Why Internship is Important for Engineering Students or Freshers?

One of the most common and biggest issue freshers has to deal when they are applying for the job is work experience. In today’s competitive world every employer is looking for the best candidate with work experience. Getting a degree is not good enough for a student to secure a good job, they need industrial experience and here internship plays a crucial role for them. An internship is the phase of time for students when they are trained for their skill they are good at and it gives them a chance to apply their knowledge practically in industries. AICTE has also made 3 internship compulsory for engineering students

• 3 Internships to be Mandatory for Engineering Students

Here are some facts about the internship that will give you a clear idea of why it’s beneficial for the students or freshers.

• A survey conducted by NACE (National Association of College and Employers) in 2010 Internship and Co-op survey disclosed that around 44% of new employees came from the employee internship program.
• Another survey conducted by NACE in April 2012 disclosed that the conversion rate for the interns into full-time employment rate was around 58%.
• A survey conducted in 2015-16 revealed that nearly 60% of students are unemployed after completing their engineering due to lack of required skills and experience.
• A study conducted by Wallaroo Media revealed that 65% paid internship turned to full-time job offers and 39% unpaid internship turned to full-time job opportunities.
•  Interns more likely to be hired as Full Time Employees.

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All the above facts and surveys clearly give us an idea about the importance of internships for the students. Now let’s see the benefits of internships for students and how it can make a big difference in the overall career of a student.

• Real Time Industry Experience and Exposure: For a student classroom theoretical knowledge are not enough to work in industries. They need to have hands-on experience working in a real-time environment and projects. Internships open the opportunities for students to apply their theoretical knowledge they have learned in their classroom, practice for employers in industries. They get first hand-exposure working under a mentor, their performance is monitored by mentors who guide them, train them and then give them suggestions which eventually add values to their skills. We can say that an internship is the best way to bridge the gap between the employer’s requirements and academics learning. Whether it’s a paid or unpaid internship, students should try to acquire knowledge and experience as much as they can because the company invests their time and energy to make them ready for the full-time employment opportunity within an organization also students get in-depth knowledge in their specific field apart from only academic learnings.
• Explore the Career Opportunity: Internships give an opportunity to the students and freshers to explore the career path they have chosen for themselves. Sometimes it happens that a specific field is exciting for a student initially but later they change their mind and choose another field or domain when they find that the field is not a perfect match for them. Internship works as a trial for students and it helps them to choose their desired field among multiple options available for them. It also helps them to decide their goals, things they are passionate about and to choose a company they are interested to work or collaborate with.
• Helps to Make Professional Network: Internships give a big opportunity to build a connection with professional people which is really helpful for the students for their career in the future or for learning purpose and knowledge as well. Networking helps students and freshers to make a deeper relationship with professional people and to get a reference, recommendation or testimonial for a specific job role. People can share business ideas with each other and collaborate with each other. One of the best source to make networks with professional people is LinkedIn which really helps in making the connection with people from different industries. An intern can make connections with professional people through this site and then after the internship or for the advancement in their career in future they can take help from their connections.
• Add Values, Skills, and Experience to the CV: The toughest part for a student and fresher is to get interview calls. A resume with hands-on experience is much more desirable by the employers than a fresh resume without having industrial experience. An internship is the best way to enhance the skills and to add experience in a CV. During the internships, freshers and students acquire desired skills and gain experience which they can demonstrate in their resume. They can list out all the tasks and projects they have done during that period and they can get interview calls to land up in a job they are really looking for. Doing internship secure a full-time job and sometimes it happens that if an intern is dedicated to his/her work, then he/she can get the full-time job-opportunity by the same employer because some employers love to hire that person who is already aware of the work and company culture, so they give preference to the interns instead of hiring a new candidate.
• Learn Company Culture and Soft Skill: When an intern works for a company, they just don’t get in-depth knowledge and experience in their specific field but also they learn how to work with others in a team, collaboration with other members, time management, communication, punctuality, leadership, how to meet deadlines, how to work under pressure, how to make decisions and also they develop better work habits and they learn real-world business skills. Internships help students to build confidence and they learn to adapt company culture.
• Learn from Mistakes: Internship helps students to learn from their mistakes during their training period and they can get suggestions from their mentors to correct those mistakes. Learning from their mistakes eventually refine their skills which can be really helpful for them while transitioning into a full-time job role. It helps them to know about their strength, weakness, knowledge or skill they need to learn to perform well in their job role.

When is the right time to apply for an Internship?

The most confusing question among students is when should I apply for the internship during four years of Engineering program?  It completely depends on what kind of internship you are interested in, your knowledge and skills you possess so far. It depends on your academic learning and self-taught acquired skills or knowledge as well. Also, most of the students prefer to apply for internships during their summer vacations due to the long break from the semester. It will be great for students that earlier they start better it will have an impact. It’s good to engage yourself in real-world experience as much as you can so better to apply for internships as much as you can and as earliest as possible.
Internship helps in achieving higher grades in academics as well because of in-depth knowledge in a specific field. Students can do several internships virtually or remotely. Students can also do an internship before joining an engineering course or after finishing a course. Companies usually come to the college for placements after 6th, 7th or 8th semester so you can prepare yourself and apply for the internships according to the company visit in your campus. If you are already an experienced person then you can apply for an internship to completely change your career path as well.