The Value of Work Experience
Since I got back from my trip to the Pacific Northwest for my summer vacation, I have been interning at my mom's office to gather work experience, and let's be honest, a little bit of wiggle room when it comes to when my mother buys me stationary.
My mom works almost as second-in-command for our school district. In other words, she works from 5 a.m. to 11 at night. I choose to believe that this is where some of my determination and dedication to productivity comes from; because my mom is the hardest worker that I know- that anybody should know. And because she works such long hours, most of the conversation I have with her is about what she's working on in the district. And surprisingly enough, I don't mind, because I too care about education as much as she does. So, we often talk about her job and so I know much of what goes on during her day. Or... so I thought.
When I started coming into the office with her, I noticed that there is constant upkeep to be taken care of (by her), even if she has her own secretary and project manager who are hard workers too. Hell, even if she had a personal assistant working for her as much as she herself spent thinking about her job; one, that poor personal assistant would be working for as long as they lived; and two, there would still be work to do. That's my first observation as her new intern.
Secondly, though I do not work on actual projects that has to do with the topics that she works with every day (their office is in a crisis where everyone is moving rooms and it's a mess so I'm helping unpack), simply being around the working environment makes you understand it better. I meet a plethora of people, and I know that if I spend more time here, I'll get to know each and every one of them and what they do. So, if you work as a custodian in an important place of work, you probably know more about the environment than an interviewee for the job does. Well, maybe. What I'm saying is being around the people all day, seeing their name plates on their desks, and becoming familiar with the jargon is something that everyone can do. Sorry to the custodians out there.
So what I'm getting at is that participating in every opportunity you get to be in an important work environment is a great one; and you should take it. You may think you know a profession on an intimate level, but the truth is, you never know until you're in that environment.
That's the beauty about interning and experimenting in the work force! There are opportunities out there where you can see what the job is really like while doing things that you know you can exceed at, just like I am: I'm unpacking peoples' offices and yet I'm becoming more familiar with everything that goes on in the work place, whether I focus on that subject or not, simply because I'm there.
