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Is it better to do paid internships or just a regular job during university?

I'm looking to go to college in New York City, and that can obviously get really expensive, so I was wondering which job option would be better for both experience and pay. #jobs #job #money #career

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Amit’s Answer

Hi Michelle,


Great question. College is definitely expensive, so having an income definitely goes a long way.  If possible, I highly recommend getting adjusted to the college life/schedule before jumping into working many hours. The answer to your question is, it depends. You should pick which position allows you to gain the most experience in the field you eventually want to be in after graduation, or the position that allowed you to build the most skills.   If both the “regular job” at the university and the internship allow for the same skill building, but not in a field you want to be in, then you look at other important factors such as flexibility of hours, benefits, and pay. 


Hope this helps,

Amit 

Amit recommends the following next steps:

If possible, get adjusted to the college life/schedule.
Have a few careers in mind that you want to pursue after graduation
Find jobs through job boards, linkedin, etc and obtain interviews for the position.
If you have multiple offers to choose from, choose the one that best fits what you want do, allows for the most skill building. If neither stands out in this regard, then look more into the pay, benefit, hours.
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Eraj’s Answer

As a starter or beginner in any career that you wanna choose first step is learning so paid internship and trainee programs is best option as growth opportunity perfer to add work experience of intern in your resume where applicable so its good for landing a desire job or career.
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Simeon’s Answer

If you can get a paid internship in the job that you're looking to get into, it'll be more valuable to you than a normal job. When you are applying for entry-level positions, they will often ask for years of experience, some of which you'll be able to cover with internships. The job only works if it somehow related to the position you're considering as well or you need to cover your financials.
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M’s Answer

Hi Michelle! Internships add great value to your resume and work experience overall. Some internships are paid, so I would recommend looking into those.
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Ken’s Answer

Any opportunity that you can garner that would allow you to learn the inside view of the carer area you are pursuing would be very helpful. Internships, coop, and shadowing programs are very beneficial. If you can get a paid job it would be most helpful if it were in your career area of interest.


Getting to know how your personality traits relate to career areas and then doing networking to meet people who are working in those areas would greatly increase your chances of participating in some kind of career exposure related program or a career related part time job.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
• It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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Priya’s Answer

If the paid internship is something that can add value to your resume, then I would suggest to go for the internship.
If it is of a different field or does not add value then it depends on your interest, if you want to go for internship or a regular job.
Of course you need to keep the expense in mind before choosing but also it should not hamper your studies.
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