As an international student in Australia, you might be interested in bagging a well-paid job in the country. In a competitive but rewarding job market like Australia's, the key to becoming a highly employable graduate is to make your resume stand out from that of your peers. An internship is one of the best ways to distinguish yourself by bettering your resume.
Here are a few compelling reasons why you should do an internship while studying in Australia.
You experience a real workplace
The best part of an internship is the exposure it offers to a real working environment. Your time at college could offer academic knowledge and limited practical training. But, working in an office, on real projects, along with experienced people is altogether a different business. Plus, as an international student, you gain the most important people skills to work in a multicultural environment. For instance, in Australia, you learn Australian work culture, laws, regulations etc. These experiences help you in gaining the much required skills and maturity to transform from a student into a professional. Needless to mention, an internship either with a top organization or a start-up, if you acquire key skills in a short period, can provide a huge competitive edge during the job search
Your professional network expands
In a foreign country, landing a job is not quite easy. You need people who can refer to the right people, offer recommendations, and guide you with their experience. You can make a network of such people through your alumni network or during your internships. A good workplace helps you by assigning you to work under a mentor. Here is where you as a young professional model them, trace their footsteps and achieve your goals, instead of inventing the wheel all over again. If you exhibit your skills and the right attitude, the chances are high to be offered a job by the company. Beyond the job, knowing many people in a new country definitely helps professionally and personally. If you could get a few written recommendations for a LinkedIn profile, your profile looks credible and special and improves your job prospects.
You will know if you're on the right track or not
Generally, a course offers multiple career options. For instance, if you are a mechanical engineering student, you can become a design engineer or work in manufacturing or in operations or in certain managerial roles. When you are unsure of which path to take or indecisive between two paths, doing an internship is a great way to make an informed, career decision. This situation is even challenging for international students as the same job could be demanding different skills in Australia from their home country. So, a 3 to 6 month internship is a good enough time to decide if a job suits you or not. You can observe whether the job interests you or not if it matches with your career goals and objectives, your growth and happiness in the role in the long term, salary trends etc. Once you graduate and take up a job with less to no idea about it, it is difficult to switch and the difficulty only increases with every year. So, an internship is a trial and error method of finding what you should do after graduation.
You get paid
Expenses are high for international students in popular study destinations and it is the same case in Australia. If you have been living in Australia already, you already know what this means. Most organizations pay a decent salary for interns which is a bonus on top of all the learnings you get. Like a full-time job, the salaries of interns also vary between industries. Based on the insights provided by some of Australia's top job search sites, the hourly pay for interns falls between $20 to $40 based on the organization and role. Therefore, you make plenty of money during the internship which could cover your course fee or support your further studies.
You become a better person
Workplaces enlighten people. It is a reality check for most young professionals. Throwing yourself in the fray tells you where you underrate yourself and overrate yourself. It offers the much-required clarity and sense of responsibility. International students are fortunate in a way that they get a chance to understand people of other countries and cultures, empathize with them, shed assumptions and become truly global citizens. This experience is rare to obtain when you study and work in your home country. Whether you intend or not to work and live in Australia after graduation, do an internship. Whether your course demands an internship or not, work as an intern. Your English skills improve, interpersonal skills develop and your decision-making skills sharpen. These skills are imperative to be a successful professional to work anywhere in the world, in any industry.
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