Internships offer students the chance to gain valuable experiences and skills that prepare them for entering the workforce. As a result, many University of Alabama students choose to spend their summers and semesters interning for their major, and occasionally some chose to expand their experiences beyond their field of study.

Travis Railsback, executive director of the Career Center, said interning outside their majors, though done by few, can help students prepare for their futures in the workforce.

“I think they could benefit by developing transferable skills to bring into the workplace,” Railsback said.

In addition to helping secure post-undergrad futures, students can use internships to satisfy general interests they may have or to gain experience in the field of their minors. Conversely, an internship unrelated to their majors may effectively serve students whose career plans do not directly pertain to what they are currently studying.

Though internships unrelated to students’ majors are helpful, Railsback said they may be difficult to obtain. He said companies recruiting interns directly from The University of Alabama usually request students from specific majors.

“They will have challenges finding internships outside their majors,” Railsback said. “Companies are very specific about majors when it comes to internships.”

(See also “Career Center builds, edits stronger resumes”)

Despite the difficulty of finding such internships, some students have found them very rewarding. They often decided to intern outside of their major because their post-graduate plans do not directly relate to their current studies.

Lena Oshinskie, a junior majoring in English, recently participated in an education internship. Oshinskie, who wants to educate at-risk youths after graduation, said she chose English as her major because of its wide-ranging applicability.

“English is pretty broad, so I think it’s definitely applicable to what I want to do,” she said.

Rather than searching for an English-related internship, Oshinskie worked with the Unity Square Neighborhood Revitalization Project, which focused on helping the at-risk citizens of a low-income area. Oshinskie said this internship gave her more relevant experience in her actual career interest.

“I’m definitely interested in teaching, but I’m more interested in serving a specific demographic,” she said.

If students are interested in finding internships outside their field of study, Railsback said they should post updated versions of their resumes on the Crimson Careers web page. The site allows students to view and search for available internships that interest them.

However, Railsback cautioned that many of these internships may only be offered to students within certain majors. If students cannot find internships in the fields they want, Railsback said they should seek jobs that will satisfy their interests.

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Group brings film and brews to Bama Theatre for Groundhog Day