By Carol Horner

[This article originally appeared in Today’s Teen, a publication in partnership with south Florida’s Palm Beach Post.]

Students who enter college have one goal in mind – well aside from partying, they want to get through the vast amount of credits needed to graduate and get on with life. It’s understandable that students want to get to the other side of what feels like endless studying. The classroom is an ideal way to get a foundation of knowledge, but add practical work experience and you accomplish two things: knowledge that you can’t get from a lecture or book; and an opportunity to “test drive” a career. In other words you are able to evaluate how you fit into the environment and decide if it’s the place you want to spend what might be a lifetime in a career.

So maybe you’re still in high school and wonder how to get work related to your career of interest so early. Often the big scare for students is that no employer wants to hire someone without experience. This is a reasonable fear but it doesn’t have to stop you from looking for an employer who is willing to welcome a new comer. As long as you bring with you a great attitude and willingness to learn even you can offer value as a newbie.

First of all, you may ask “When is a good time to get work in my field of interest”? Your summer breaks during high school are a good time to start. Breaks from college are the ideal. Corporations, universities and small businesses know they have a gold mine of students ready to find employment and often open up summer positions specifically for kids on break. They set aside tasks ideal for learning and doing at an entry level. This is a fertile place to not only get experience at doing tasks in the field, but it’s a great time to watch and learn what others at higher levels do. Employers do not expect students to carry out complex tasks or take on big responsibility. It’s common for them to pair you with someone who will teach you and demonstrate how things are done. Take advantage of being in this learning mode. Once you get out of college with the big degree, the expectations will be much higher.

If you’re still in high school and want to get exposure relevant to your professional interest, don’t dismiss volunteering. The allure of making money is hard to ignore, and you can still take a job doing something unrelated to your eventual goals, but supplement this with a volunteer activity which gives you real experience and allows you to begin valuable networking.

Once you’ve started college, there are several ways to find out more about a profession through working. Universities have dedicated departments – usually within their career centers – where they help students connect with Internships or Cooperative Education programs. Internships are often unpaid but worth the time because they offer so much practical knowledge not only for you but for your sponsor or employer to get a good look at what you offer them. Internships often allow you to earn college credit for the period you are working. Cooperative Education programs are usually paid positions that require you to work one semester then attend school the next. This pattern usually gets repeated four semesters and, if all goes well, leads to a full time job in the sponsor company upon graduation. The big benefit of Cooperative Education is that you earn a higher starting salary after graduation – well worth the investment of your time. You also hit the ground running when you get your first professional assignment as a full time employee since you know the people and the way things are done.

I can’t stress enough how beneficial work experience in a field of your interest can be while you’re still a student. It gives you a huge head start on not only learning more about your possible career choice. It gives you a sneak peak into what a real working schedule and environment can be like. This can differ from your class schedule where you may have signed up for 4:00pm classes so you can sleep till late afternoon. You also get insight into dress code, professional etiquette, and business communication. For many, this is a huge adjustment that’s made after college if you wait until then to get your first job. Even if you don’t stay in the field you’ve chosen to work in as a student, you’ve learned lessons that you will carry forward and apply to anything you do in the future.