Competition in the job market makes the search process increasingly frustrating for recent graduates. Job announcements ask for "BA plus one year's experience," but how does one get experience when experience is a requirement for employment? A growing number of colleges and universities, government agencies, public service organizations, and private firms offer a solution to the "need experience to get experience" dilemma: INTERNSHIPS.
The basic premise of an internship is that a junior or senior student works outside the traditional academic environment to gain practical job experience and extend his/her learning to a new setting. This covers co-ops, temporary projects and some full or part-time jobs.In all of these cases, the student receives academic credit for job-related research. We encourage organizations to provide at least a nominal salary to students, but interns can also volunteer their time. For geography students, the job must be related in some way to geography, and the research project should focus on some geographical problem. It is up to the student and the organization which sponsors the internship to agree on actual duties, compensation, hours, etc.
Pros: Internships provide a unique learning experience outside the traditional academic environment, one where you can test the theories, concepts and methods introduced in the classroom. You also gain experience working with others and seeing how decisions are made. You have the chance to explore potential careers and make key contacts in the field. Perhaps most important of all, internships can provide you with the opportunity to get to know yourself better: What kinds of work do you enjoy the most? How do you react in particular work environments? What kinds of people do you like to work with? What things can you do particularly well? What area of geography would you like or do you need to know more about? What kinds of work environments or jobs really aren't right for you after all?
Cons: Internships can be wonderful experiences - educational, exciting, challenging - but they are not for everyone. Working as an intern involves discipline, responsibility and a firm commitment to get the most from this experience. Before finding an internship, set realistiv goals and be sure this is really the opportunity for you. Do not expect to get rich -- although some organizations do offer minimal salaries, many do not. What you will receive in the way of experience, contacts and knowledge more than makes up for the donation of your time.
If you've decided that an internship is important to you, your next step is to make contact with possible sponsors. There are lots of places here at Brigham Young University to search for these sponsors:
1) Geography Department :: You've already started here, but check the Geography Internship Board outside room 690 SWKT for current lists of contacts and position announcements, as well as alumni employment lists. Don't forget to ask faculty members or your advisor for suggestions. Remember that it is not their job to find placements for you. Most will be happy to provide you with information or possibly even contacts, but it is up to you to make use of the information. Another resource here in the department are your fellow students - about ten people per semester usually participate in internships, so find out how they went about getting their positions. Some current openings in the Utah Valley area are listed on this website under "Internships Postings".
2) Career Placement Service :: 2400 WSC. Although many people think the Placement Center is oriented towards graduating seniors, it is also a great place to expand your list of possible contacts. Remember, some summer jobs or part-time jobs can qualify as internships if they are related to geography, so take a look at other job listings as well. The Placement Center also has a small library which may be helpful in your search; don't forget to use the phone book and the Chamber of Commerce's index of local businesses. Don't get discouraged if you don't find many jobs listed for "geographers" -- there aren't many of those; descriptions of the duties involved give you a much better idea of whether you have the knowledge required for the position. You can also find the Career Placement Services (http://www.byu.edu/services/employment.html) or on the BYU Homepage.
3) Other places on campus :: The library is a good place to look for information. The Lee Library has some career materials in the back of the Social Science section on the first floor. Also, other departments here on campus have their own internship programs: browsing through their materials may produce some leads. Also, check with the Internship Office (130A B-34) and Student Employment Offices (204 WSC) for job notices which might fall under the category of geography.
After researching, you should have a list of possible sponsors and contact information. When you contact them, you need to be politely aggressive, efficient and professiona. Some things to think about before calling:
Cooperative education and internships formally integrate university - level academic study with work experience in cooperating organizations. The combined study-work experiences are offered by academic departments as an extension of regular day school programs. They are designed to complement and strengthen the student's major field of study. In addition to cooperative education internships within the United States, internships in international settings are also available for students who are pursuing majors that focus on international curricula.
The Geography department cooperative education and internship opportunities give full-time students a combination of academic learning with a work practicum. Students desiring to register for cooperative education must receive prior departmental approval and complete registration before commencing an internship.
The usual rule is 80-100 hours of work equals one credit in Geography 399 or 599, so a "typical" internship involving twenty hours of work per week yields three academic credits. Only three hours of 399 or 599 credit will count toward major requirements, but an additional six hours can count toward the total number of hours required by the university to graduate. (It does not matter to the department whether you receive payment for your work or not.)
To register for your internship, pick up a Student Internship Application from the Department of Geography's advising office in 690 SWKT. Besides basic information on you and your sponsor, you are asked to indicate the office/department in which you will be performing the internship. You will then need to register for the number of credits you will receive based on your hours of work.
After you've completed as much of the application as you can, approach the Geography Department chair and receive his permission for the proposed internship and to arrange the written assignments and their due dates. You will be expected to keep a journal detailing your experience and an annotated bibliography of your readings during the internship.
Just remember: this is academic credit. Simply describing your job or the agency or company you work for is not enough; at the 400 level, analysis is expected. This basically means breaking your experience down and fitting it into a larger context by asking questions about the nature of your work, the processes you are a part of, how your industry or agency functions, what spatial questions you are involved in, etc. This shouldn't be as hard as it might at first seem, since, you should have lots of rules from your course work about how to go about analyzing particular kinds of social, economic or urban processes.
Once you and the chair have discussed the nature of your internship and academic project, along with any necessary arrangements for keeping up-to-date on your progress, both of your dated signatures are necessary at the bottom of the completed Student Internship Application. Make two copies of your application: give one copy to the chair, keep one copy for yourself, and return the original to the Geography Department's main office in 690 SWKT.
During the course of your internship, you are expected to perform whatever duties are assigned to you by your sponsoring organization, as well as those assignments identified in your Student Internship Application.
In any situation where you are dealing with people, it is possible for misunderstandings and personality conflicts to occur. Part of your learning experience will be to handle the problems in a professional manner as they arise. Don't wait for small issues to mushroom into huge problems; encourage communication and feedback on what is going on. Along with unclear expectations, poor communication is the primary cause for problems in most internships. Hopefully, your maturity and communication skills will avert any major problems; if, however, a situation does arise which you and your sponsoring organization are not able to resolve, contact your faculty advisor or the chair.
If you have any questions that we have not answered here, please contact the Geography Department, 422-3851.