Undergrad summer internships - Worthwhile? Forum

[Dog]

I'm a junior economics major and I could obtain an internship centering around either financial or legal activities. Unfortunately, my undergrad isn't particularly prestigious and most of those coveted financial, IB, internships are probably (definitely) going to be beyond my reach.

Currently my grandiose scheme is to apply to law school, go somewhere in the t14, try to work big law in NYC for a bit, and see where that takes me. This is all, of course, subject to change.

With that said, my school sets up summer internships in different cities that are mostly, but not all, (gasp) unpaid with credits earned. I think it could be useful to take one of these internships in NYC to see if it is actually somewhere I would be willing to live, to get a better idea if law is something I REALLY want to do, and to get a feel for CLS and NYU (two of my main targets).

It could be dangerous to plot my career plans too heavily without having actual experience working in the field, but I'm not sure how valuable or enlightening an internship would be. Surely, it depends on the internship. Do you guys think it's worthwhile to seek out such an internship and pay the costs that go along with it? Thanks.

[02889]

I'm a junior economics major and I could obtain an internship centering around either financial or legal activities. Unfortunately, my undergrad isn't particularly prestigious and most of those coveted financial, IB, internships are probably (definitely) going to be beyond my reach.

Currently my grandiose scheme is to apply to law school, go somewhere in the t14, try to work big law in NYC for a bit, and see where that takes me. This is all, of course, subject to change.

With that said, my school sets up summer internships in different cities that are mostly, but not all, (gasp) unpaid with credits earned. I think it could be useful to take one of these internships in NYC to see if it is actually somewhere I would be willing to live, to get a better idea if law is something I REALLY want to do, and to get a feel for CLS and NYU (two of my main targets).

It could be dangerous to plot my career plans too heavily without having actual experience working in the field, but I'm not sure how valuable or enlightening an internship would be. Surely, it depends on the internship. Do you guys think it's worthwhile to seek out such an internship and pay the costs that go along with it? Thanks.

The bolded is exactly the point of an internship, in addition to building a resume and networking. If you can swing the costs, it'd be great to explore NYC. Otherwise, try to snag an internship closer to home that allows you to at least not hemorrhage money if it's unpaid.

[Dog]

I'm a junior economics major and I could obtain an internship centering around either financial or legal activities. Unfortunately, my undergrad isn't particularly prestigious and most of those coveted financial, IB, internships are probably (definitely) going to be beyond my reach.

Currently my grandiose scheme is to apply to law school, go somewhere in the t14, try to work big law in NYC for a bit, and see where that takes me. This is all, of course, subject to change.

With that said, my school sets up summer internships in different cities that are mostly, but not all, (gasp) unpaid with credits earned. I think it could be useful to take one of these internships in NYC to see if it is actually somewhere I would be willing to live, to get a better idea if law is something I REALLY want to do, and to get a feel for CLS and NYU (two of my main targets).

It could be dangerous to plot my career plans too heavily without having actual experience working in the field, but I'm not sure how valuable or enlightening an internship would be. Surely, it depends on the internship. Do you guys think it's worthwhile to seek out such an internship and pay the costs that go along with it? Thanks.

The bolded is exactly the point of an internship, in addition to building a resume and networking. If you can swing the costs, it'd be great to explore NYC. Otherwise, try to snag an internship closer to home that allows you to at least not hemorrhage money if it's unpaid.

You pretty much reflect my feelings exactly. My parents have been pretty generous with paying for my school so far, and while I don't expect them to fund the the majority of an unpaid internship it wouldn't surprise me if they help out a little bit financially. Not to mention, I have some cash on hand and zero debt at this point. I don't want to waste money but $4-5k pales in comparison to potentially $200k in law school debt for a career I end up regretting.

[M458]

Also, if you're really going K-JD, some internships might help your resume when it comes to OCI.

[dabbadon8]

Having the internships was at least marginally helpful when it came to OCI. Better to have legal experience (or w/e professional experience) on the resume than a gaping hole or w/e crappy paid summer job (e.g., summer camp slave, subway, retail, etc.).

[Dog]

Yeah it definitely could prove at least somewhat useful during OCI. Unfortunately, I'm not too enlightened on where to look for internships on my own, as opposed to through my school. It seems as though getting a legal internship with substantive work as an undergrad is quite difficult, as there are so many law students seeking the same spots.

However, if I was to try seeking out such a position (hell, even one without particularly important work could be useful), where should I start? I've done a few searches on the forum but the results aren't quite what I'm looking for... Yet when I do a search like [t14 school] vs [lower t14 school with $] I tend to get exactly what I'm looking for.

[Robbin Blue]

However, if I was to try seeking out such a position (hell, even one without particularly important work could be useful), where should I start? I've done a few searches on the forum but the results aren't quite what I'm looking for... Yet when I do a search like [t14 school] vs [lower t14 school with $] I tend to get exactly what I'm looking for.

This may not be so easy if you're in a more urban area, but every place I've ever interned at, I just called up and asked if they needed some help. I had to send in my resume a couple of times, but the DA's Office, municipal court, and general practitioner I worked for all took me without one. At the DA's, particularly, they had me doing substantial work within the first couple of weeks.

What I'm getting at is to just find a firm or organization you wouldn't mind interning and just ask. It's not too big a deal.