Searching for your path during your undergraduate studies is daunting. Finding your footing can be your biggest obstacle, but you have more time than you think. I was able to work three other jobs, take 15 credits, and still pursue and secure an internship. Many questions arose when entering my internship as an undergraduate student a year and a half into my degree: Where do I begin? What should I be doing? Am I smart enough for this internship? The objective of an internship is to gain real-world experience inside and outside your field. You are not going to know everything right away, and it is important to ask the right people simple questions, no matter how naive you think they are.
How did I manage my time?
I will be honest; it is hard to have a jam-packed schedule. I completed my degree in three years, and my last two years were the busiest. Learning to adapt to a changing environment and create a safe setting to rest is integral to this process. I was able to relax by watching an episode or two of a new TV show or exercising in any manner that suited me.
You may have some long stretches when it feels like you cannot catch a break. There were weeks during my internship when my days started at 5:30 a.m. with a job in addition to my internship, followed by a full schedule of classes and meetings, only to clock out of yet another job at 8:30 p.m., then head home to finish homework.
Finding joy in your busy days is the key to preventing burnout. To create optimism, radiate positivity as you think about the people in your life. My support system guided me through college—having others keep me accountable without making me feel like a failure. Chances are that your co-workers and mentors have also had their stressful months. It is important to communicate with them about your mental load and understand that you are allowed to say “no.” They will most probably be sympathetic. Do not put your education on the back burner and do your best to get your internship’s work done by the designated due date. Having flexible team members who can work around each other’s schedules is important.
What qualifications do I need to secure an internship?
Expand opportunities for learning and growth outside of your day-to-day classes through:
- Going to professors’ office hours
- Conversing with peers
- Attending school organization/club meetings
Connections with professors are integral to forming an academic community, but there are also anthropological jobs that are not a part of academia. On their website, the Anthropology Career Readiness Network has a Job Seeker and Career Tools tab full of tools for current and past students. Pinpoint an internship that aligns with your career goals, review the required qualifications, and create a plan to gain relevant experience. You cannot type “anthropology opportunities” into Handshake and expect many responses.
I took a medical anthropology class with one of the three anthropology professors at my undergraduate university. We did a class project on burnout in ambulatory care pharmacies. I could relate to the feeling that there was never enough time in the day to complete important tasks. The project involved conducting and transcribing an interview, followed by creating a code book to analyze the data. Without this type of learning experience, I would not have been able to grasp the nature of fieldwork and collaborate with this same professor as an intern on her on-going project.
I did not receive a paycheck for the first few months. Joining meetings, performing small tasks, and reading fieldnotes integrated me into the group. Learning the information and technology created a base that helped me further as I started taking on larger responsibilities like going on site visits, taking fieldnotes, and transcribing interviews.
Making mistakes is part of the learning process. My first time in the field, I remember looking at my fieldnotes and realizing there were topics I focused on too much, while skimping on the more important details.
How might you look towards the future?
Manage your time wisely and do not isolate yourself. It is achievable to attend school, have a job and an internship all at once. It is possible your internship can turn into a full-time job; you do not have to go to graduate school for every anthropology-oriented career. There are plenty of tools, including many on ARCN for students.
Finding your way can be an intimidating process, but gaining experience is going to make you a better anthropologist.
Keep juggling, practice makes perfect!
The post A Student’s Juggling Act: Can You Manage an Internship, School, and Work? appeared first on The Anthropology Career Readiness Network.