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Expectations vs. Reality: The Guide to Virtual Internships for Desperate College Students

Breaking the myths about virtual internships and internships in general.


When you ask someone what they think the future will look like in 100 years, they’ll probably answer somewhere along the lines of flying cars and robots. We are on our way to that future. Well, not so much the flying cars and robots (although the government is probably hiding the fact that there’s AI out there capable of feelings), but a virtual world. We’re already in an era of rapid technological development, but the recent circumstances with the coronavirus pandemic has exposed us to a highly radical idea that I’m convinced we’re not fully ready for: virtual interactions. I don’t know about you, but as an introvert myself, I’ve never wanted to go outside and have interactions as much as I did 2 months ago when the quarantine was in full-effect. As cliche as it sounds, we humans are truly social creatures, but what happens when this is not possible? Or not possible in the way we’re accustomed to? Today, I will be putting this to the test as I explain to you all the experiences I had in the virtual internship I took part in this COVID summer.

In a definitely-not GenZ approach, I’m gonna explain the expectations many people (especially young students) have about internships in general and the reality that I’ve learned during my own experiences.


Expectation: This internship will give me everything I’ve ever wanted: money, professional experience, personal fulfillment, and job prospects in the future.


Reality: You probably will not achieve all of this during your internship. If you feel like you did, you should reconsider if it really did. It’s quite difficult to find internships in general that achieve all of your professional and personal goals, especially given that most internships are now virtually-formatted. However, you have to learn to make the most of it and be open to new experiences and points of view.

For me personally, I had a lot of doubts early on whether the internship I was in would really benefit me. All the years of skepticism my parents have instilled on me also was convinced that this internship was a scam or just in general not worth my time: 1) unpaid 2) hefty fee in order to even participate. Although they say not everything’s about money, you should consider that while you have the privilege to not care about money, others might not be so lucky. Call it greedy, but it’s the reality and it’s always confused me why internship programs would, in the first place, not pay you let alone make you pay. Luckily, I’ve had the privilege to attend a University that provided me with the scholarship to waive that fee and even a little extra. It’s sad to think that many young students don’t get this opportunity and get locked out of internships like these due to the financial barriers. Regardless, the reality is that unpaid internships exist everywhere and across different fields of study. As long as the intern, not the employer, is deemed the "primary beneficiary" of the work arrangement, the internship can be unpaid. What makes the question so difficult is its subjectivity – interns and employers may have differing views on who benefits most from the arrangement. It’s important to be aware of this and to be realistic if this option is the most viable and productive choice for you. It’s important that you understand what you’re getting yourself into before committing to it.

Recognize your goals (professional, academic, personal, traditional, non-traditional, etc.) and be open to how you view the experience. While it’s wise to consider things in a realistic manner, you should also realize that you can’t really quantify the internship experience. Ultimately, you can be in the most prestigious and convenient internship opportunity there is in the world, but if your head’s not really in it, you might walk away feeling like you wasted your time. On the flip side, sometimes you go into an internship not really having much expectations and walk away surprised by the things you’ve learned along the way. The latter was certainly my experience with this internship. To be honest, I had little expectations and needed to fill my time in quarantine, but walked away gaining some valuable professional and personal lessons that overall made me a more resilient person. It’s important to recognize both traditional and non-traditional goals.

I gained professional experience in the respect that there’s accountability in my own project, deadlines, and some Zoom meeting formalities (opening your mic and camera to engage in conversations, etc.). Personal goals in the respect that I’ve finally developed some level of comfort with the unknown, which was a big weakness of mine before this. I was my own biggest enemy: insecure about the things I say and do, overanalyzing things in fear of looking/sounding stupid, etc. Through the creative process of developing an innovative product/service, especially during the brainstorming process, you have to really ignore the Freudian ego inside your head that’s constantly telling you (is this good enough? Is it really a new innovation? etc.) because that only limits the amount of potentially innovative ideas that you come up with. Also, some nontraditional goals I felt like I’ve learned most importantly was not from the outcome of the project but through the process. When working with students from different academic backgrounds and cultures, it gave me greater appreciation for the collaboration process. It forced me to step out of my comfort zone, try to understand other points of views, and adapt to a whole new virtual platform; a task not many can confidently say they’re able to do (which is clearly evident given people’s reaction to the drastic interruption coronavirus has been to our lifestyle).


Expectation: Virtual internships don’t require you to actually work with others and there probably will be little to no conflicts between group members.


