How to Balance an Internship with Your Classes
Once you’ve snagged your first internship, it might seem a bit intimidating to find a balance with school work and interning. It might take a little while to get used to your schedule, so here’s a few tips that my friends & I have learned along the way!
Know your due dates ahead of time.
Planning out due dates for the semester helps you navigate what must be prioritized each week during the semester. There have been times where I’ve forgotten about an assignment until I take a look at what’s due for the upcoming week. It’s also helped me decide what school work I can work on the days I’m interning or not.
Don’t be afraid to be transparent with your internship.
Listening to a few of my friends talk about their internships has showed me that transparency is key. If there is a school obligation or event, internships are more than willing to help accommodate. I’ve recently had an incident myself where my internship didn’t inform me of an event it was planning. The event was that night and I kind of panicked because I had planned the rest of my night to study for a midterm I had the next morning. They really needed extra hands and I told them I would help. I let them know that I really wanted to focus on my midterm and they were more than willing to let me leave the office early in order to study. This might not be the case all the time for your internship, but asking for help when you’re in a tough situation can’t hurt!
Relax in between classes & interning.
I’m a full-time student who interns over 16 hours each week and also has a job, so it sometimes seems a bit daunting to try and get by each week. I’ve learned that I really can’t function without rest. I won’t be good to anyone if I don’t prioritize some sleep into my schedule. I definitely stay up late to get all my work done, but I mean who doesn’t! Students sometimes go full throttle and burn out quickly because they haven’t had enough R&R.
Hopefully these 3 tips will help you balance your internship and classes. They might seem pretty simple, but I’ve heard horror stories of students who don’t take the time to schedule things out and get some sleep!
