By Alexandra Brewer | Arts & Life Writer
Every summer, college students hear the same advice: get an internship if you want a job after graduation. It sounds simple enough, but in reality, finding an internship can be incredibly difficult and time-consuming. There aren’t enough positions for the number of college students looking for internships, and the few that there are are often highly competitive and require prior experience. This is a frustrating paradox; the only way to get experience is through an internship, yet you often need experience to get one.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, “internship experiences are avenues to increased skills, expanded networks, and enhanced social capital, and offer direct pathways to job offers and jobs.”
In other words, internships are no longer optional resume boosters, but expected.
Summer is supposed to be the easiest time for students to gain experience. Without classes, students can work full time and fully focus on learning. Instead, summer has become the most competitive season of all.
According to CNBC, internships posted on Handshake are seeing about 2 1/2 times as many applicants as they did two years ago. That leaves thousands of motivated students on one side and very few opportunities on the other.
The issue isn’t a lack of student motivation; it’s the sheer lack of internships available. The system simply doesn’t offer students enough chances to gain real-world experience. This especially affects students who need to earn money over the summer or who don’t have personal connections in their desired fields. When internships are scarce, the system favors students who already have access and leaves everyone else behind.
Students with internships gain opportunities because the system is built for them. Students without internships are told they are unprepared.
According to Southern New Hampshire University, “internships or similar experiential learning opportunities are the best way for students to not only gain skills and build their resumes, but also try out potential career paths.”
Internships allow students to experience professional environments, understand workplace dynamics and connect with mentors. When opportunities are limited, only a small group benefits — and the rest are left watching from the sidelines.
Creating more internship opportunities doesn’t lower standards; it actually strengthens the system. More students get to gain practical skills, and more people from diverse backgrounds get a chance to enter industries they might otherwise never reach.
Internships help students discover what they actually want to do before committing to a career path. Seeing how a workplace functions teaches more than any resume bullet point ever could.
Experience should be a stepping stone, not a barrier. Right now, students are being asked to clear hurdles the system hasn’t bothered to lower. If internships were more accessible, students could gain the experience employers demand without exaggerating their resumes or praying they get lucky with a job.
You can’t require experience without making it possible to gain it, but that’s exactly what’s happening. Until that changes, college students will continue to graduate underprepared, not because they aren’t trying, but because the opportunities aren’t there.