Reality: Conflicts are inevitable when working with other people, even in the virtual platform. However, the difference now is that those conflicts are often underlying or kept in wraps. You don’t have that same interaction as compared to a face-to-face one where if you had a conflict you could approach them head on. Given that the internship is virtual, the conflicts that could arise come in different forms and get brought up in different ways. The main problems usually pertain to the project at hand. Physical interactions feel so normal to us that when we are pitted in the same virtual room, it just feels a bit weird. There is a physical barrier that separates you from your team members, which not only shields you from some accountability but also forces you to engage with your teammates in a different approach. Say for example, you screw up something majorly during your internship. If you were in a normal internship, your boss could yell at you and you could be punished by doing menial tasks, etc. In a virtual world, they can still yell at you, but is the effectiveness of the punishment to the same level? Many would argue that it’s not. However, virtual internships have their own challenges that make things more difficult than regular ones. For example, you have limited engagement with your team members. It’s normal to work together with others in a physical space as we’re used to doing homework in packed libraries, meeting rooms, etc. However, that doesn’t really apply for virtual rooms. There’s a sense of lingering awkwardness and the presence of an all-seeing camera that prevents you from working comfortably in your own rhythm. Thus, I found that the modes of communication virtually have been kept to shorter times and strictly focusing on the tasks at hand. For me, once we were all on the same page, the call ended and we worked the bulk of our assignments individually. In that sense, it’s hard to simulate the kind of collaboration that happens in-person. Thus, you have to set some guidelines to make sure this collaboration is still strong, despite the virtual platform. To do this, you should set the goals, objectives, and level of commitment early and clearly, establish regular communication (even if it’s not work-related) to drive motivation and accountability, be open to connect with each other so you feel more invested in the team, and finally help each other through feedback. Effective collaboration requires people to put in work without being focused on their personal benefits but more of the collective outcome that’s produced.

Like in any team, some structure must be established. Leaders must unify the workers under the same goal without being obsessed by their power (this role isn’t about the schism in authority or privileges but more of a difference in responsibility in the collective team). Everyone else must trust each other to fulfill their responsibilities, but be critical when things aren’t up to the standards established (friction is a demonstration of commitment to succeed and not necessarily always counterproductive).

Another point of contention that can come up during virtual internships is working styles. Everyone has their own schedules and activities outside of this virtual internship that inevitably gets in the way of things. As opposed to physical internships, there is a high degree of autonomy involved despite expected collaboration, so make sure that you hold each other accountable for the work that’s being done and be transparent of all the scheduling conflicts that might interfere with your ability to work. Varying levels of discipline, proactiveness, timing of work, etc. also make it difficult to coordinate a cohesive group. However, you need to realize that people work in different ways. Some are punctual and stick with a routined process they’ve laid out from the start, while others are more lax and work sporadically. Regardless, you must establish some common trust in your virtual teams. Lean on each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but don’t ever be complacent or solely rely on them. Be open-minded and observe how you can learn from their working styles and in what ways they can be helpful to you in the future. That way, you turn a potential setback into an opportunity for you to grow and learn.


Expectation: All internships are similar in the fact that you have to “kiss up” to your superiors and do excessive tasks for them.


Reality: When you think of what an internship is, most people have a prototype in their minds along the lines of getting coffee for your higher-ups, doing charting, and other menial work that no one wants to do. It’s important to understand that different companies have their different work cultures. Not every company is that bureaucratic and old-fashioned, although there are places that still run under those conditions. Since the company I interned with this summer was a technology park, I was lucky to be a part of their adhocratic culture (focus on dynamic, risk-taking, innovation). In that respect, I was given a lot of autonomy and freedom for how my project turned out (which was a blessing in disguise but something I’m not used to). I don’t know about you, but at first that autonomy and freedom was a scary thing for me. I would argue that it’s because if you would assign our educational institutions to a culture, it would lean more towards hierarchy/market as opposed to the more relaxed clan/adhocracy. Our education system is so focused on doing things by the book, per say, instead of seeing the flexibility there is in what an education can be. It is seldom that we see classes that really reward you based on your innovative thinking and risks as compared to the many that reward you if you follow the structure of the course and replicate the knowledge being taught. Thus, when students are given broad assignments like these, sometimes they find it harder than if they were assigned something concrete and structured.

I gained a lot of appreciation for this experience because it pushed me to really give in to the controlled chaos kind-of-environment that is tailored for engineers to bounce ideas off one another to develop new innovations. Now, this doesn’t mean that the other cultures represented are in any way less valuable or less successful, just different. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, a clan culture provides mentoring, tight social networks, and a family-feeling that many are familiar and comfortable with, but groupthink could be a problem due to the lack of devil’s advocate or even a lack of professionalism. Also, work cultures are dynamic. Nowadays, it’s not likely that you’ll find a workplace that is purely hierarchical. More likely, you’ll find that the bulk of structure is under that guiding principle but there are aspects that are adopted from the other cultures (for example, hierarchy yet values innovation and risks, etc.). It’s important that you’re aware of this and evaluate whether it lines up with your view or just whether you can tolerate it since you’ll be spending a substantial amount of time under that work environment and culture.


Expectation: Your project has little impact in the market, company, and overall society.


