EDITOR’S NOTE: Brett Melnick (BFA/Television Writing and Producing ’16) shares some insight into the importance of internships in his post today.

While this isn’t a class you will find in the course catalog, and can be more than a three-hour commitment every week, internships are extremely helpful experiences to have in college to learn valuable life and career lessons that can’t be taught in the classroom.

Growing up in a suburb outside of Washington, D.C., I’ve always had a strong passion for writing and directing for film and television. While the road to pursuing that dream has been a winding slope, I know that if I didn’t follow my passion for it while in school, I would always be disappointed in myself for not exploring the opportunity to live out my dream.

Now as a second semester senior, beginning to search for the right place for myself after college, I’m confident everything will work out due to the valuable information I have learned from internships I have had over my college career.

Internships can be extremely valuable in helping you to explore what you are interested in, and can be used to determine if a certain job is something you’d want to pursue as a career. I know personally that I’ve had experiences at internships that have sometimes made me second guess a certain career path for myself, while other internships have helped to solidify a range of jobs that I would want to pursue after school.

A recent internship with the Turner Broadcasting System has helped me to understand just that. Over the course of eight weeks, I learned first-hand how every single department of a television network works together to produce content for their audience every day. This opportunity has been extremely beneficial in helping me discover that I would love a creative career in entertainment after college.

Applying to and managing an internship while studying in school can feel like an extremely daunting task, and certainly isn’t something to worry about if you cannot manage it during a certain semester. Sometimes it will make the most sense in terms of schedule and well being to focus on other important life tasks. However, I do strongly encourage working an internship at some point in your college career, just to learn if that certain area of work you are passionate about is right for you.

What I have learned in the classroom at Dodge College, and Chapman, paired with the real-life experiences I’ve learned from my internships, have helped me grasp the general ins and outs of my industry. I believe it has prepare me to acclimate to the working world after graduation. Internships are a great trial run to experience the real world- so get out there, and test the waters for the job that may be perfect for you.

This post is part of the Looksharp Internship Blog Competition. To read more about the competition, and view other posts, go here.