I'm sure a lot of you know I'm in grad school and I work... Well my current job has great hours and I get paid reasonably well (hourly) -- and obviously I get free time to use the 'net. The thing is, it's not in the field I want to work in after I get out of school.

I'm really contemplating quitting and trying to get an internship or two over the next year in my field that would at least give me some experience and some more references. That might mean I have to use a Stafford Loan for the Fall and Winter quarters if the internship is unpaid, which I really didn't want to do.

I guess my question is play it safe or take a risk. Playing it safe would be just stay in my current job and maintain status quo. Taking a risk would be quit, really look for a good internship and hope that helps me land a job easier where I actually want to live/work.

No, this isn't the first place I came for advice... just seeing what more people think...

[Edited on April 28, 2008 at 11:15 AM. Reason : x]

4/28/2008 11:13:08 AM

take a chance. Experience in your field where you are not getting paid shows a lot of integrity-helps land better jobs (that pay) in the future. Gotta crawl before you walk sometimes!

4/28/2008 11:20:09 AM

Go for the experience. Even in fields that require a lot of academic prowess, experience is highly regarded. There is simply no replacement for having done the thing you wish to be hired to do.

4/28/2008 11:33:13 AM

Stay put. Face it, 1 year in your job post graduation will render your internship useless. Is it worth the thousands of dollars plus interest it would take to get a line item on a resume that will be obsolete almost immediately upon entering your first job?

4/28/2008 11:39:32 AM

Just explore internship opportunities at different companies. Contact a team leader or project manager at the company if you can find their email (or as a second option contact their HR department), and ask if they offer an internship and let them know you'd be interested in working for them. Throw together a cover letter and resume that you think is tailored to what that company would be interested in. Keep doing this (and applying to posted internship offers that apply to your field) and try to avoid internships that are unpaid. I mean you can keep your current job while you do all this. You can even do it while you're at work since you have all that free time to use the 'net. They obviously don't care where you go since you're on TWW, so they shouldn't take notice if you're browsing around on monster.com or ncsu.erecruiting.com or what have you.

When/if you find an internship that looks AWESOME, apply and interview for that job. If you get the job, set a start date for a little more than two weeks from then, go into your current job and give them your two week's notice. No bridges burned, you go from one job to another and keep making your money, and you get a career path that you really want.

4/28/2008 11:44:57 AM

why not look for an internship before quitting?

4/28/2008 11:57:57 AM

Quote :

"why not look for an internship before quitting?"

My thoughts exactly.

[Edited on April 28, 2008 at 11:59 AM. Reason : Look for a month or so, and if nothing comes up keep your same job.]

4/28/2008 11:58:55 AM

^^ well, obviously I'm not going to quit with doing no research... but if I am going to really do it right I'd need to have time to actually interview, research, etc, etc...

It's not like I exactly have a lot of free time right now what with working 35-40 hrs a week and taking 16 hours in school...

4/28/2008 12:32:10 PM