Rhiannon Osborne Tonner is in her final year of UCL studying Natural Sciences. She interned in Bali on a month long Start Me Up UX Internship.
When you tell people you’re interning abroad, a lot of people raise the question “Why?”. Why intern in a foreign country when you could organize an internship in your home country with far more ease?
With surface level assessment, I see their point.
It would be far easier to do an internship at home where everyone speaks your language, you understand how everything works and don’t have some of the added complications that living in developing countries can bring.
However this viewpoint is limited. It’s blatantly ignoring some of the most life enriching factors that interning abroad can bring you.
You’ll develop new superpowers
I won’t deny that interning abroad can at times be hard. It requires you to rapidly develop into a self-reliant, independent individual faster than an internship at home.
Remote working in a place like Bali, requires far greater discipline and time management as you juggle adventuring with working.
You swiftly grow these soft skills as you’re forced to adapt to this new and challenging environment, learning to plan, budget, and think on your feet as you explore different countries. If you thrive off a challenge, and want to push your personal growth, interning abroad it’s hard to beat.
You’ll develop prized cross-cultural skills
Beyond this there are some more obvious benefits of interning abroad. It can be a wonderful opportunity to learn a new language, and experience new cultures.
As technology advances, and the world becomes more connected, it becomes increasingly important to have first hand knowledge of the world outside of our home countries.
A deeper cross-cultural understanding is a highly important insight to possess in this diverse world in which we live.
You’ll develop an amazing international network
A common phrase thrown about in the business world these days is “Your net worth is your network”. Traveling the world will bring you into contact with people you probably would never have met had you stayed in your home country.
The people you will meet abroad will most likely be some of the most inspirational and thought-provoking people you will meet. It takes a particular dedication, drive and a passion for life to become a digital nomad.
Every person you come across will have a unique path that lead them to the point of working and travelling, providing the opportunity to be inspired by individuals with a plethora of different experiences.
From flourishing in your personal development to learning a vast array of hard skills actually on your internship, an internship abroad is without a doubt a phenomenal opportunity. However the personal and professional growth aside, at the end of the day you get to travel.
You can spend your time-off jumping into waterfalls, hiking volcanoes, uncovering hidden beaches and adventuring in the country you are based.
Your surroundings are your playground.
Learn more about Rhiannon’s internship…