When internships aren't clear-cut

It might not seem logical, but if you are a business major now, you will most likely be making less money in 10 years than a person majoring in English or history.\nAt least that's what a study conducted by David Bechter of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign concluded after surveying a sample pool of business and liberal arts majors. He found that business majors made more money initially after graduating but that liberal arts majors had equaled the amount earned after five years and surpassed the average business major's salary after 10 years. \nStudies such as this, along with expert opinion, help dispel the myth that liberal arts students in majors such as English and history, often notorious for limited internship and job opportunities, cannot get a real internship or job after graduation.\n"I think there is a great misconception in students in general who feel that if they are not a business major, they cannot get an internship or a job. And they are completely wrong," said Jane Eig, assistant director at the Liberal Arts and Management Program. She advises about 250 students, around 40 of whose majors are English, philosophy and history. \n"I don't think that students understand, and underestimate, what skills they have to offer the business world," she said. "They need to understand that majors are almost never linked to a job."\nEig said it is common for companies such as advertising agencies to accounting firms to offer internships to English and history majors. She recalls students in these majors getting many of the better internships, such as working with a lobbying group in Washington and public relations work.\n"They (liberal arts majors) can get basically any internship they want," Eig said. "The number of companies who want liberal arts majors is so diverse."\nMary Kay Rothert can testify to the job diversity. As one of the advisers in the English department, she has seen English students get many different types of internships, ranging from publishing companies to public relations to radio.\n"I've seen English majors get internships at major NASCAR racing companies, major radio stations; I even had one student who got a job working for the Olympic Committee in Atlanta," said Rothert.\nRothert said the majority of English majors get internships by the time they graduate and only 25 percent of English majors actually go into teaching, breaking that typical stereotype.\n"Most English majors get well-paying jobs in PR firms, radio and others," said Rothert.\nJean Branch, undergraduate adviser in the history department, said many history majors get interesting internships.\nShe remembers one student who got an internship at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. \n"That intern got to help organize the exhibits and the tours. This person got to work with priceless artifacts in the workshops, helping preserve the materials," Branch said.\n"Students in English, philosophy or history have many skills that employers want," said Eig. "They have skills unique to their major: the ability to analyze vast amounts of information, the ability to conceptualize problems, the ability to communicate through writing and so on."\nFor more information on internship advice and opportunities, contact the English department at 855-8224 or the history department at 855-7581.