Struggling with internships?
Do this
Nowadays, a lot of students struggle with internships. They either get no offers, or only get very low end offers and end up accepting really bad quality internships with low pay.
So, what does one do in this situation?
Rule #1 - Understand your self worth.
This means that you must not accept a subpar intern out of desperation - I am speaking to the unpaid internship crowd here.
It is better to be internless than to intern at a company that doesn't value you. In the long term, nobody cares where you interned in your college.
Rule #2 - Explore other options
There are so many options you can explore during the summers/winters - starting a small business, content creation, freelancing, study for the next sem, research project, making an interesting project on your own, etc.
Any recruiter values a student who builds an interesting project on his own, or actually attempted to start a business or app of their own - often more than someone who did another run of the mill internship.
Rule #3 - Set a hard deadline for getting an internship.
Till that point, work super hard towards getting one - apply to 10x more companies, study harder for the interviews, improve your skills (you'll be surprised how many people who cry about not getting an internship simply suck and have no employable skill - acknowledge it and fix it!)
If you still don't have an internship by then, its better to do something on your own. As long as you are learning and building something good, you'll be fine.
A github project with 1000 stars is better than some random internship. A research paper that matters is better than some Gurgaon cushy office stint. Getting a business to Rs 10k in monthly income is better than a forced, low paying intern.
It's insane how much importance students give to internships. It's like any other thing in life - if you get a good one, amazing. If you don't, just move on to the next thing.
We are living in 2026, there are so many ways to enhance your career. An internship doesn't define you, you can still get a great job without one. And perhaps, not getting an internship leads you to a path much bigger than placements :)
Good luck!
- Kalpit Veerwal
Useful Link:
Learn skills for college and placements
My new song “Awaazein” is out! It should definitely motivate someone struggling with interns :p