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How do I Choose the Best History Internship?
Undergraduate and graduate students in history can improve their job prospects with meaningful internships. The best history internship for your career depends in part on your area of academic concentration. You might consider how skills in academic publishing or public history internships would translate to future jobs. In the alternative, choosing a history internship in library sciences or in teaching may be made on the reputation of the institution as well as the flexibility of the position. In general, the history internship that you choose should foster skills and employment prospects beyond graduation day.
You can break into a career in historical writing and publishing with a university press internship. It is usually best to intern with a reputable or prominent publisher. The best publishers of historical texts work with leading historians to create innovative books and reference materials. These experiences range from researching images and illustrations to fact-checking a historian’s manuscript. You can locate historical publishing internships by speaking with prolific writers in your history department.
The field of public history can be a common career gateway for history students. Public history covers the gamut of non-academic professional opportunities from museums to public parks. The best public history internships may or may not necessarily be hosted by organizations with big names. Your history professors can identify local museums and non-profit organizations that fall within your areas of interest. You can also research the best public history internships by looking at local, regional, and national history websites.
Your interests in library sciences and archival work could lead you to a variety of history internships. The primary factor in choosing this kind of history internship is the collections maintained by a library. A library with an extensive collection of local and regional materials provides myriad learning opportunities. Another factor in finding the best history internship is the educational programs offered by the library. A library with public education programs open up opportunities for interns to put archival materials into action.
The best teaching internships for history students range from summer teaching opportunities to teaching assistant appointments. The prestige of the employing history department could turn your teaching internship into a strong entry on your resume. Check with the history professors in your own college about the teaching internships that might be available there or in other institutions. The best historical teaching internships usually allow some flexibility in the curriculum as well as your instructional methods.
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![The choice of academic concentration can improve a history internship.]()
By: jarerdThe choice of academic concentration can improve a history internship.
Discussion Comments
Based on my experience, I feel that the best time to try and find and internship would be during the summer, something which the article mentions as well. This especially refers to if you're a busy college student, during your senior year. With all of the assignments and final projects that you have to work on, it could be hard to find outside work.
On the other hand, what I do know is that some internships are required in order to graduate. If this is the case for you, then perhaps some good advice would be to go to one of your college professors, and see if you can get help. Whatever the reason or whatever you want to dive into, internships have been one of the most vital parts of my career.
If someone can afford the money, then I feel that they should take every opportunity that they can go into an internship. Not only is it one of the most important parts of someone's career, but even more so, it can really help someone to find a job.
After all, let's look at it this way - Not only can getting an internship help one to have more experience in the field that they want to study in, but even more, it can help them to have connections with other people. Based on my experience, I know how difficult it can be to get a job without the proper connections.
If one doesn't have anybody in their life that could support them, or one that can be put onto a resume, then it will be much more difficult to find employment, especially if it's in your field. Also, even though this is just my opinion, when someone is at an internship, I think one thing that they really need to remember to do is have fun.
Sure, you're there to look for work and get into you're career, but make sure you're actually enjoying yourself. In fact, I remember one of my college professors telling me that when I was about to start, so I feel that would be some good advice to share.
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