Having a job or an internship during your high-school or university years might seem like an unnecessary distraction or a hassle. But not everyone who pursues this path agrees.
According to interns I've been in contact with in Asia, internship provides valuable real-life experience and exposure. It also helps develop self-awareness, and helps students connect with professionals in their desired field. Having a job in high school is also beneficial because it helps children become financially responsible and builds other life skills including time management, organisation and effective communication.
It is getting harder to find internships -- or jobs for that matter -- in a market that favours older workers and impressive qualifications that come with years of experience. As a third-year university student in the United States, I have also faced obstacles to advancing my career, particularly because of my Asian upbringing.
Born in India and moving to Thailand with my family at age six, the concept of having a summer job or working part-time was completely foreign to me. As a child, most of my holidays were spent travelling with my family or lounging at home. I didn't earn my first paycheque until I went to university.
My unfamiliarity with the idea of having a regular part-time job is pretty normal in Thailand and most Asian countries. With the exception of child labourers and migrant workers, many Asian families want their children to be completely focused on schooling so they can get into a quality university. Getting a job before that is simply unheard of.
Travelling thousands of kilometres to a place where things are completely different from home is another matter. In most Western countries, it is the norm for children to have some sort of job. When I moved to New York to study journalism, and then for a semester abroad in Europe, the contrast struck me. Most of my American and European friends had worked part-time for years before university, holding all sorts of jobs, from brewing coffee at Starbucks to customer sales in a department store, delivering newspapers or working as a sailing instructor.
I started to wonder why I didn't have a job when I was still in school. Over time, it became clearer to me. I had grown up in an environment where part-time jobs were seen as a distraction rather than a learning experience.
There are many reasons why this mentality may be prevalent in Asia today. Most countries are still developing economically and socially, forming vast and competitive markets. Academic excellence is widely seen as the key to success. Because of the dependence on a high-quality education, internship experience and student jobs are tossed into the corner. Many students simply do not have the luxury of working another job while still attending school because they don't want to get distracted from their schoolwork.
Besides the reliance on academic excellence, much of this issue also boils down to family culture and the relationships parents have with their children. My Indian parents raised my younger sister and me with the idea that by completely financing our primary, secondary and higher educations, they were providing us with a stepping stone into the real world. After that, we would be responsible for ourselves.
On the other hand, during my time in the US and Europe, I have observed that the relationship between American parents and their children is slightly different. There is often more financial pressure on children to get a job, especially to save up for university and basic amenities.
There is also the issue of social stigma when it comes to working in Asia. Many Asian countries view waitressing, being a convenience store cashier or doing other odd jobs quite negatively. There is a commonly held belief that these jobs are for the "poor working class". These same jobs are viewed much more positively in the US and Europe, with parents encouraging their children to gain financial responsibility from a young age.
Is one mindset better than the other? That may be the wrong question to ask. A better question could be, "What could I, as a student, gain from this particular work experience?" If you can come up with solid benefits besides just earning a little cash, by all means consider taking a job. A particular skill or perspective you gain from it may shift the odds in your favour later on in life.