Think you might want to try out an IT internship? Hear the following interns' experiences to see if you'd like it!
All of these were paid internships. Let's dive in!
IT departments support the technical needs of their organization. Our IT interns provided the following kinds of tech support.
Our IT interns made sure their people in their organization had the hardware they needed.
For ten months, I was basically a Tier 1 help desk technician, which means I'd be the first person employees contacted for help with computers or software.
Part of my responsibilities included issuing new laptops to new employees and setting up their monitors. Also, if someone's keyboard wasn't working, I'd grab a replacement and walk it over to their desk.
– IT intern @ a software company
During new employee orientations, we deliver monitors, laptops, docking stations – whatever's been requested.
– IT intern @ a research lab
In addition to computers, the IT interns also supported phones and other devices their organization used.
We also set up faculty members' phones. When someone got an office, we’d set up their phone in the system. This involved taking the MAC address (a unique number that identifies the phone) and assigning it to them, logging what building and room they’re in (important for emergency services), and then connecting the phone to the network, just like you would with a computer. We’d also set up their voicemail.
– IT intern @ a university
We also help out with conference room systems. Conference rooms have "microdesktops," which are smaller desktops that have their own set of applications.
If there's a major conference at the lab, we'll make sure the computer and audiovisual equipment is set up.
– IT intern @ a research lab
IT interns also sometimes helped resolve issues with the hardware.
We're the point of contact with vendors. So if someone's keyboard failed, we'd contact, say, Dell to send out a technician.
Occasionally, we do get to open up a computer and add more RAM or storage.
– IT intern @ a research lab
Software support starts with making sure people have all the software they need.
When we set up a new employee's device, we make sure they have all the applications they need, such as the Microsoft Office suite.
We also assign them to the right "group" in our computer system. There's an administration group for HR and payroll people, a group for the physics department, and another one for the computer science division.
Each group has access to different types of software. For instance, the physics department computers will have specialized physics software. We have a procedure we follow to make sure they have everything they need.
– IT intern @ a research lab
Software support also includes troubleshooting and maintenance.
When someone was having issues with an application, I'd go troubleshoot it with them right there.
– Intern @ a software company
Software maintenance is making sure that someone's applications are all up-to-date and there aren't any issues, especially with their drivers. Drivers are what enable your computer to do all the things it does. For instance, there's an ethernet driver (which connects your computer to the internet ) and a graphics driver (which controls how things look on your screen).
– IT intern @ a research lab
Besides making sure people have all the hardware and software they need, our IT interns also helped them get connected to the internet.
We'd activate ethernet ports (make the port live so it can connect to the internet). For instance, if a professor moves into a new office and can’t connect their computer to the wall outlet, we'd have to activate the port. If a room has been empty for a while, we might have to reactivate some ports that had been turned off.
One common task is using a tool called a "toner" to trace cables through the walls. You plug it into one end of a cable, and it helps you figure out where the other end pops out—pretty handy when you’re setting things up or fixing issues.
– IT intern @ a university
When we set up someone's device, we'd register its MAC and IP addresses so it can connect to our computer network.
– IT intern @ a research lab
If there were issues with the network, the IT interns would also help investigate.
We also checked WiFi signals. For example, if a section of the student union reported weak WiFi, we’d use tools to test the signal strength. If it was indeed weak, the networking engineers would come in to improve it, often by adding more network devices.
– IT intern @ a university
As an IT intern, you also carry out simple tasks to support the security of the organization's computer network.
We do have a dedicated cybersecurity team but as an IT person, we deal with the authentication methods that people use. We'll help manage passwords and get people set up with multifactor authentification (MFA).
MFA is where you use more than one method to verify your identity before accessing a system. So instead of logging in with just a password, you also get a code sent to your phone.
If someone needs MFA, we'll set it up for them through an application on their phone or a physical security key.
In terms of physical security keys, we use things called "Yubikeys," which are like USB devices that you plug into a computer. You just enter your PIN and they'll generate a code. It's pretty secure since only you know the PIN.
– IT intern @ a research lab
20% of the work was password resets. Cashiers use digital systems on their cash register called "POS systems." Unfortunately, they forget their passwords all the time, and their account would get locked, so they'd give us a call. We'd verify that they were who they said they were and then reset their password.
– IT intern @ a supermarket chain
Depending on the needs of the organization, you may have other technical tasks to work on.
Sometimes, we need to help manage the physical "tapes" in our tape library. The amount of data we process is in the realm of terrabytes, which means that regular hard drives are too small, so we use the next step up, which are tapes.
The tapes plug into our servers and sometimes need to be replaced when they fill up or fail. We do have a machine which picks them out when they're full and puts them into our storage. We also have dedicated computing staff who put new tapes in, but we also help out with this when necessary.
– IT intern @ a research lab
80% of the work was supporting whatever system a cashier was having trouble with. Supermarkets have thousands of systems and a supermarket's tech support crew supports anything from the cash registers to the scan guns to the self check-out registers to the scales that people use to weigh their fruits and veggies.
For example, a cashier might call us and tell us they're experiencing a problem. Often, they'd say something not very descriptive like "The register's down." So we'd have to ask questions to narrow down their issue: "Is the scanner not working?" "Is the computer still on? Is anything on?" "Can you touch something but it's not responding?" "When you scan something, does it make a noise or not?"
We would refer to documents in our "knowledge base" to help them.
– IT intern @ a supermarket chain
All our interns believed that their internships were worth their time for three reasons.
Being a helpdesk technician is very boots on the ground. I was always moving around, talking to people, heading to the storage room for equipment, and troubleshooting problems at their desks.
I don't miss it, but overall, it kept me on my toes and involved in the daily workings of the office. – and most of all, it gave me a great foundation in IT. What I mean by that is that, even though I was doing coursework, I didn't know what kinds of jobs were in IT. I think the university did a poor job of saying what kinds of jobs you could have and what they mean, so I didn't even know what IT was until I did the internship.
I learned what things like server administration, network administration and security mean. This gave me a taste of all the different jobs and is partly how I ended up choosing security!
– IT intern @ a software company
In a desktop support role, you'll help out with a little of everything, so it's a good way for students to develop some basic skills for 2-4 years, at which point, you'll usually have figured out what you want to do.
For instance, my internship has gotten me more familiar with cloud computing, operating environments, security protocols, and understanding how computers work and their associated maintenance.
– IT intern @ a research lab
The pay was pretty low and a lot of the job is what you'd call "networking grunt work," but it was still a good experience.
From my internship, I learned that no matter what job you're doing in IT, you're still going to have to interface with some kind of customer. Whether they're internal (you're an IT person in a company) or external (e.g. visitors on campus). A lot of people go into IT because they don't want to deal with people, but you still have to have soft skills and empathy.
– IT intern @ a university
Providing desktop support has made me more comfortable talking to people in general. When I saw "provide desktop support," I mean sitting in a physical location that people visit (or call or email) when they need help.
– IT intern @ a research lab
Although I was an intern, I was basically a real helpdesk technician – except instead of working full-time, I worked five afternoons a week to accommodate my college schedule.
I believe this sort of real-world experience put me ahead of peers in my degree program who just had four years of college and even credentials like summa cum laude. I think this is because:
- Employers do see internships as real experience. They're like a real job, just doing easier stuff.
- Internships give companies some guarantee that you're familiar with office culture. If you've done an internship, you probably won't experience major culture shock when you work for them full-time.
– IT intern @ a software company
During my internship, I learned how to use so many tools. I got experience with account authentification and password resets, where were things that I could put on my resume!
– IT intern @ a supermarket chain
Head on over to How to break into IT as a student[LINK].
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