Abschließend

Today is my last day of work. Or better said, today has been my last day of work, since today is almost gone. I’ve been here since January, working anywhere between 25 and 40 hours a week, dodging in and out of work between classes.

The scheduling was at times a bit rough. Though I have been used to simultaneously studying and working since I was 15, I don’t normally work more than 15 or 20 hours a week. Sometimes I wished I didn’t have to go to work at all, and would rather have just had a lazy student’s life. Other times, I wished I didn’t have to disturb my work day with class, wished I had no homework or assignments to do and could just use my weekends as I saw fit. Mostly, though, it worked well, combining a bit of the working world with a bit of university. Studying at the university allows me to learn for the sake of learning, to read and discuss and think critically about (sometimes) abstract concepts. Working, on the other hand, was “useful”, in that the products of my effort were utilised, and my energy was expended to produce, improve, or change something which would take the form of a publication or a presentation. The concept of spending three weeks on a term paper read by an indifferent instructor and receiving a meaningless grade has no place in this latter world. If one is lucky, the work done can incorporate the abstract other concepts learned and considered during the course of studies.

Internships are a hotly debated topic in Germany these days. Referred to as the “internship generation”, it seems to be a general expectation that most graduates will perform one (or more, or a series of) internship(s), likely unpaid, before having any chance at a career. Journalists point out with increasing glee any smidgen of evidence pointing to an upturn in the jobs market; public opinion, inasmuch as I have deciphered it from my fellow students, still remains decidedly pessimistic as to the chances of finding the coveted unrestricted contract upon graduation.

Whether or not one becomes a serial intern (bouncing from six-month placement to six-month placement, no actual position), the concept of an internship is also controversial. On one hand, an internship where the assignments solely consist of fetching coffee, making copies, setting up meeting rooms, and googling pointless details seems to me to be a waste of everyone’s time, or at least a grevious misuse of the poor intern’s (often expensive and hard-won) education. It doesn’t take a genius to make coffee (though if I could afford it, I'd hire an Italian to make mine, because they can do magic with coffee). On the other hand, an internship with real responsibilities, with projects to manage, reports to write, meetings to go to, things to organise provides excellent experience—and means that the poor intern is essentially at best an unpaid staff member. This allows companies to skimp on personnel, using the enthusiasm, education, and optimism, acquire office support on the cheap, and contribute to the overall lack of jobs, depressing wages, and hurting the business climate as a whole.

The measures suggested to remedy this malaise include requiring internships to be remunerated, at least nominally, and restricting them to three months; hopefully, the constant turnover will restrict the intern’s responsibilities to prevent them from actually replacing a staff member.

I personally am in full support of such measures; I have found my internships to be interesting and engaging opportunities to see how the “real world” works, and I have both learned lots and gained valuable skills. I will hopefully continue to fill my vacation periods with such interesting opportunities—but with the hope of eventually acquiring such a coveted job in my field.

My current—soon to be former—internship has been at an NGO, a network of local administrations worldwide working to implement the Aalborg Charter, Agenda 21, and various other types of sustainable development, procurement, climate, water, air, and urban management. As an intern in the Training Centre, I have been involved in a major conference in Spain, with almost 1,500 participants; I have accompanied delegations from Korea and Northern Ireland on study visits. Most of my duties included: writing, editing, proof- and copy-reading documents; translations; website maintenance; document imaging; conference support in whatever capacity; and support on various projects. I learned to use a new tool, a content-management system for maintaining websites considerably more intuitive (and less prone to casual accidental destruction) than my previous experience.

One of the most positive aspects of my experience has been the work environment. The organisation is young and dynamic, idealistic and dedicated, and its staff tend to be interesting, international people. The working language is English, but my colleagues come from all over the world and each speak several languages; the de facto working language of my office has been Spanish, and my non-ability in that language has more than once been an aggravating inducement to take classes. The staff population consists of many interns, mostly on 6-month rotation, so there is a considerable measure of fluctuation of young people. As is unusual at least for German firms (this is, after all, an international organisation), the form of address for all employees and interns—regardless of rank—is informal and first-name; a distinction not so clear in English but blatantly obvious in German.

My relationship with my superiors has been, at least from my perspective, quite good. There are several project officers whom I assist, and during the course of my internship we have developed an effective working relationship which gives me varying tasks and responsibilities for a variety of people, most of which may be done on a flexible time schedule. This is partially due to my somewhat unconventional schedule, but keeps me from being bored or overworked. I have the feeling that I can come to them with problems or issues that are unclear; that they, in turn, can come to me with suggestions and criticism.

As my departure approaches, my time becomes more precious to me—both in regards to the things I have to take care of as well as my preferences for how to spend such free time as I have. This is the reason for which I am looking forward to being finished here. My other reason, and one that worries me just a bit, is that I am already in the mood for “something different”, some other daily rhythm, other tasks and projects. This worries me in that I get either bored or wanderlust after six months or a year at any given job or in any given town. I haven’t ever really done anything longer than a year; most of my jobs have been 6 to 8 months. Is my attention span really so short? And more importantly, will I find a job that keeps me interested, or will I be able to stay interested in my job for longer periods of time? Perhaps that is a measure of maturity, one I don’t yet have but hope to acquire. In the meantime I am tired of “commuting” across the Atlantic, and I hope to commit to and complete a Master’s program somewhere in Europe; usually a 2-year commitment. Perhaps then my perspective will have changed; the outlook of a job, a dog, and 2.4 kids will be able to hold me down. Then again, packing my bags and setting off isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and in the end, I’ll make the choice that seems best, and take the consequences as they come. For now, I will enjoy my remaining 6 weeks without the constriction of an internship but with the good memories, skills, and experiences I have acquired.