It's very often a great choice to see what you are getting into, and when confused, be able to experience it - whether it is through ordering a single pastry before you order the entire cake(Quarantine Foodie Requests) or trying out a new technique.
Why is it so different when it comes to choosing an education and a career! - Shouldn't experiences be more common?
That's exactly what an internship does, gives you an experience of the field before you jump in
And that is why Highschool is the perfect time to do an internship, it gives you the context to make an informed choice (How to get one? Keep reading)
In the conventional system, The actual insider experience starts way after confirming a career path, the choice is supposed to be based on others' perspectives and advice, which more often than not, are HIGHLY influenced and almost always, are extremely personal to them.
Highschool internships give a fair way to weigh options based on the actuality and what they look-like, rather than influenced second-hand views
Theoretical vs. Practical:
Deciding what to study ahead, in the current time is closely related to what you excel at, theoretically, or through examinations. Independent of the practical side of it which would matter, leading to innumerous misinterpretations when the practical and theoretical are seen in contrast.
However, under the influence of the theoretical side, It often ends up impacting the decision of taking it up as a career, including further studies, unaware of the practical side and that is the point where the misconceptions end up furthering towards an incorrect illusion, given that the student is highly unaware of the path he is headed towards. This ends up becoming a major point of contrast and creating friction and even a sense a disappointment due to the difference that is visible only at a later point during an internship, which is classically pursued when already enrolled in the career through a degree at a college or university.
Unfortunately, in most places – an internship is considered as a post-high school ritual, due to the Working ability which was calculated in a pre-connectivity era where the work ethics would have seen a contrast, unlike today. In a time when knowledge is democratized through searches, this has changed. The majority of the reasons disqualifying a high school student have disappeared, and in the case of remote internships, this is even more evident.
Why is High School the Right Time?
A high school student has access to the same search engines and almost the same set of tools that would make anyone qualify for a remote job. A student deciding to pursue a field, getting practical experience of what he/she would possibly be doing would help in getting a better idea of how well does it fit, and if it does, Motivate way more as now due to the internship, he/she can see an aim or an experience that he is heading towards within the career.
This amplifies the motivation as it helps contrast the illusion, seeing what exactly awaits him/her and a deeper look at what is it on a practical side that he is heading towards. Alternatively, it would help clear an illusion, and see what does not fit into what he/she is looking for and be able to experiment with potential opportunities to see which not only he can relate to, but actually ‘is’.
The experience also helps build up references which the student can leverage at later points to check on while dealing with the friction that may come within his further studies. The references end up becoming even more useful at a later stage as the student may come across potential barriers where he would be able to get inputs through a mentor relationship earlier.
The Work experience ends up creating tiers of benefits, even when leaving aside the actual value of the certificate and looking into the other perspectives. The work experience in itself ends up being extremely valuable at a school stage.
One of the major benefits is of putting up a stage to potentially add a personal touch and be involved in something of a real-world scale and put a potential impact while learning through doing. It gives you the ability to create change and take part in projects at scale, bringing knowledge along the way that represents value.
Moreover, it gives the ability to add your touch to a major project and a more unfiltered perspective to a product, Using the company as a means to showcase yourself.
How to get one?
It is not very common - but that does not mean you can't get one!
- To get started, analyze your option and fields that you are considering. (If you are confused, that's okay. The experience should help out)
- Note down all the skills that you have. (Highschool internships hardly have any prerequisites but it still good to keep them in mind)
- Apply! You can apply through a platform built for highschool student internships like Alacrous.com*. Most other internship platforms are built for college and post-graduation levels, so would have more prerequisites and might not consider a fit in most cases due to a different skillset and qualification required. Applying through a platform like Alacrous.com* enables you to apply in a highschool first manner and go through a more efficient process rather than a tedious one that is built for a different audience. Alacrous* enables you to apply to companies that are working through Highschool internship programs, so specifically catered to you + it can all be done virtually (We live in a pretty powerful internet world - So geography is not a factor at all.).
*Full Disclosure: We have been personally working on building Alacrous and highly recommend it as we are building it specifically for the range of teenagers and believe that it would be of great value at getting you an enthralling experience of the field in the safest manner possible...
