#internproblems

I don't want to complain. Five months ago, I was lucky enough to land a paid internship 25 minutes from where I live. It was in the industry that I was looking into, part time so I could still take classes and write, and it was a small office with only three other ladies so it seemed like a good transition into the real world.

I've been happy off and on with my job. Some days I get to do really exciting things that use my creativity and abilities, other days I stare at the slow moving screen of the computer doing monotonous work that only requires I know how to copy and paste. Those days stink. Not to mention I HATE sitting in a chair without moving for hours on end. Recently, though, I've realized that it's not so much the work I'm disliking, it's the limitation of my position that are frustrating. As an intern, I do random tasks that my managers need assistance with or flat out don't want to do. There are other times that they don't have any work for me, so they give me an invented task that doesn't have a real purpose or necessity. Because I'm an intern, I don't get to feel completely invested in the tasks I perform because I'm only doing a small part of something. I don't get to follow through and I don't get the satisfaction of completing a project from start to finish because I'm only a small piece of the process. I don't like finishing an assignment only to sit at my desk and ask, "Does anyone need me to do anything?" I want to be able to jump into things! I want to have a long list of things that need to be done because I'm the only one who's job it is to do!

I am so thankful for the knowledge that this internship has granted me. I'm not positive this is an industry I would like to remain with but I learned a lot of research and office skills that can be used elsewhere. I learned a lot of things that I would never have learned otherwise. This was a necessary step in my life and my career but I am very eager to move up and forward to an advanced position that I can throw myself into.

Today was my last full day and I'm working too more half days this week before my hours as an intern are up. The five months have gone by fast but slowly at the same time. I'm excited to have some time off before I am able to start job searching again!