'Tis the season for applying for summer internships, or summer jobs! You may be winding down and finishing up the semester, but it also time to sit and think about your future and what your summer plans consist of. Do you want to gain experience in the field you wish to pursue someday and get a summer internship, or do you want to work hard and make money to put towards your future?

These are hard questions to answer at the moment and we know you are probably stuck between which one to choose from. No more stressing out! We are here to help you and give you a list of perks on why summer internships are great to have, but also why summer jobs could help you as well!

Summer Internships are Great Resume Builders

Gain experience in the career field you want to pursue by getting yourself out in the real world!

Internships are in high demand, especially over the summer because many students have this time off after the spring semester and don’t take classes. If you wish to pursue an internship for the summer, make sure to act fast and apply to ones that interest you and will give you real life experience in the career field you want to enter upon graduation. Internships give you the opportunity to get experience in the workforce before you graduate college to ensure that you are ready to face the challenges and triumphs that come with working.

No matter what career you want to pursue for the rest of your life, there are thousands of internships waiting for you to apply and get the experience you need. This experience helps you to build your resume in order to apply for jobs further down the line and show employers that you have background in the field, which helps you to look like a representable candidate for future employers as well! 

Summer Jobs Help You to Make Money to Save for the Future

Jobs ensure that you are making money that can be put away for long term goals or purchases!

If you are looking to get a summer job, the one guarantee that comes with making this decision is the fact that you will be making money regardless of what the job is. If you have long term goals, such as saving rent money to live off campus for the coming fall semester, or to save money to pay off those annoying student loans, then getting a summer job may be the alley you want to take. With a summer job, you are able to get a job anywhere, which could be in food service, retail and customer service, office jobs, or even work-study jobs if you qualify.

Although you are getting paid for working with getting a summer job and depending on the type of job you have, they may not connect to your field of study. This can prohibit you from gaining experience in the field you wish to work in after graduation and in return not prepare you for graduation or the knowledge of working in the field you’re studying. One great perk of having a summer job though, is that it is a job you can always fall back on and even return to during college breaks, and it can give you great connections and references when applying to a big company for your first real job.

Summer Internships Fluctuate Between Being Paid Internships or Unpaid

Not all internships are paid. Lots of them are unpaid, but are able to give you the knowledge you need for the future!

The only downfall of getting a summer internship is the potential that you won’t be getting paid. Although it’s upsetting to put work in for a company where you aren’t getting paid, you have to look at the benefits that come along with it. Even though you won’t be racking in the money if you decide to apply and get chosen for an unpaid internship, it can really help build your resume with the proper training for the career you are pursuing. This knowledge will open doors for you for the future to give you the opportunity to work for many different companies and share the experience you have from the unpaid internship and apply it to a real job.

Along with giving you experience and building your resume, unpaid internships also give you connections and references for future use. Networking is an important part of working and getting yourself out in the real world. This is something that cannot be found when sitting in a college classroom, and being an intern and working for a company can give you a chance to meet many people to network with later and help you with applying to full-time jobs. 

Internships are also great for giving a hands on feel in the professional world, and understanding what your likes and dislikes are with the internship you are currently pursuing, or thinking about pursuing. The internship you are thinking about applying for may not be what you originally envisioned yourself doing. Giving something new a try may actually surprise you, and you might actually like the internship and the job you are doing compared to what you thought you wanted to do and vice versa. Internships are all about career exploration and understanding what you like and dislike in your career field and learning from your experiences. 

Summer Jobs Give You a Chance to be Versatile in Different Ways

It may not be the job you want for the rest of your life, but it will give you a chance to develop different skills in many different areas!

Even though a summer job may not give you the experience needed for a future full-time job after graduation, they can give you many different skills that can influence your work habits to better you as an employee. For example, the main aspect that part-time jobs are great for, is providing experience in customer service and communication skills. Whether it’s helping a customer locate an item in the store, or even just being friendly with customers can help you build these skills that are essential for the workforce. Having good customer service skills are great to help build healthy and effective relationships with future employers, and to also help to keep good networking connections with past employers.

Part-time summer jobs are also great for working under pressure and how to deal with the stress of a busy work day. Some days may be worse than others, where you are slammed with multiple customers, answering phone calls all day, stocking shelves, or even getting food ready for hungry customers. While you may feel all this pressure on your shoulders, it will help you to better understand how difficult stress and pressure from a job can be. It will help you to improve your customer service as well with putting customers first and making sure they are satisfied. This can also help you with seeing how your attitude changes with approaching busy business hours and how you can improve.

So, the Question is Which One is Better? A Summer Internship or a Summer Job?

The answer is simple! Think about what would best benefit you in the long run.

All in all, you have to think about what is going to benefit you in the long run? Do you want to gain some experience in the career path you wish to follow after graduation and meet new people and make new networking connections, or do you want to make money with a part-time job that may not be in your field of study, but be able to gain some knowledgeable skills like customer service and communication skills? This may be a hard decision to make at first, but make sure to weigh the pros and cons of each to be able to make the choice that is right for you. 

Both internships and jobs can influence your future no matter the perspective you look at it from. You are able to gain experience and obtain skills to better you as a person for the career you ultimately choose. While it may or may not be what you originally intended to be doing, whether it’s an internship, or a job, they can help you in the future with developing the skills needed for the full-time job you wish you achieve and succeed at in the future. Developing a proficiency in many different skills will set you up for the future, so whatever path you choose, make sure it is the right one for you!

We hoped we helped you come to a conclusion on which one is better for you, a summer internship or a summer job. If you have experience in a summer internship, or a summer job, what ultimately helped you make a decision? Let us know in the comments!