Taking an Internship with a Busy Workload? Here’s Some Tips
by: Donal Buckley
As you venture further into your college career, you’ll be encouraged more and more to secure an internship. No matter what you’re studying, there are typically an assortment of internship opportunities at your disposal. Available both during the summer and school year, internships are a valuable opportunity to apply the skills you’ve been developing in class to the real world.
A unique challenge presents itself, though, for those of us that have had them during the fall or spring semesters: balancing it with school. As students first, dedicating time to your internship — a valuable networking opportunity — and mustering up the time for schoolwork can be exhausting. But as someone who has interned both in the spring and fall, I have some tips on how to balance your time.
Know Your Limits
The first step of committing to an internship is, of course, knowing if you have the time for it. Companies are typically pretty clear on how many hours they expect from you. I’ve found the range for school year internships is typically anywhere between 15 and 25 hours per week. Only sign onto an internship that you know you have the time for — if it’s going to make your workload significantly more taxing, consider pursuing another opportunity that demands less of your time. All internships are going to take a decent amount of your time so know how much you’re willing to give up.
Make a Schedule
In a previous article, I mentioned the value of using a planner among other organizational tools at the start of the semester. This can be another useful way to balance time between your internship and school. As internships are typically a semester-long commitment, it’s something you’re going to have to get used to. Mark in your calendar what days you have to work, and if you don’t have a consistent schedule, set aside some ideal time that you can work on your projects.
Find Your Spots
Chances are, if you have an internship during the school year, much of your work is going to be remote. Managers often work with their interns to find time during their day to work. In my experience, I’ve filled gaps between classes — or time in the morning before my first one — with internship work. Since your shift may start or end right before or after a class, it’s important to find areas on campus where you can work productively and not stress about being late to either. For example, I had an internship in the fall where I worked for two hours before an 11am class, so I woke up early and clocked in from the Village, since it was much closer to my class than my apartment was.
Communicate with Your Managers
Communication is key. Your internship manager can’t read your mind, and they won’t know you’re feeling overwhelmed if you don’t tell them. If you’ve found the schedule you’ve agreed upon is becoming too stressful for you to manage, set up a meeting with them to reevaluate what your schedule looks like. If you’re scared to ask for accommodations, just remember that you were hired for a reason — your manager sees the value in the unique skills you bring to the job. Additionally, they’re well aware you’re working on top of school, and during periods of heavy workloads (like midterms) they’re willing to be flexible.
It’s not just your managers who need to know you’re overwhelmed, too. Use your friends, family, and other people you trust as support systems. Keeping your stress bottled up will only make it worse.
Additionally, USC has a resource called “Let’s Talk” where you can have a private, 30-minute conversation with a clinician about anything on your mind — which includes the stress of balancing an internship with school. Use these resources at your disposal while you can!
Overall, internships should add to your college experience, not take away from it. If it’s too much for you to handle, then they’re not giving the valuable experience they’re supposed to. When it comes time for you to start an internship during the school year, keep these tips in mind.