Reality: The work that you do during your internship might seem miniscule and insignificant, but why would they hire you in the first place if you’re not doing useful work? It’s important to widen your point of view and really consider how many parties are involved either directly or indirectly in your internship experience. Stakeholder maps and analyses are useful tools that can help you consider this. During my internship, it felt like I was only ever interacting with 1-2 people who are direct representatives/mentors from the company, but you have to look beyond that and try to consider other stakeholders. Company executives, CEOs, and investors are above those mentors and they wouldn’t be able to hold the program in the first place without their executive decisions and vision. Going beyond the company, there are other companies (competitors/clients), suppliers, and local consumers who play a large part in the early stages of your projects if you were to execute it. On a more macroscale, there are political rights groups, activists, non-profit organizations, and the federal and state governments you’d have to probably deal with if you move your project all the way to implementation.

Regardless, you should be aware of all these stakeholders and not limit yourself to the work that you’ve directly produced. You should consider its potential and impact not only on the market but also for the overall society. I think it’s better to be optimistic and ambitious during your own internship experience rather than pessimistic. It really shows in the product you create and you’ll feel better in the end about the things you’ve accomplished. Also, everything is so business-driven that being confident about your work is the key to success. You could have the most brilliant idea in the world, but it’s all about the presentation. Internships and just professional projects in general requires personal interactions with other people. You cannot conduct your project by yourself, let alone succeed without the help of other players. Thus, it’s important to make sure that you understand the motivations behind your projects and be able to articulate the vision you had in mind to convince others to get on board.


Expectation: You need to have an internship to get professional experience with companies and you are doomed if you don’t have one by the end of your undergraduate years.


Reality: Not gonna lie to you, I did consider the future prospects of being a part of this internship and as someone who has been told that internships are a must, you can take my words with a grain of salt. However, I learned that it’s important to identify how these professional experiences correlate with your personal development. Think about it. Since everyone’s told they should get an internship, everyone is fighting for a position, and by the end a lot of people will have had that experience. However, how are you going to stand out to employers? Especially for professional school such as medical school, these experiences don’t mean much if you don’t present it in a way that’s unique or impactful. I think this should be your approach when considering an internship. You shouldn’t be committing yourself to an internship if it’s solely for the purpose of “it looks good on my resume.” While that might be true, if you have a more personal connection to the work that you’re doing, not only will you feel more motivated to give it your all during the experience, you’ll take away more from the experience.

For me personally, I felt like my internship allowed me to grow as a person and broadened my view of the world. Although we didn’t have to, I wanted my project to be conducted in Brazil. It is a complicated and challenging task to learn about an entirely different market from the one you’re used to and try to create something impactful (I know what you’re thinking… of course an American who thinks America is the only nation in the world). But the truth is there are different regulations, market structures, and societal values that I had to consider. I was rather disoriented in the beginning, but it was a challenge that helped me realize the value in intercultural collaboration. During the internship, I also learned a lot about Brazilian culture and lifestyle beyond what can be found on Wikipedia (not gonna hate on Wikipedia… but you get the point) when collaborating with the Brazilian students. Learning about Brazilian culture (which I’ve never had previous exposure to) was kind of overwhelming at first yet I gained a larger appreciation for those whose job is to collaborate with people from other countries, like diplomatic professions. Working with others whose motivations, past experiences, and working styles vary from your own could be the recipe for disaster if you don’t learn to be open-minded about different points of views. Although I didn’t have a lot of major conflicts in my experience, I can see where things could go awry. You are relying on one another to recognize each other’s point of views and to focus on a compromise of some sort. As someone who’s hoping to be a part of the medical field, I think this skill of being able to work with others of different backgrounds/culture is paramount and highly undervalued. Also, it’s important to recognize your patients come from different backgrounds and respect their cultural values.

I feel like you don’t need to necessarily have an internship in order to succeed in your postgraduate endeavors. Especially if you’re looking to go to medical-field professional school, there are a plethora of ways to be involved in the community and spend your time wisely. Do something you’re passionate about, whether it be volunteering, becoming an EMT, studying abroad, etc. Of course, it’s easier said than done to be productive all the time but you’ll feel so much better about yourself and the time you spend if it’s doing something you like instead of being forced to do something just for the title.



Final Takeaways:

We are moving towards a new era. An era where the unknown is something you have to be comfortable. The things that we thought were normal before, whether it be studying in a crammed library during finals week or just walking on the street with your friends, are no longer guaranteed. It’s really scary to think how our entire lifestyle could change so drastically in a short amount of time. And remember this. The coronavirus affected the entire world. It doesn’t care where you’re from or what language you speak. It seems like commonsense (well, for most of us I believe) that we should be working together as a global community to get through these difficult times. But unfortunately that’s not always the case. Thus, I encourage you guys to appreciate those who work hard to make a more unified global community. It’s a scary time for everyone, but especially young adults like us, since we are entering a workforce that is still trying to recover from the shock of the coronavirus. However, to prevent a standstill we must learn to adapt to these new conditions and make the most out of it. Whether it be virtual internships, awkward Zoom meetings, virtual volunteering, etc., just know that the work that you do during this highly unconventional period in your life matters.

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