It’s that time of the year when most students are starting with their two-month-long college summer break and while we all look forward to travelling and sleeping to the maximum it’s time we do something different now.
Being in school for more than ten years, summer vacations have always been about avoiding our holiday homework. But now beyond those things, summer is also a time you can use productively.
People ask “I have three months free; what do I do with it?”
It’s an incredibly broad question, and we could go in a million different directions with it. But what I really want to emphasize are three main points:
- Summers should be used to gain experience you can’t get in your college.
- Too much free time and a lack of structure will kill your productivity, so find a way to constrain your time to some degree.
- Spend some ‘me’ time for self-assessment.
So, after carefully considering different directions here are some ways to make good use of your summertime:
Internships
The obvious pattern that people follow is finding a work opportunity in their area of study. However, this is changing as students view this chance to explore different avenues for their careers.
Internships are no longer just a way to pass holiday breaks. They help students get a whole new experience in a work environment along with earning a decent stipend. In fact, the recent trends suggest that most master’s programs have made it mandatory for their students to do an internship.
While that is not the case with undergraduate students, work experience on your resume goes a long way in landing you your dream job or your dream college for higher education.
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Courses related to your field of study
If you don’t plan to work from 9-5 every day, then doing a course over the summer is the thing that you are looking for.
Usually, these courses sharpen your skills and knowledge towards a specific avenue of your field that you would like to explore in the future.
Being a student of Finance there are a lot of courses including certifications of NSE (National Stock Exchange) related to stock markets, courses offered by the Indian School of Business covering topics of Investment Banking, etc.
These come in very handy when you go ahead and apply for a job/internship as this gives you an upper hand over other candidates.
Learn a new language
If you have previously applied for a job/internship opportunity you would have noticed that companies tend to inquire about the languages that you speak and write along with your proficiency in them.
This proves to be important as company HR’s take due note of this while selecting candidates for jobs. Hence, this gives you a big upper hand when it also comes to working at a firm abroad.
Although learning a language takes more than two months the stepping stones should be laid by summer time.
Exchange programs and Summer schools
If you have the money then summer schools are a full quota of your personal, career and academic development.
You get to interact with people from different countries, develop your language skills, address your specific educational needs, support your university applications and of course have some fun.
You get to discover yourself in many ways by living alone and being independent.
Volunteering
If you want to give something to society, think of a cause or organization that you’re passionate about and support it. Donating your time is a great way to meet new people, network, and give back to your community.
Check the community events happening near you or social media pages and see what programs or volunteer opportunities they offer during the summer. (Pro Tip: Volunteer work reflect well on your resume)
You can consider various options apart from this, but make sure that you don’t sit idle this summer and contribute to your personal development in whatever way that you can.
These are some of the plans I have for my summer. What about you?
Image Credits: Google Images
Find the blogger at @AarooshJairath
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