I've always been one that believe that its the perspectives that matter. Such an ideal can be applied to varied aspects, and today, I'm gonna talk about how it matters in the seemingly 'real' corporate world out there. This post is also final closure to my internship program, a final farewell to such episode, which shall be then locked, disposed of from my memory, or shall it not?
Firstly, lets talk about the purpose of internships. A simple google search produces such an answer:
Internships are formal programs within organizations whose primary purpose is to offer practical work experience in a particular occupation to people who are new to that field.
Yes, this is one purpose of an internship, from us interns at least. We want to learn, be exposed to this particular working sector, and learn skills that will be relevant, esp in the field of work we're gonna do . Now lets consider how the employers think of internship programs: to seek out talent, make use of low cost labour, good chance to experiment/hone managerial skills, give back to community, gain reputation (esp if its a small firm) etc. And this made me question the point of internships before we even decided on a particular field.
Imagine having to do something totally irrelevant to your future for the next 6 months, an utter obligation. This was something I had to go through. Daily, I had to do my tasked routine, and it became an obligation, not one of learning or discovery, defeating the purpose of an internship. And just saying, all these daily tasks of mine were totally mundane: collecting and recording couriers, mails, depositing cheques, running errands etc., and not to say dealing with demanding supervisors too. Perhaps this's the nature of the real world out there, but having to commit to an internship of nearly half a year, with no foreseeable prospects of learning real skills, is mere exploitation of cheap labour. Real cheap, with no need for employment benefits such as paid leave (well according to MOM, it is mandatory for employees who have worked with the firm for at least three months to receive a certain number of paid leaves, to which I was denied of).
Having gone through an internship program, below are just mere reflections of mine that some may not nexessarily agree with:
1. It's a period of self discovery definitely. Being exposed to doing things novel, be it the particular task or the repeated routine of it, it made me realise what I wish to seek of a career:exciting, vibrant, fast-pace, dynamic. Perhaps at this juncture I do not fully understand what such words truly entail, however it was a good period of self-discovery nonetheless. Being able to do things beyond the usual, is always a good discovery of self. That's what 'stepping out of the comfort zone' entails, exploring self and getting to know yourself better. Its this discovery that has made me be aware of who I really am. Getting to know yourself, identifying yourself, it comes with experience for some.
2. Dealing with people at work. Many a times, the supervisors tend to be more lenient to interns, at least that's what my boss said haha. Well after all we are paid less decently than perhaps, part-timers, even if we may be equally qualified. So yup, its a good exposure to dealing with work people in general. Many a times, the boss will not directly be your supervisor, leaving the seniors to supervise you. Well, this comes as great training to the senior management, managing juniors and interns for experience. As an intern, it's good experience to, too, know how to answer to the senior management. With our prime purpose to learn, many a times, despite the unforgiving words/ demands of many, we just have to suck it up and deal with it. Perhaps rant later on but save it for later. Though seeing the dynamics between people of different levels can be rather amusing too. With humour dry in the office, you sometimes need to self-entertain, in order to keep your sanity in tack.
3. You have control over yourself. It truly hit me that in work next time, nobody has the extra sympathy/understanding for you. Needless to say, be lenient on you. They pay for you, they expect work done from you, and that's it. This is called professionalism, and is one that is held in high regard. Similarly, in all aspects, they will leave no room for your 'excuses' or 'reasons', be it official or personal. Well, perhaps there are some more understanding than the rest, however in general, this's how the real world works. You have your own problems, deal with it on your side and do not let it affect your work.
4. Commitment. Perhaps its just me lacking the drive for this particular field of work, however in all aspects, commitment is an important factor. Committing to this particular job for years is no small feat (well under MOM, unless stated on the contract, there's always a right for the employee to terminate/ resign. Seemingly. Do enlighten me on this. ) which brings me to my point: committing. Finding the drive to do this particular job, for years, for a long long time. It made me realise how important finding the drive is, and for me, it's passion. Doing the same thing repetitively is mental suicide, unless you find the drive for it. This brings me to awe at the level of dedication each job requires. Think of the courier man who has been doing his job for twenty odd years, or the rubber stamp maker who has been carving rubber stamps for like forty years. It awes me greatly how people find the drive to commit, wed themselves to this particular job. Perhaps its the lack of options before them, or just due to the stability the job offers, amongst many reasons. The ability to commit to a vocation is indeed quite admirable.
There's still ideas to be expounded on, perhaps not now, in future posts maybe. Meanwhile I'm glad to have quality time, to rejuvenate myself, to explore, discover myself, as well as recuperate on the strain on my mind. Repetitive daily work has dulled me down to be a basic routinal creature devoid of thoughts, ideas, and now's the time for me to recover. I have no idea how my supervisors managed to endure all these and yet continue to do their jobs on a long term basis, for that I really admire and respect them. Perhaps its just a mismatch of skills, ideals, qualities. Perhaps I'm just someone seeking for an adventure. For now, here's a period of enrichment.
Tata.
