• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » Learning and Interning in Real Time
Life

Learning and Interning in Real Time

Facebook Tweet
Amanda DeLuise   February 6, 2012

How would you rather spend a Sunday night? A) In the library reading a 200 page textbook about the principles of marketing. B) At a Wynter Gordon show handing out flyers and hanging out in the VIP room.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say you chose “B” (unless you really love the library.) That’s what I chose a few months ago when my internship asked me to work an event during New York Fashion Week. Though, I may never know what that textbook said, I learned more about marketing in those four hours on the Lower East Side than I have in the last four years of college.

Internships are the most informative classes you’ll ever take. Solving real problems in real time means you’re more likely to learn the solutions than if you were to just read about them. And even if you highlight and annotate the hell out of that marketing textbook, sometimes it never has the answers you need in it.

Paul Blest, a political science major at the University of Delaware, recently started interning for the Delaware Democratic Party. So how did all those Wednesday night political science lectures from last semester help him?

“Before I started interning I thought college was all I needed to prepare me for a job,” he said.  He realized that what he learns in the classroom is more of background knowledge than a helpful tool in getting a job after graduation.

“The best lessons come from going to work, dealing with people and seeing what your future will actually be like.” In the blog he helps manage for the DDP, Paul has to actually forget everything they teach you in school about writing papers. “It’s the complete opposite of writing for class. In class, you usually have to take an unbiased view. At work, we’re fighting for the cause of a majority political party so all objectivity goes out the window.”

Getting real world experience in the field you’re studying is more valuable than that degree you’ll soon earn. Plus, would you imagine spending tens of thousands of dollars on an economics degree or something and then deciding you actually hate being an economist? That would be the worst. 

About Amanda DeLuise

Junior > Journalism > New York University

What I Wish I Had Known About Mental Health So I Wouldn’t Have to Call Myself a College Dropout

Ant-Man Opens the Doors for Marvel’s New Phase

10 Boba Tea Spots for Houston College Students

10 Ways to Have Fun with Your Friends Indoors

Do You Actually Care, Or Do You Want to Look Like You Do?

unsplash.com

Top Ten Inspirational Quotes from Your Favorite Sports TV Shows

I lived with my three best friends. Here’s how it went.

21 Things to Do in Williamsburg When You’re Under 21

The Beauty and Pain of Living Alone

Previous Post:Super Bowl XLVI: Elite Eli Rallies Giants Past Patriots
Next Post:No Favorites: Balancing Friendships and Relationships

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding