First and foremost, candidates need to understand what an internship is. What is its essence and what is expected of you.

An internship enables you to gain first-hand exposure of working in the real world.

Away from the dictionaries and scholars, an internship is unit (on its own) that prepares, equips and empowers you with desirable skills for employment or practising your career. Why? After undertaking a unit for a semester, you sit for an evaluation. This is not difference from an internship. In class you gain practical knowledge while in internship you gain the practical skills to back up or put into practise the theory acquired.

Paid internship is good and ensures one is comfortable in their stay in the organization, but there are some organisations which totally do not put this into consideration. Some feel that this is unfair. But, at the end of the day they are right. How? They are using my little skills to make money!

Alas! They are training you to gain knowledge; making you a better person in the field you are practising. Every employer has a right and discretion to choose whether to remunerate/compensate you or not. Consider this:-

In class, you pay to gain theoretical knowledge, which in real sense 45% is not even applicable in life yet we end up paying the tuition fee. With this knowledge alone, you cannot be said to have expertise. You are half baked!

Going with this fact, do you know you are supposed to pay a company for you to undertake an internship with them? Why? They are imparting skills into you; making you relevant in you field of profession

Most internships are unpaid. This is because the student is not there to earn money, but rather to earn valuable knowledge and experience. If an internship is unpaid, it is usually subject to stringent labour guidelines i.e unpaid interns cannot not benefit the company economically or be used to displace the work done by paid employees and also must receive college credit for their work in lieu of pay.

Why can’t we consider paying the sixty or thirty thousand tuition fee per semester to the training organisation?

When undertaking your internship, ensure you gain the following things:-

1. 1. Real life experience and exposure
   2. The opportunity to learn more about yourself
   3. Get connected and develop your professional network
   4. Helps you enrich your cv with relevant skills
   5. Transition into a full-time position
   6. Explore a career path
   7. Develop and refine skills
   8. Helps you Gain confidence