“We regret to inform you that you are no longer in contention for the position and that we are looking for someone whose qualifications and background are closer to what we are seeking.”

I can only imagine how many times those words have been read by countless students, including myself, when hearing back about an internship, and the madness that must have surely ensued following them. Granted, rejection is a part of life, but it also leads to the age-old question asked by student and graduate alike: how does one get experience for a position in post-graduate life if it is also required just to get an internship?

For me though, the question ran a little deeper and it became a matter of how much our degrees actually mean in the grand scheme of things, especially when experience appears to be the standard to which employers hold us to.

I am starting to be of the mindset that our degrees do not, in fact, matter; at least not as much when compared to the experience aspect of employability.

Now before I draw the wrath of an entire student body, let me say that of course there is an inherent value to a college degree and that should go without saying. College grads make up to 56 percent more than those who do not attend a higher education institution and that percentage is up five percent since 1999. What I am arguing is that a bachelor’s degree is simply not enough anymore to remain competitive in the job market and that the expectations for having an expansive background have grown beyond reason. 

If you disagree, then consider what I mentioned earlier about the notion of having experience just to get an internship — the very thing which can provide you with the means to contend for a dream career. According to Heather Huhman of Business Insider, 93 percent of the employers approached mention the importance of hiring interns with applicable training or related internships. That statistic does not fare too well for those seeking what is basically required in today’s job market. 

The degree is what will crack the door open and the internship is what will allow students to walk through it. As we grew from children to adults, the importance of getting good grades and going to college for a degree is what, I assume, was preached to many of us by our parents or guardians in order to reach a prosperous position in life. However, what was not stressed was the real-world skills that we would need to take with us after our graduation.

There is a long list of things which one might consider valuable on a resume for that first wave of applications as you reach your final semester. Derek Thompson of theatlantic.com referenced a study in which organizations were asked to take into account everything of significance when considering new hires. A few items on the list included your college GPA, your major, relevant courses and even extracurriculars. Yet, internships were still listed as the defining factor in deciding on a potential new employee.

The emphasis on the intern position in a potential job opportunity cannot be stressed enough and neither can the predicament that one is placed in if they are not qualified for one.

It is plausible that one could, for example, go through the university’s ENG 350 course for trainee positions with local companies. However, they only offer 40 openings when the class itself is available, and that number when compared to 30,000+ students is not always adequate.

Thus, it would stand to reason that it would be up to us to apply to numerous internships locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally to get that one “yes” which could change lives.

These positions are crucial for not only providing experience but also for creating connections into industries and fields that would be impossible to get otherwise. I do not want to give the impression that my sole reasoning for writing this is to lament that you “need experience to get experience,” but rather that these openings can create much more meaningful contributions beyond the obvious. We cannot use these organizational roles as building blocks towards a better future if we cannot access them in the first place.

Given everything that I just said, I request that you contemplate your current college career and ask yourself the hard question with the even harder answer: Do you see that shiny NC State degree in your future as an investment or a gamble without an internship?