Career exploration is an important part of the student experience. First- and second-year students especially benefit from gaining hands-on, in-person experience to new career pathways.
An externship is an experiential learning opportunity that involves an individual shadowing a professional to observe daily duties. The Muhlenberg Externship Program is an easy, low-risk way for you to try out new careers by observing a professional during their work day. You get to see a day in their life, while also getting to network, ask questions and gain insight into what it’s like be a part of that profession.
This career exploration opportunity is open to all students; you do not have to be at a specific point in their career development journey in order to participate. This can be your very first time gaining exploring careers, or you can already have an idea of what you would like to pursue!
For example, you can participate in an externship if you are:
- Undecided about your career goals and are participating as a means of exploring. You applied for the externship opportunity because it sounded interesting to you!
- Clarifying several career options that you have identified. You have some knowledge about the job/industry, but are still seeking more information to gain clarity about your future.
- Confident you want to enter that specific industry and would just like to deepen your knowledge and learn about how people enter and advance in that field.
The externship can last 1-5 days; you and your host will decide how long this experience will be.
You are also responsible for your own transportation to your externship site, so please keep that in mind when applying.
In order to apply, you will submit a resume and a brief statement about why you would like to participate and what you are hoping to take away from the experience. All externship postings will be on Handshake during the application window. The program runs once a year during winter break.
