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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This may be why my college student has yet to find an internship, because so many kids jump on the internship train in high school. My college kids have steadily worked a variety of lawn care, retail, and other jobs and are behind their peers who have been taking unpaid “internships” each summer. [/quote]

Nonsense. In high school, a real job is better than a lot of unpaid internships, PP. In college, working in one's chosen field is what's important, whether it's billed as a job or an internship, paid or unpaid. Don't let semantics throw you off!

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Everyone keeps saying this, but come on!  I agree scooping ice cream is a good learning experience (getting along with co-workers, disgruntled customers, being on time, doing a job for people who are not family/friends).  But once you have that experience, kind of diminishing returns, and I think valuable to learn/ do something else - see how a lab is run, see what the research grind is all about.  Nobody on this board wants their kids doing menial labor/non-intellectual jobs as future careers (another reason good for kids to experience so you know you don't want to do that long term).[/quote]

Here's the order of summer occupations, from most important to least:

1. Prestigious, paid, selective internship. Those exist mostly in scientific research. They're akin to college applications where you need to write essays (I'm the PP from upthread whose daughter got a Smithsonian internship - she needed to write 4 mini essays), show your grades, possibly test scores, and what else you've done that qualifies you for the research internship. Some of the best internships have a 3% acceptance rate. They're more selective than the Ivy League. Even better if your supervisor writes a letter of recommendation.

2. Less selective internships, possibly unpaid, but one in which you still need to show good standing OR paid job where you can show that you've learned how real life works. Even better if your employer writes a letter of recommendation.

4. Pay-to-play internships, some of which can be somewhat selective, and are akin to those in group 2. Some are open to whoever is ready to pay and are in group 5. Parents go for those in the hope that college admissions won't know the differences, and indeed, some might now, but the most selective universities DO know the difference. Beware of those.

5. Paid job of the gig economy type (baby sitting, yard work, for neighbors and friends) where achievement is hard to measure. Similarly: starting your own business or non-profit. If there is a third party confirmation of your achievements in that realm, then it goes up to 3 or possibly 2 if it's of national importance. But if no third party can confirm anything, it's a 5.

6. Doing nothing.[/quote]

Did you forget #3? 
You seem awfully centered around “achievement” and “national importance” when most high school internships are BS anyway especially pay to play. 
A regular real-life job is looked upon very favorably by colleges.[/quote]

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