Are internships really necessary

Sorry to break it to you.

Work experience and networking are how everythign works in every field.

Competence is tertiary at best.

lol, another autist who thought sitting in his room studying all day would be enough to get him places

who you know > what you know

>>8439037
Then what's the point of us going to school and sitting exams for so many years when really all we have to do is ask our friend's dad for a job?

>>8439037
>>8439032
Idk, maybe it's different depending on the subject

Been reading through a lot of threads from actuary-specific forums about this exact topic; general consensus seems to be that for Actuarial Science, they're not necessary but they can help.

seeing that gave me a bit of hope, but who knows

>>8439032
>>8439037
>>8439050
The other thing I gathered while reading through was that for this particular career path, it seriously takes thousands upon thousands of hours of studying to stand a chance and even then more than half fail the exam.

I'm not absolutely convinced "you need to pick up good contacts to succeed" isn't just something that bitter failures have tried to push around as an excuse

You will be completely fine without. The way people start with $70k+ in STEM is to network through internships and clubs.

If this isnt senior year, join a club. Its like $30 a year and you can network and go to competitions.

Hell, just talk to your professors a little. See what they say.

>>8439030
Who would you hire if I gave you a choice between

A) Timmy: A recent graduate whose only confirmed skill is to score high on tests

B) Tommy: A recent graduate who also scores high on tests but had an internship when he was a junior, where he learned the basics of practical work in the field

Timmy or Tommy, boy. Who would you pick? Remember that you are paying for them and you are offering them the same salary.

>>8439069
obviously tommy, but if timmy can differentiate himself by scoring higher on tests then I'd consider him too

When I was in school, I was told that "uni entrance competition was fierce, that unis would rather take tommy who's done well in exams and also been captain of the rugby team and went on charity work trips to west africa over timmy, who's just done well in exams"

but I did none of that, instead got 7 A1s at Higher 4 A1s at Advanced Higher (scottish system, don't ask) and got offers from all 5 unis I applied to.

2nd year undergrad at LSE, if that information is of any use, btw

>>8439082
It may have something to do with your personal statement, or interview, or simply the sheer quantity of A grades you have. Most people don't get 4 A grades at AH. If they did, it probably wouldn't be enough in itself.

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>talking to my career advisor
>didn't know "internship" implies "unpaid internship"
>go to apply for the internship, ask about pay
>the three people in the room snickered in unison
>politely explain that i thought it was a paid internship and decline the offer (this did come back to bite me)
>go to talk to my advisor about this
>tell her i didn't know it was an unpaid internship
>the three people in the room snickered in unison
>finally find a paid internship
>nobody teaches me anything or tells me anything, i'm basically just the office barista

why are americans so mean

>>8439219
>why are americans so mean

White people are naturally bad people. Just endure it and when you get into a position of power just start fucking with them.

>>8439030
Yeah, they're quite important. ChemE internships pay well ($20-30 an hour, i know people that made more than that though) but the main benefit is experience.

I was stupid enough to think that It would turn out fine without one, but I'm regretting it now. I've been unemployed for several months after graduating.

>>8439228
>am white
>agree

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>>8439030
>Are these shitty jewy internships really fucking necessary?

experience is a meme. it only matters when your GPA is literally identical to the next most qualified candidate.

i had 12 years of relevant industry experience under my belt before i went to school for engineering. dozens of certifications and letters of recommendation from old bosses too.

none of that fucking matters when your GPA is 3.1

the only people interested in hiring me want to pay me half of what i was making before i went to college. only hope is to go back to being a technician doing the exact same shit i was doing 4 years ago.

don't go to college unless you can get manage a close to 4.0 GPA. its literally the first thing they look at and HR will trashcan your resume regardless of what else is on it.