Pros
• You’ll get exposure to many tasks quickly because you’re essentially left to figure everything out on your own.
Cons
• No training or onboarding whatsoever. You’re expected to take on real workload immediately with little to no direction.
• There are no real networking opportunities, despite being implied early on. You’re mostly working in isolation.
• Several tasks felt more like government funded underpaid labour than structured learning, and expectations weren’t always aligned with what an internship should provide.
• Communication after the internship was one-sided, inconsistent, & difficult to get responses for professional references or letters of recommendation, yet quick outreach when previous work or assets were needed.
• After leaving, you may still be contacted only when they need access to work you created, not to support your professional development.
• Overall, the internship operates more as a cheap government funded labour farm than as a mentorship or learning experience.