Internship stress hits Syracuse students

As the initial stresses of the school year have started to fade, new ones are just beginning. Internship applications are opening and students are looking to get experience in all fields of study, from graphic design to data science.

An Orange Pulse survey this month found that students are feeling this stress over internships for all kinds of reasons. Respondents to the survey said applying to a large number of openings so early in the year was difficult. Others said preparing for the interview process and getting an interview with the competitive places they were applying for. One student looking for a position in civil engineering even answered, “just everything.”

Greyson Schultz is a biochemistry and forensics double major in the college of Arts and Sciences looking for an internship this summer in research, specifically within drug development.

“It’s pretty stressful and I feel like it’s very hard to advance from an application to an interview,” Schultz said. “The hardest part for me is trying to make sure my application sticks out from others.”

Stress levels are high in every student, but our survey found that students in the colleges of Newhouse, Maxwell and VPA were above average. These undergraduates cited the unique reason of finding an internship they liked and making connections in their industry along with the typical stress of filling out a large number of applications.

Greyson is very diligent in using on-campus resources, including both the career center advisors and his academic advisor. 

“The general career center was of little to no help,” he said. “I’d say my academic advisor is very helpful when it comes to looking over my resume. She makes a lot of points of revision.”

A majority of students surveyed say they have used on-campus resources this year while they’ve been applying to internships. This is primarily through the career centers operating in each college for feedback on resumes and cover letters. They also are able to provide help for creating a resume, taking free headshot photos, and practicing for interviews through programs like VMock and Big Interview.

Broadcast and digital jouranlism junior Rena Perry said making good connections is the most important thing when it comes to getting internships.

“[It’s] making sure people from the industry know who I am,” Perry said.

She says she mainly uses Linkedin and the various sites to apply for internships, but doesn’t utilize on-campus resources.

“I was blessed to get a great internship last summer, so I’m good with getting resources from my connections, even though they’re not from here,” Perry said.

Photo by Alex Calabrese

Newhouse has its own career center located in Newhouse 3, room 313 open to help students.

A majority of students say they are using Linkedin to either apply for opportunities or just to look. The next highest resource utilized is Handshake, with most students saying they use the online platform to apply to a number of openings quickly. A few respondents said they also use Indeed during their process.

While it seems like it’s the main thought on the forefront of a lot of students’ minds, not everyone on campus is looking for summer internships.

“I’d like to be looking for an internship, but it’s near impossible to find first-year architecture student internships,” said Hannah Plummer, a transfer student from Lehigh University in her first semester at SU studying architecture. “Last summer, I did look for an internship with a company in my town, but she never got back to me, ever.”

As a transfer student, Hannah is new to campus and the resources they provide.

“I’m not gonna lie, I haven’t really looked into it that much,” Plummer said about the career center. “But I feel like it’s pretty suited to help us find internships and put us on a path where we’re set up for a good career before we graduate.”

Some struggles when it comes to the application process are not able to be helped through campus resources or controllable factors. For Schultz, it’s a matter of money.

“I feel like the hardest part of getting an internship is finding one that’s paid enough to have housing and make money, or gives pay plus a housing stipend,” Schultz said. “There’s nothing ever locally and everything is spread across the entire country.”

As internship applications open up through the remainder of the semester and academic year, it’s just one more thing students will have on their plates while they navigate campus life and academics.

Students in Prof. Dan Pacheco’s JNL 221 Foundations of Data and Digital Journalism class who curated the surveys for this story are Jack Elliott, Caroline Erskine, Nick Jepson, Sofia Kissel, Ty Letendre, Jonah Lipson, Olivia Menci, Mauricio Palmar, Charlotte Price, Jean Ritter and Collin Smith.