Internships & Careers

Why Should I consider doing an internship?

1. Exploration – See if a career is right for you. Discover if you like a particular working environment.
2. Training – Develop important job skills that can be both transferable to other fields and/or specific to an occupation.
3. Experience – Demonstrate that you have learned important skills and can be successful in a working environment.
4. Contacts – Meet and work with people that can suggest future directions and make referrals to additional opportunities. Obtain references

What is an Internship? Are they different than part-time or summer jobs?

 An internship is a structured agreement between a student, a site supervisor, and a faculty sponsor (if credit is being earned) that is designed to give the student a significant, new opportunity to learn about economic issues and applications in an environment outside of the classroom.

What types of internships do Economics Majors do?

Just as you study many different topics in your economics classes, econ majors intern in many different fields . Some students intern as financial analysts . Students also intern as customer service reps at insurance agencies, international trade specialists at export centers, actuaries at human resource consulting firms, business managers in nonprofit organizations, data analysts in market research organizations, systems administrators in research offices, public relations assistants in media organizations….and more!

Steps to creating a great internship

Explore your options
Identify your goals & consider the following:

•   Ask yourself: What are my interests, values, skills & career goals?
•   What am I looking for in an employer?
•   Geographic location, organization size and type of organization (Profit, Nonprofit, or Government).
•   Compensation. Consider alternative compensation, such as academic credit, experience, work samples for portfolio, references, network building, etc.
•   Set priorities. You may have to make choices among your desired characteristics.
•   Develop a “Plan B” and even a “Plan C”. Is relocation an option? This will broaden the possibilities.

Secure the internship position

Finding an internship is similar in many ways to finding a job. Once you have found an internship that interests you, the next step typically is to contact the organization to find out about the application procedure. Some organizations will expect a cover letter and resume*, others may want to discuss the position over the phone. Once you have secured your internship and agreed to its terms, your site supervisor must help you complete and sign your learning contract.

 *Need help polishing your cover letter and resume? The Center for Career Services offers workshops and drop-in hours to help! (http://depts.washington.edu/careers) .

When you are at the internship…

Remember – an internship is similar to having a professional job. This means that you will be expected to dress and behave professionally . If you are not sure what the style of dress is, you can gain clues from others at the organization, or ask your site supervisor. It is important that you and your supervisor come to an agreement on your working days and hours . Internship supervisors generally understand that you are also taking classes, however, you are making a commitment to the internship organization to perform important work for them as well. Try not to overextend yourself. It is good to challenge yourself, however, if you are unable to fulfill your commitments, it can reflect poorly on your values as an employee. Be sure to schedule regular meetings with your site supervisor to evaluate your progress towards reaching your learning goals.

Finding an Internship

• Economics Department
  Check the Careers & Internships bulletin board, and talk to an adviser for ideas. Check your email regularly, the Economics Department sends internships through the econjobs listserve (If you are not signed up to econojobs, click here. There is also a binder in CDH 413 that lists internships that past students have completed.
• Center for Career Services
  The HuskyJobs database lists current internship possibilities. Also, make an appointment to see the internship counselor to help you find ideas and prepare. http://depts.washington.edu/careers/
• Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center , Mary Gates Hall. Subscribe to the Public Service Internship mailing list. http://depts.washington.edu/leader/
• Spring Fair: Careers & Internships
  Numerous organizations promoting internships, summer jobs, and volunteer opportunities will be there! More info at: http://depts.washington.edu/careers/ .
• Academic Departments
  Many departments post internship online, including: The Business School, Political Science, English, Psychology… 
• Target Organizations
  Approach agencies and approach them directly (whether or not you know of openings). Small & midsized organizations are often good prospects.
• Network!
  Identify contacts, use them for information (not jobs), get referrals, write thank you notes, follow-up.

Earning Credit

You can earn credit in one of two ways:

• GEN ST 350 – for non-economics internships
  Information on GEN ST 350 can be found at the Carlson Leadership Center, Mary Gates Hall.
• ECON 399 – for economics internships
  Find detailed information by clicking here.