I had the opportunity to work for StarCluster as an intern in marketing communications. I want to make this a little bit more personal, even though it would be simpler to write about it from the viewpoint of an employee and detail my responsibilities and the organization. More specifically, how did it feel to work for a few months in a real job, and how did that affect my personal, social, and academic life.
The academic life
The first is student life. I would strongly advise against combining an internship with courses. Not because it can’t be done, but because it is undoubtedly a unique experience. It demands a strong sense of duty and discipline, properly paired with an extremely well-organized routine. As a result, from the viewpoint of someone who likes to go with the flow, it was a nightmare—at least during the first few weeks, until I adapted. Like any routine, you get used to it and start to see it as the new normal. which is great up until the finals season hits. We all know how little spare time you have during finals, so try to imagine all that time being dedicated to working.
The social life
This brings up the second point, which is about social life. The idea of social life was gone for a few weeks. Learning how to set priorities and then follow through on them is crucial. Which, to be honest, was quite difficult for me. I was accustomed to leading a full and active social life, constantly hanging out with friends, going out, and attempting something new every day. which I had to bid farewell to during my internship. And because this reality was so dissimilar from what I was used to, it caused me to lose myself and want to unregister from the internship. The hardest pill for me to swallow, though, was the realization that I will undoubtedly work for at least 40 years from this point forward. And I am not able to continue what I like to refer to as the high school way of life.
The personal life
There is also one’s personal life. It has to be clearly separated from one’s job life. Although we got along well and were a pleasure to work with, the other employees weren’t friends. I had to change my attitude to one that was really professional. And while I am aware that you don’t know me, I like to think of myself as being genuinely informal and transparent. Perhaps sharing a little too much of the time. So it goes without saying that I felt compelled to complain and discuss everything with my coworkers. And I understood I couldn’t. And you can only imagine how wonderful this was with no social life. Due to a family issue, I had to make a clear separation between my personal and professional lives. It was a process I never had to do before.
The conclusion is that there is a lot of adult lifestyle adaptation required. And although I’m aware that a few students may have already experienced this and held employment before their internship, it was nonetheless interesting for a first-timer. I’ve learned a lot from this internship, and I firmly believe that everyone in their 20s should undertake one before landing a full-time position.