When I began university five years ago, I figured that as soon as I got that piece of paper in my hand that my career would begin. Surely with enough work experience and decent grades, I could start my career right out of the gate. Now that I have graduated, I understand that this pipe dream instilled on me in high school is not the case. Making yourself marketable is key.
While the student should be actively searching for internships, I think that it is the college's responsibility to provide faculty that will take a certain number of students under their wing and allow them to accompany them to networking events in the student's respective field. Help with networking by a mentor is one of the greatest assets a student can possess.
As a college student bogged down with the stress of assignment deadlines, exams, finding a #2 pencil with lead still in it, and fitting in time to work, it's hard to see out of the tunnel of junk a student has to get through just to receive their degree. Like most students, I pursued work experiences in a variety of aspects of my future chosen profession, but without the networking gained from company events, go-sees, and guidance from the college, it's very difficult to know where to start when you basically are another resume to most companies.
Aaron VanSchyndel, our creative director, says that he is the biggest advocate for internships. "I was lucky enough to get internships after my freshman, sophomore, and junior years, as well as being a full time intern my sophomore through senior years. Job experience lets you hone your skills in a shorter amount of time than any of my classes did through application instead of memorization. In Computer Graphics Technology especially, the classes teach you how to learn, while the job experience teaches you to use the programs and adjust to deadlines. It's better to make mistakes while you are in college, rather than be unsure of yourself in the career field."
The moral of this story is to plan throughout college for your career. That degree, as valuable as it is, is not your meal ticket to career success.
I agree about the importance of internships. It is a great way for a company to "test" an employee on a trial basis. If the employee is a great asset to the company then they should receive a full-time offer. In fact, a good amount of our current staff started off in our internship program.