Do internships exist for people with Bachelor's degrees?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the availability of internships for individuals holding a Bachelor's degree, particularly in the context of improving qualifications for graduate school admission. Participants explore the challenges and implications of pursuing internships, especially given concerns about GPA and the relevance of certain fields to future academic goals.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses a desire to enhance their graduate school application by gaining work experience, despite a low GPA of 2.6.
  • Concerns are raised about the legality and availability of unpaid internships for individuals post-Bachelor's degree, with one participant noting their scarcity due to labor laws.
  • Another participant questions whether internships in fields outside of physics might be available for those with Bachelor's degrees.
  • Some participants argue that internships may not significantly improve the chances of graduate school admission given the low GPA, suggesting that it could signal an inability to handle advanced coursework.
  • There is a suggestion that focusing on major-related classes might help in presenting a more favorable GPA to graduate schools.
  • Participants discuss the potential for community college internships, particularly in IT, but express skepticism about their value for graduate school applications.
  • One participant proposes that the original poster consider pursuing a second Bachelor's degree or a professional certificate in a different field as a more viable path forward.
  • Another participant humorously compares the situation to a losing sports game, indicating a sense of hopelessness regarding the original poster's chances of improving their academic standing.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the effectiveness of internships for improving graduate school prospects, with some believing they are not helpful due to the low GPA, while others suggest they could provide valuable experience. There is no consensus on the best course of action for the original poster.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty regarding the specifics of community college internships and their relevance to graduate school applications. There are also unresolved discussions about the implications of a low GPA on future academic opportunities.

Summetros
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I'm trying to improve my standing for grad school. I graduated with a terrible gpa (2.6) and I'm hoping that maybe work experience combined with good GRE scores and letters of recommendation could make up for it. And if that doesn't work at least I'd have something to put on my resume.
 
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Unpaid internships that are not affiliated with a school can very easily fall afoul of minimum wage and other labor laws. That's why post-BS ones are as scarce as hen's teeth.
 
To clarify, they don't have to be physics based. Are there internships in other fields that take more than undergrads?
 
Vanadium 50 said:
Unpaid internships that are not affiliated with a school can very easily fall afoul of minimum wage and other labor laws. That's why post-BS ones are as scarce as hen's teeth.

Would Summetros be able to return to school at a community college under a different major field objective and be able to find an internship through his community college?
 
I don't know the details of community college internships, but I don't think one in HVAC or auto mechanics will be terribly helpful for getting into graduate school.

I also don't think an internship will be helpful. A 2.6 is very low. It sends the message that you couldn't keep up with undergraduate work. Graduate work is harder, and departments don't want to admit someone who they think will not complete the program: either by having a GPA that was too low or by failing the qualifying exam. An internship will not address this.
 
My aim (and it's a long shot) is to try and convince schools by showing that my gpa is acceptable when looking at major related classes only. My gpa is low because I did terribly in required humanities and social sciences electives. Are there maybe IT related internships for community colleges?
 
Summetros said:
My aim (and it's a long shot) is to try and convince schools by showing that my gpa is acceptable when looking at major related classes only. My gpa is low because I did terribly in required humanities and social sciences electives. Are there maybe IT related internships for community colleges?

I do not know. You will have to check with them (the community colleges). Maybe you might make a choice midway between what I and Vanadium50 said. Look into something for practical skill, as Vanadium suggests that graduate school is not a likely idea.
 
Vanadium 50 said:
I don't know the details of community college internships, but I don't think one in HVAC or auto mechanics will be terribly helpful for getting into graduate school.

I also don't think an internship will be helpful. A 2.6 is very low. It sends the message that you couldn't keep up with undergraduate work. Graduate work is harder, and departments don't want to admit someone who they think will not complete the program: either by having a GPA that was too low or by failing the qualifying exam. An internship will not address this.

Vanadium 50,

What are the best things that Summetros could do?
 
symbolipoint said:
Vanadium 50,

What are the best things that Summetros could do?

I'm obviously not Vanadium 50, nor am I a physics faculty member, but from my understanding, I think given the situation involved with his/her GPA, the OP should give up any thought of pursuing a graduate program in physics. The best option for him/her would be to pursue further study in a different field (with the possibility of graduate studies in that area, if he/she has any interest). One possibility would be to pursue a second bachelor's in, say, engineering or computer science, keeping in mind the reason why he/she had done so poorly in his/her GPA earlier, and taking extra care not to fall into the same mistakes again

Another possibility would be to pursue some professional certificate program that could lead to employment somewhere down the road (as Choppy had suggested in a separate thread that the OP had started in the Career Guidance section).

Vanadium 50, would you like to add anything further to what I suggested?
 
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I don't have any specific advice. If you're in the bottom of the 9th, with two outs, nobody on, and 17 runs behind, I don't know what advice to give on how to win the ball game. But I do know that changing the organist is not it.
 

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