Has anyone's child/ren done an internship abroad?

[Ranger 6]

My daughter is in her first year at University and the course has a study abroad section. She's also investigating internships abroad.

There appears to be a huge industry in providing students with accommodation and suitable placements while charging for the various services provided. There's part of me that really doesn't want to start paying a company and I'd like to think there's opportunities for students to undertake placements abroad and self-managing their time.

My questions are:
Has anyone's child/children paid to do one of these internships?
Was it worth it?
Did they get a real experience or was it just a holiday with a bit of work in the middle?
Which company did they do it with?

[Ranger 6]

Anyone?

[alorotom]

A friend of mines son did his internship in the Tampa for the Hilton group - there was a lot of periphery expense like buying a car for him and other living expenses (although room and board was covered by Hilton)

It resulted him being offered a position when he finished his degree if he wanted it, he didn’t in the end and went to work for McKinseys instead

He loved it though by all accounts and the down time / own transport meant he could explore some of the US as well.

[zbc]

We have a lot of interns at my company and almost none of them are local. There's a pretty good organisation at work to support them and they help each other out a good deal. Most of our offices in other countries do similar. Internships are paid reasonably well but I believe it can vary enormously between industries/sectors. Many of our interns end up getting jobs with us when they graduate. I'm happy to answer any more questions but what sort of role is she looking for and where abroad whould she like to go. Any language skills?

[Vaud]

Ranger 6 said:

My daughter is in her first year at University and the course has a study abroad section. She's also investigating internships abroad.

If the course has it then most Universities will have a central team or a lead in the school/faculty that takes care of it for study abroad and working abroad.

They often have a list of companies, roles and a network that they maintain to source roles. A good university will also visit the student while they are there (for both study and working) if it is formally part of the course (they have a level of duty of care)

They will likely have a careers centre as well that can advise.
Also have her search the "studentroom" forum.

[Glosphil]

My daughter had a internship with a Mariott hotel on Marco Island in Florida. She was paid enough to cover her living expenses and enable her to share an old Honda Accord with another intern. She liked it so much she stayed on an extra 2 months. We had some fun with the IRS as a follow-up though.

[Vaud]

For a summer role - I did BUNAC for a summer in the 1990s... they were a very professional set up then.

[Wobbegong]

My friend from France did it in the UK, however she worked for charity groups (proper ones where all the staff volunteer rather than big business charity). She had hoped to work for a big business however didn’t think the experience would be useful, although the contacts would have proved useful long term.

[Ranger 6]

Thanks - it appears that the ones which ask for payment aren’t as ‘official’ as they look.

[Willy Nilly]

I did it in the 1990's through Ohio State University https://top.osu.edu/

You got a 12mth J1 student visa that could be extended to 18 months. I was on a farm in Ohio but didn't really enjoy it that much. Before I went home they said they'd get me on the best combine crew on the road and to go home and apply for the visa extension.

While I was in OH the house I was lodging in burnt down and my passport got damaged. My visa application was rejected because of this so I got a new passport and applied again. This time they gave me a brand new visa so I could start from scratch.

I then got on the best combine crew on the harvest run based in Kansas. We started in southern Oklahoma and worked all of the way up to the Canadian border and back down for KS for fall harvest. They asked if I wanted go come back next season and what I wanted to do over winter. I did want to go back and wanted to do something I'd never be able to do again, so they got me on the spring training ground for the LA Dodgers in Vero Beach Florida. Did that from Thanksgiving to April, when me and a harvest crew mate who was working driving a bean harvester south of Miami, drove his 1984 Pontiac Parisenne from Florida to San Francisco and back to Kansas for harvest.

I held a Class 1 CDL while I was there to haul the combines behind the trucks which were oversized loads. When to see an Atlas rocket and the Space Shuttle get launched. Went to the combine factory twice. We ran some engineering equipment from the combine manufacturer. Went skiing for the first time. Learned how baseball worked, worked in 5 states and visited 27. All in all a great time.

[StevieBee]

Mine did a stint at an Environmental Consulting firm in Cluj, Romania. Was a very worth-while experience. We had to pay for the flights and accommodation but the company required no payment and would seriously question those that do.