As everyone knows, experience is what matters when it comes to finding a job after college. Unfortunately, the experience that you have is more important in most cases than having a bachelors degree because real life experience is key. Farmingdale State College allows many opportunities in all degree programs for students to get real life experience through internships through the school either paid or for credit.

Personally, I have done one internship through the school, I was the first student to complete an internship through the Business School and through the Social Science Research Institute. Although both required me to complete a lot of side work with the two programs, it was a fantastic opportunity in which I got a lot of experience in the graphic design field. It was great to do the internship through the school because I was able to easily keep track of my hours. I was also able to keep some of the work that I did in my portfolio since it was for educational purposes. In the process of interning at the non-profit I learned truly what the business processes are like for a non-profit and a lot of environmental information that I would not have otherwise learned had I not taken part in this internship. Since I have a minor in Art and Graphic Design, a design internship was a great opportunity to build my portfolio and resume.

Recently, I started an internship as the Social Media Marketing intern at EGC Group in Melville. As a business major with a concentration in marketing, this was a great opportunity for me to get real life experience in a company that is very similar and almost exactly the same as a company that I would work for when I graduate. While at the internship, I have done a great deal of social media work and digital marketing campaigns. This has made me truly feel as if I am prepared for any career that I will take in the social media marketing space. Although I may have taken courses about business, I did not learn the business processes or get the experience that I am learning now at my internship.

Many programs throughout the school offer internships so that students can receive real life experience in their fields of study. This helps to make students feel more prepared for their career and gives them knowledge that they would not have otherwise learned in a course at the school. There is no experience available like the experience of actually doing and learning while you complete the work. This makes for a very beneficial opportunity for every student to gain experience that can be added to their resume and make them look more prepared when being considered and hired for a full time job post graduation.

The benefits of having an internship through the school is that you will have a supervisor that will make sure that you are working for a quality company that will give you great experience. Your supervisor will also make sure that you are on track to do the correct work that will actually be beneficial and useful to you instead of it just being wasted time. College is a great opportunity for anyone to enrich their life and build their knowledge, but an internship is the only real way you can get industry experience while completing your college degree.