Getting Experience

There are many ways to get much-needed experience, and just as many reasons to do so! Below are just a few options for you to consider:

Internship: A carefully monitored work or service experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he/she is learning through the experience. While the student will make significant contributions to the organization, the focus is clearly on the student’s learning. Internships can be paid/unpaid, for academic credit or not, and the hours will vary.

Co-op: Students enter a partnership with the school and an employer to gain practical experience relevant to their major. It is full-time, paid employment that lasts as long as six months. Because Co-op is a non-credit bearing educational program, students do not pay tuition for this program.

Community Service: volunteerism that occurs in the community--action taken to meet the needs of others and better the community as a whole. SUNY Oswego’s Community Services office lists hundreds of opportunities, and manages major programs like Alternative Breaks, Mentor Oswego, and Adopt-A-Grandparent.

Civic Engagement: Civic engagement can take many forms, from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It can include efforts to directly address an issue, work with others in a community to solve a problem or interact with the institutions of representative democracy. Civic Engagement encompasses a range of activities such as working in a soup kitchen, serving on a neighborhood association, writing a letter to an elected official or voting.

Student Employment: Studies show that working on campus about 8 hours/week will result in a higher GPA – not to mention cash in your hand! SUNY Oswego offers a variety of part-time on-campus jobs that provide students the opportunity to earn money during the school year to make college more affordable.