study internships abroad

Studying abroad is a great experience by itself, but when paired with an internship abroad, a study abroad experience can be all the more culturally and educationally rewarding. You’ll be able to learn a thing or two about international business customs and you’ll meet real people in real situations. You’ll get the kind of immersion that helps with your language and culture-learning, while meeting some interesting new people and adding some stellar experience to your resume!

In the April issue of Student Traveler Magazine, Nattida Samanukorn weighed in on internships paired with language schools. She did a great job, and the internships that she talks about could easily be paired with your study abroad program for an awesome study abroad-internship abroad combo.

Check out what she had to say here:

Language schools are for those who want to learn a local language without enrolling in formal study abroad programs. These days, many language schools are adding internship placements to their programs. Coupling language study with an internship can not only help you learn the language better but will also add to your résumé. An international internship can help you get a job back in the States, or maybe even in Spain, using those well-practiced Spanish skills (“Una cerveza, por favor.”).

The Spanish language school in Heredia, Costa Rica arranges internships all year round in all subject-areas for its students, providing an environment for them to practice their Spanish skills and gain global work experience. For more information check out www.spanishabroad.com.

If you have a flair for fashion design and want to spout fabric and fit in Italian, the Centro Linguistico Italiano Dante Alighieri (www.clidante.com) will tailor an internship experience to your language courses. Placement fields include art, fashion design and even law.

Yamasa (www.yamasa.org), a non-profit language school in Japan, will combine six or eight weeks of intensive classes with six weeks of unpaid placement in a Japanese-speaking workplace. What better way to practice your hard-learned vocabulary and subjunctive verb tense while adding international flavor to your résumé?

Like salt and pepper, Hall and Oats, Lilo and Stitch, language schools and internships are a match made in heaven.

—Nattida Samanukorn

For more info on study abroad, check out Student Traveler’s Study abroad section – for internship info, check out their work abroad section.

Next time: Internships in the UK!

paid internships abroad

Paid internships can be hard to find here in the States, so searching for a paid internship position abroad can be a daunting task. In reality, paid internships abroad are out there, you just have to know where to look.

Theihs.org has some paid internships at home and abroad. They offers students paid internships to work on a documentary or an investigative journalism television program in Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. or Toronto. Ok, maybe an internship in Toronto hardly counts as an internship abroad, but it’s a start!

Every year, UC Davis offers paid internships abroad. Student can spend the Summer in Europe, Japan, South America, China or Singapore and get paid. It’s not clear whether or not you have to be a Davis student to apply, but you should check out their website for more info (http://summer-abroad.ucdavis.edu). As a matter of fact, many universities offer paid internship placement at home and overseas – you should definitely check with your local career advisor for more information.

STA has an awesome internship listed in their website. Check out how enticing this advert sounds, “Finished the study? Get paid to work in the Greek Islands! Apply for a Paid Internship abroad & soak up the Grecian sun! Get placed in a Paid summer Internship overseas in the Greek Islands!” Sun, beach, money, wild Grecian parties? Sounds great, but there is a catch. You’ll get paid 350- 400 Euros per month, but first you have to cough over $2,000 for the placement.

There are loads of other paid internships abroad, but you’ll have to do some searching. Be wary of placement fees, but also remember – it is an internship, so you’re really working for experience, not riches.

boost your resume with an international internship

A great way to boost your resume is to spice it up with a bit of international experience. If you’re not ready to dice into the job market just yet, you may want to consider a internship abroad to help get you started.
A great way to get an internship abroad is to couple your internship with a study abroad program. If you are already studying abroad, you can check the career center at your host college, or hop on the web and do some internship searches. Study abroad internships are a great way to further your cultural immersion and really learn something about the place you are living, all while boosting your resume. You’ll meet people on a professional level as well as a social level, and you’ll learn a thing or two about international corporate culture. Internships while studying abroad can open some amazing opportunities for future employment, at home, and abroad.
Students who study abroad can add international experience to their resumes, even if they don’t complete internships or job training overseas. The fact that they were willing and able to adjust and learn in a foreign environment, and the fact that they have experience and knowledge of other cultures makes them that much more attractive to future employers.
An internship abroad, coupled with a study abroad program, can be a great career building experience, and you’ll probably have a lot of fun learning the ropes in another country.

Next time: Finding a paid internship abroad.