Balancing Internships and School
A little while ago, I wrote a blog post about what an internship is and how to find one. Many students complete full-time internships over the summer, but others choose to complete part-time internships during the semester while balancing academics and extracurriculars. I have done both in my time at Tufts, so I want to talk a bit more about the pros and cons of both and learning to balance internships with other responsibilities.
Since June of 2024, I have worked for the American Bankers Association (ABA) in Washington, DC. I was contracted to work for 10 weeks, but I was able to extend my internship until December 2024, and then again until this May. For the first 10 weeks of my internship, I worked hybrid, full-time in DC. When the semester began, my position changed to part-time, remote intern.
Working in person at ABA for the first 10 weeks was so much fun! It was my first time working a corporate 9 to 5 job, and I was stunned by how warm and kind all of my co-workers were despite the corporate vibe. Because I’m from DC, I was able to live at home; one of the hardest parts about internships in unfamiliar cities is finding affordable, short-term housing. That’s why I didn’t look for any in-person internships outside of DC, though a lot of students continue living around Tufts and work in Boston. It was great to get a sneak peek into what my life will look like post-grad: relying solely on public transportation to get to and from work, going to the gym after my day is done, and cooking dinner for myself once I get home. The biggest thing I learned? I really took for granted how great it is that the farthest distance I ever have to travel on campus is a 15-minute walk, the gym is open most hours of the day, and there are pre-paid dining halls and cafes everywhere I look!
Transitioning to part-time, remote work while managing academics and extracurriculars was definitely a big shift. Though many students find in-person local internships during the semester, remote work is super convenient because I can take all of my meetings from my bedroom and any asynchronous work can be done anywhere, anytime. But of course this means I also have to be more disciplined about when I get my work done. I have to make sure I’m carving enough time out of my schedule for my internship, which can be a challenge.
My process of learning to manage everything has been a bit of a journey. Last semester, in addition to working for ABA, I also had 4 classes and 4 jobs. That was a terrible idea — I’m aware of it now and I was even more aware of it then. I have never been busier in my life, and it required a completely unsustainable work ethic. But I did it because it was short-term, I had already signed onto my other jobs before my internship was extended, and my internship was so rewarding over the summer that I didn’t want to give that up. Last semester was the first time that I’ve ever scheduled me-time on my calendar to make sure I was taking care of myself, because most days felt like I was working from the minute I woke up to the minute I went to bed. I learned so much about setting boundaries around when I work on my internship and for how long, which wasn’t something I had to practice when I only worked from 9 to 5. I set limits on how often I checked my work email, tracked my hours more precisely, and communicated with my boss about how much time I spent on each project. I made sure to never exceed 12 hours in a week because I could not feasibly work more without cutting into something more important, like classwork, mealtimes, and sleep. I somehow managed to make it work, and I learned a lot about myself in the process, but I will never put that many responsibilities on myself.
This semester, by comparison, has been much calmer. 3 classes and 3 jobs have made the internship substantially more manageable, and I now have little enough work that I’m able to get almost all of it done during the work week and can spend my weekends however I want. I have held onto everything I learned about work-life balance last semester, and I now have way more time for the “life” part.
So, all of this is to say that there are so many factors that will help you determine if you’re interested in an internship, where you want to work, and whether a summer or semester internship would be best for you (or both!). Just take it from me — it is incredibly easy to underestimate how much time your classes and other commitments will take up, so make sure you prioritize living your life and having a happy college experience over everything else!