What they are and how they can help your career
Being career-ready is important for reaching success in any career, and that’s why many trade schools may require students to complete an externship at the end of their educational training. Externship programs provide hands-on experience in a real-world setting and can be beneficial to gaining important insights into a new career field. Externships are often unpaid, and in many instances students earn credits toward their educational training.
What is an externship?
An externship provides the opportunity to shadow a qualified professional, allowing you to experience that field firsthand. Externships allow you to understand the full extent of the career you are pursing and many of the details of daily work that can only be learned in the field.
Real-world work experience
Trade schools offer students hands-on experience as part of their training programs. Your career school educational training combined with the knowledge gained through an externship can provide exposure to working with teams, the rigors of professional expectations and the realities of working with the details of the job. In an externship program, you may also interact with patients in a real clinical setting. During this time, you will learn how to apply your academic studies to professional decisions you may make during your daily routine in your new career.
Externships offer you the opportunity to prepare and learn what protocols you need to follow, what job skills you should improve on, how to interact successfully with patients and how to communicate effectively with your co-workers and supervisors.
What is office life like?
Do you know what type of environment you would like to work in? In the healthcare profession you may work in a variety of different environments from a small physician’s office to a specialty doctor or a busy large hospital. In most instances, externship programs expose you to one of these types of work settings, giving you the chance to determine if you fit best in a large hospital setting or in a smaller office team.
Opportunity to receive mentorships and advice
Throughout your training you may have received advice from your instructors who have experience working in the field. An externship allows you to apply the skills you’ve learned in an actual professional setting. This is the time to learn as much as you can about how the healthcare facility works, what improvements you may need to make, how to work with teammates and how to build your professional network for your career. You can use this time to learn how others got their start, where they found their first job, and any advice they may have for you on achieving your goals. By completing an externship, you can gain guidance that can start your career off on the right foot.
Start networking
An externship gives you the opportunity to expand your circle of professional contacts. Your trade school instructors can provide advice, steer you in the right direction or may provide job references, and an externship is where you will meet new professionals in the field you want to enter.
Our dedicated Career Services department at DCI is committed to helping you achieve your goals in the classroom and in the workforce. Contact us online or speak with one of team members or give us a call at 1-800-490-9135.
