This summer break, many students have undergone an internship at various organisations to get a first-hand experience of working in different industries that help them decide which field to make a career in. Gurbani Singh tells you more
The final years in school can come with quite a lot of pressure. With the preparation for your examinations being a priority, you often don’t have time to finalise what you want to do in college. Talking to career counsellors and taking aptitude tests can help, but they will only be able to tell you what they think is your best bet.
Finding what you’re passionate about, what are the things that you want to learn to land your dream job and even if you can adapt to the 9 to 5 lifestyle, are all aspects you want to start considering right from high school.
To make this process smoother and give you first-hand experience, doing internships in your preferred area of interest can help you realise what you want to do.
Shiv Nadar School campuses in Noida and Gurugram have made summer internships a compulsory part of the course. They send out all students for 10-day internships in companies they think they would gain positive experience. This process is complex and counsellors carefully curate an experience for each student.
Observing the environment and learning the way certain jobs work are all things that a student should take back from these internships so they have a better idea of where they are headed. You start exploring career choices, what’s out there for you. According to your aptitude and area of interest, you move onto studying them.
Nitina Dua, programme leader at Shiv Nadar School, says: “Everyone is a stakeholder in this process, including the parents, teachers, school and the student. Finding the right course, right college, making the best of your ability and time are aspects we feel responsible for.”
A little hand-holding in High School can go a long way for students when it comes to college applications. Polishing their soft skills, teaching them how to write CVs, making formal presentations are all part of the process of making these students ready for future. At the same time, this is a great time for students to enter zones of discomfort and challenges.
There will be times when after one internship, you may not have the required clarity on your career choices. In this case, don’t hesitate and try out other internships till you get an idea of what you want. There is no harm in this, you will meet more people, gain more experience and have a better idea of what you want to do later in life.
Trishan Dollny, who interned with shiksha.com, says: “I got to experience several aspects of the job and my mentor really helped me through out and gave me great advice. He told me to focus on what I want to do at the end of the day.”
A Class XI student of Shiv Nadar School, Vyom Upreti, who interned at Ernest and Young, says: “I got to work in the tax department where I got to shadow my mentor. I got great exposure to the professional world which helped me realise the kind of job I want to do later.”
Anannya Meghani interned at Huawei in the HR department, she wants to study law but got to experience the management side which she really found interesting.
Rinsangi Tochhawng, who interned at HCl in the CSR department, says that it helped her connect with the emotional aspect of the job. “I realised how much support is needed around us and we often let it slip,” she says.
All students come out of these internships with clarity for their future and if not, they learn something that will help them grow as individuals and come in handy later in life.