by Ethan Mickelson
The end goal is clear for students who decide to pursue a college degree-a job. But while having some type of formal education ensures proper training, it doesn't necessarily guarantee a position after graduation. As the launch pad to a lifetime of experiences, internships have become a necessary benchmark for future success.
Like most universities across the nation, North Dakota State University has a dedicated office for helping develop the professional careers paths of their students. As an internship hub for students and employers, the Career Center at NDSU coordinates jobs with students to provide academic credit and a lasting career experience.
As internship manager, Allison Goossens heads up the office and works with a small team to ensure students have a competitive edge when they enter the job market. On top of managing the career tracks of an entire university teaming with pre-professionals, Goossen and her team are working to offer even more resources.
"We have fabulous opportunities in this area and it's unique because the area is growing," said Goossens. “The majority of the internships we facilitate stay local in the F-M area, but we are also looking to expand even further next year by offering international internships.”
In congruence with the Career Center’s growth, the community is also expanding. To tap into the growing job market, internships offer the perfect way for students to get their foot in the door. According to NDSU’s 2016 Employment Report, 93.8 percent of students have a job within six months after graduation.
With an average growth rate of bachelor degrees earned at NDSU in the past ten years coming in at just over two-and-a-half percent, a rough estimate for the amount of degrees that will be earned in 2025 is expected to hit 3,000. With this rise in degrees received comes an increased need for internships for students as well.
“It's interesting because Fargo is growing so fast and I think there are going to be more opportunities for students with companies. The other thing is a lot of our businesses are young. In general it's a very young professional population in the area too, so I hope that will ignite a fire within our interns when they go out into the workforce,” said Goossens.
To understand the community's employment needs, the Career Center works in accordance with NDSU’s land grant commitment by supplying a steady stream of competent employees. While the center works with students across all majors, a majority of internships facilitated through the Career Center are in the mechanical engineering, accounting and agribusiness fields. As an indication of the most sought after majors for internships, the highest paid positions come from engineering and computer science.
According to findings by Look Sharp, the days of students having only one internships are long gone. In the 2016 State of Millennial Hiring Report, Look Sharp indicated that graduates who complete three or more internships are more likely to secure full-time employment. In the same report, 81.1 percent of graduates reported that the internships helped them shift their career directions either significantly (34.8 percent) or slightly (46.3 percent) by changing the focus of classes or majors.
Some of the resources offered by the Career Center that give students a leg up in such a competitive environment include an internship board with vetted job listings, career fairs, help with writing cover letters or resumes, advice on managing a professional online presence and career coaching. The program goes beyond just earning credit through their “career everywhere” motto which aims to bring career preparation to the forefront of students’ minds.
Internships offer students a glimpse of their future professional selves while learning what it is they have to offer. By developing the idea of a student’s career past the general buzzword sense of their major, students can take the Career Center with them throughout college and beyond.
“We want students in their freshman biology class to hear about careers. We want our alumni who are maybe a year out of school to connect and tell current students about opportunities. Career everywhere is basically broadening our scope and range so that students, faculty and alumni all get an ingrained sense of career,” said Goossens.
The benefits of an internship during or after college are countless but still entirely tangible. On a national average, 60% of internships result in a full-time job with that company. The appeal of a possible position is only the beginning of the benefits to an internship.
“Students gain some really valuable soft skills during internships. Talking on the phone, email etiquette, even how to navigate conversations with supervisors. A lot of students have never been in a situation where they have had critical or constructive feedback from a superior, so they are learning simply how to be supervised,” said Goossens.
Internships provide more intangible benefits in the long-run, too. While building professional connections and networking, students develop a fluency that kick-starts an their careers. Whether they are required or not in college, internships have become a core to the curriculum of higher education and a staple for the community’s workforce.