<p>Hi, I'm currently a college sophomore and I've been working part-time at Microsoft for the last 7 months. My position is an apprenticeship, but I do actual work and my team depends on me. I love my job! Once I graduate the company will possibly keep me full-time.</p>
<p>But.. I've been really considering an out-of-town internship. I want to experience what it's like to work in another state, work for a big company, e.g. work on Wall Street for a summer before I graduate! Should I 'live and little' and apply for amazing internship experiences? I don't want to up and leave Microsoft, main reason being it's very hard to even get an interview at this place, but I do want to enjoy my college years. </p>
<p>Microsoft is a huge company that has all sorts of stories coming in on any given day. Your situation is probably hardly unique, and the answer is that it doesn’t hurt to ask. Talk to your boss or to HR and tell them that you would like to get as much experience in as wide an array of industries as possible before graduating so that you will be able to bring a unique perspective to your job. The worst they can say is no, you can’t do that - you either choose to stay with Microsoft or you choose to take an internship elsewhere - and the best they can say is yes, go for it - get your experience and we will still be here when you are ready to come back.</p>
<p>You can always apply, and see if any of the offers you get would be worth leaving your job over. Applying doesn’t mean that you are locked into an offer, and there’s no point in stressing over something that’s an unknown.</p>
<p>If you do decide that it’s worth leaving your job, talk to your supervisor about it. If they really did value your work, they may still be open to hiring you full-time when you graduate. They may let you return to your job over the summer, or they may not. Only you can decide if it’s worth it or not, and you can only really know that when you have an offer in hand so you’re not debating theoreticals.</p>