Internships have become an unofficial requirement for success in today’s job market. At the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), students are encouraged, if not pressured, to complete one before graduation. While internships can provide career advantages, they are not always accessible, effective or necessary for every major.
Instead of treating internships as the only pathway to career readiness, universities should expand their approach to professional development. They can offer valuable experience but should not be the default expectation for all students.
Julio Garcia, a mechanical engineering major at UTEP, understands both the benefits and the challenges of securing an internship as someone who has experienced the competitive nature of them.
“There are a lot of internships, but there are also a lot of people going for the same things, and since it is very saturated, there are less chances of you actually getting the job. Even currently right now, me looking for jobs has gotten a lot harder, even though I’ve applied for a lot of them,” Garcia said.
Internships provide opportunities for hands-on learning, professional networking and increased job prospects. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, students who complete internships are more likely to secure full-time employment after graduation.
For those in STEM, business and healthcare, internships often serve as a direct pathway into the workforce. Some students even transition from internships to permanent positions at the company.
This approach, however, does not work similarly for all majors. Liberal arts, humanities and other theoretical fields often lack structured internship opportunities, leaving students with limited options for gaining professional experience outside of school.
Alternative career-prep options, such as research projects, industry-sponsored course work and apprenticeships, provide practical experience while addressing gaps left out by traditional internships.
Fidel Elkabchi, a computer science major at UTEP, has a different perspective, as he has gained work experience through his Informational Technology (IT) job rather than an internship. He believes work experience is just as valuable, if not more, than a traditional internship.
“While I haven’t completed an internship at UTEP, I have been working locally in IT for four years now, and I’d say it made me more confident in professional settings, and I think employers always look for that sort of thing,” Elkabchi said.
Financial accessibility remains a significant concern. Many internships are unpaid or offer stipends too small to cover living expenses.
While UTEP provides some funding through the Career Center and academic credit for internships, these resources do not resolve students’ financial burdens.
Internships often favor those who can afford to work without pay, creating an uneven playing field. Students managing tuition, rent and part-time jobs frequently turn down internships because they cannot afford to work without compensation.
On top of little to no income from internships, burnout is another overlooked issue.
Many UTEP students work to support themselves or their families while attending school full-time. Adding an unpaid internship to an already demanding schedule contributes to more stress.
Some students spend hours at internships performing administrative tasks rather than developing relevant industry skills. If the goal of an internship is career preparation, companies must be held to higher standards to ensure interns receive meaningful training and professional development.
“Some of the challenges I faced were definitely the workload. When you work in things like IT or computers that need a lot of maintenance, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, but dealing with that stress now will prepare you for the stress after college,” Elkabchi said.
UTEP has made significant efforts to connect students with internships, but expanding career development options could provide even more important benefits. Research assistantships, project-based coursework and university-led apprenticeships offer valuable hands-on experience while accommodating different financial and scheduling needs.
Employers play a key role in this process by ensuring that internships are structured to provide training and fair compensation.
Internships will continue to be essential to career preparation, but they should be one of many pathways available to students. By diversifying professional development opportunities, UTEP can support a broader range of students and help them gain the skills and experience necessary for success in their chosen fields.
SalmaPaola Baca is a staff photographer. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram @photographybysalmapaola.
