Rising Sophomore Internship - How important?

<p>I'm currently a freshman at Yale, hoping to major in statistics with (oddly enough) an eye on consulting immediately after graduating, and then law school later on. Right now, I'm considering either studying abroad next summer or hopefully getting an internship. </p>

<p>Does a rising sophomore internship actually help, though? What if the internship isn't related to consulting/finance? What if it isn't with a well-known, big-name firm?</p>

<p>I've heard that "any internship can't hurt," but I've also heard that it's good to study abroad or have other experiences to show that you're a well-rounded person. Among the people that I and my sister (Penn '11) know, very few had freshman-sophomore summer internships, yet many of them landed Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, McKinsey, etc. for sophomore-junior summer, and ultimately went on to MBB, Wall Street, etc. It's given me the impression that an internship this upcoming summer isn't necessarily my best bet.</p>

<p>Furthermore, does it make a difference if I land the internship cold, or if I pursue it via networking? </p>

<p>Personally networking with, say, alumni is okay with me, but it makes me so uncomfortable to think of networking through my parents. I instinctively think of it as cheating the system.</p>

<p>It is always good to do internships whether you are a Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior. With that said, however, if you are considering studing abroad during your undergrate years, the summer between freshman and sophomore may have the least impact in your internship search since it is harder to get an internship as a freshman compare to a sophomore.</p>

<p>First off, good for you, that you want to earn employment on your own, rather than asking your parents for help. That said, don’t feel bad about yourself if you do wind up using connections of your parents to get you into jobs; you still need to perform well in order to succeed, so it all works out in the end.</p>

<p>When I was a freshman, I was desperate for an internship, but all I could find were unpaid internships that weren’t worth the time investment. At this stage, it is probably going to make you happier to do a study abroad, if you can, and it will really have no effect on your chances of getting into the consulting industry later.</p>

<p>Realistically, it would be in your interests to have a job of some kind between now and two years from now. More importantly, keep your grades up. You need >3.6 to get into the top consulting firms for junior internships and full time jobs afterward (you don’t need to do the internship to get the full time offer… keep that in mind).</p>

<p>Internships can be very helpful, but you absolutely do not need them in order to succeed post graduation. Personally, I worked at a restaurant all through high school and college, and I never had an internship (unless you count a research job); things worked out just fine for me!</p>