done through your academic department, for academic credit, and are sometimes required for certain majors. Consult your academic department to see if field studies are offered or required.

Undergraduate research

  • What: Frequently a one-on-one arrangement between you and a faculty member, usually in your academic department, that may be for academic credit. Increasingly there are formal, ongoing, publicized opportunties within the university that you can find described on your department or college web sites. Additionally, organizations external to the university, such as research centers, offer undergraduate research opportunities.
  • Why it's important: Undergraduate research is strongly recommended for students who are thinking about applying to graduate school. And it is also excellent experience for students who are not considering graduate school.

How to find opportunities:

Part-time and summer jobs

  • Part-time and summer jobs can be important ways to get experience; a job does not have to be labelled as an internship or a co-op to be valuable. The value hinges on the job's relevance to your career field or industry, the skills you develop, and the level of responsibility you earn.
  • These can be a stepping stone to getting a competitive internship later.

Leadership and involvement in student and community organizations

  • Leadership in student and community organizations is viewed very favorably by employers, and can be an essential qualification for certain types of work and career paths.
  • You don't have to be president to be a leader. You could be the volunteer recruiter, the fundraising chair, an event planner or budget manager. The important things are what you accomplish and the skills you use and develop.

 

VT grads' experience

90% of VT 09-10 grads who responded to the Post-Grad Survey had one or more career-related experiences before graduation. They did:

  • 41% volunteer work
  • 45% part-time job
  • 56% summer job
  • 21% unpaid internship
  • 48% paid internship
  • 7% co-op
  • 21% undergrad research
  • 12% field study
  • 4% other

Regrets!

Even with all that experience, for the last seven years, 26% to 34% of the grads said they wished they'd gotten more experience!

By major:

Of course this varies by major! You can see this, and more:
Latest Post-Grad Report
All P-G reports & multi-year summaries