Graduate in 2 years or stay for 3 and complete Internships? Help!

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>Hello, I just completed my first year at the University of Florida and now is the time to plan the next 2-3 years of schooling and compare options; the thing is I'm having a bit of trouble weighing the pros and cons of both options:</p>

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<p>Before I explain any further I must add that I completed my Associates degree in HS and came into the University with 60 credits as a freshman. As of today I have 90 credits. My University treats me as a freshman so I can stay for 4 years if I wanted to but I've decided to graduate within 2 or possibly 3 three years.</p>

<h2>My major that I'm sticking with is Telecommunication Management which is essentially a TV Production major combined with some business courses. I hope to one day become a producer, work on either the business side or production side of the TV/Film industry, or run my own production/entertainment management company (I'm still deciding what specific direction to go within these areas). </h2>

<p>Option 1: Summer 2011 - Spring 2013
Major: Telecommunication Management
Minors: English, Business Administration</p>

<p>-Summer 2011: full course load; -Fall 2011: full course load
-Spring 2012: full course load; -Summer 2012: Internship
-Fall 2012: full course load; -Spring 2013: full course load & graduate</p>

<p>Notes: I graduate in two years entering the job market earlier, younger, and with only one internship as experience aside from part-time work during college. I would have spent summers and fall/spring semesters balancing school and pursuing outside interests such as writing/producing/directing/collaborating short films and perhaps starting a small production company since my city is underrepresented in this area. Also I must add that I turn 21 my senior year ;), not that I have difficulty having fun otherwise.</p>

<p>Option 2: Summer 2011 - Spring 2014
Major: Telecommunication Management
Minors: English, Business Administration, Linguistics or Art History</p>

<p>-Summer 2011: full course load; -Fall 2011: full course load
-Spring 2012: full course load; -Summer 2012: Internship
-Fall 2012: full course load; -Spring 2013: full course load
-Summer 2013: Internship; -Fall 2013: half load & Internship
-Spring 2014: half load & Internship & Graduate</p>

<p>Notes: I graduate a year later, I'm older, I have 4 Internships under my belt, and I have an extra cushion year to develop my skills and pursue projects. I graduate with all of my friends my age and I'll probably enjoy this option much more since I can enjoy college a bit longer. Obviously if I choose to go to graduate school I'd pick option 1, but I'm planning on going back to school for an MBA after some work experience.</p>

<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated. To sum everything up; graduate in two years with one intership or three years with four internship and possibly a third minor but I think that might be overkill since earning three minors makes me seem like I'm stacking degrees.</p>

<p>Thanks,
Orange!...Blue! Go Gators!</p>

2

<p>If I were you, I’d stay three years. You are right when you mention experience… you will have more opportunity to get jobs when you have had more experience. If you were interested in going into academia, it’d be advisable to graduate as early as possible and begin graduate studies, but doing an MBA is very flexible. Many companies will sponsor their employees’ MBAs up to 100%, and the thing about it is that many universities structure their MBA programs around working professionals. For example, up here in Pennsylvania, Villanova’s executive MBA programs (one of the best in the country) require employers to allow their employees to take off Fridays. Students work Monday thru Thursday, and then they go to school on Friday, having intense study all day Friday into Saturday (they are required to live on campus each Friday night). This allows MBA students to keep their paying jobs while they are in school.</p>

<p>My point is that MBAs are very flexible, unlike other professional degrees such as law, which require three years of intense focus on the study. So graduating college early will play less to your advantage than it would in other people’s situations.</p>