REL Midwest Reference Desk
Internships and Career Choices
September 2015
Question
What research is available on the relationship between job shadowing/
internships and students’ career choices, planning, and success?
Background
REL Midwest received a request for information on what research is available on the relationship
between job shadowing/internships and students’ career choices, planning, and success.
Following an established REL Midwest research protocol, we conducted a search for research
reports as well as descriptive and policy-oriented briefs and articles on what research is available
on the relationship between job shadowing/internships and students’ career choices, planning,
and success. The sources included research institutions, several educational research databases,
and a general Internet search using Google.
We also searched for appropriate organizations that may act as resources on this issue. We have
not done an evaluation of these organizations or the resources themselves but offer this list for
reference only.
What research is available on the relationship between job shadowing/
internships and students’ career choices, planning, and success?
Freudenberg, B., Brimble, M., & Cameron, C. (2010). Where there is a WIL there is a way.
Higher Education Research and Development, 29(5), 575–588.
From the abstract: “While work-integrated learning (WIL) is seen as a way to address
the call for improved ‘employment readiness’ and generic skills of graduates, it has been
stated that WIL programs need to be ‘well managed and structured’ and ‘well integrated.’
To provide such structure and integration a Professional Development (PD) Program was
developed to assist students who would undertake a WIL internship as part of their
business degree. This paper details evidence of the impact of the PD Program for first
year students compared to those undertaking a conventional orientation process. The
preliminary evidence demonstrate that structure and integration of the PD Program has
had positive effects in terms of generic skills, satisfaction and self-efficacy.”
Note: REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible.
Although we were unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this article, we
determined that it might be of interest to you. The resource may be available through
university or public library systems.
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Gault, J., Redington, J., & Schlager, T. (2000). Undergraduate business internships and career
success: Are they related? Journal of Marketing Education, 22(1), 45–53. Full text
available from
http://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=mark_facpub
From the abstract: “This article reports the results of an investigation of the relationship
between early career success and past participation in an undergraduate field internship.
The study extends earlier research on the effects of formal marketing education on career
success. A survey of intern and nonintern business alumni of a northeastern U.S. public
university indicated significant early career advantages for undergraduates with
internship experience. Advantages included less time to obtain first position, increased
monetary compensation, and greater overall job satisfaction. In addition to the career
benefits provided to the students, the positive implications for marketing educators,
university administrators, and intern employers are also discussed.”
Callanan, G., & Benzing, C. (2004). Assessing the role of internships in the career‐oriented
employment of graduating college students. Education & Training, 46(2), 82–89.
From the abstract: “This study assessed the relationship between the completion of an
internship assignment prior to graduation and subsequent employment in a career‐
oriented job after graduation. Subjects for the study were 163 seniors graduating with a
business degree from a large public university in the mid‐Atlantic region of the USA.
Results showed that the completion of an internship assignment was linked with finding
career‐oriented employment, but was not related to a higher level of confidence over
personal fit with the position that was selected. The article presents implications for
future research and discusses practical issues related to the use of internships and other
forms of anticipatory socialization in the career management activities of college
students.”
Note: REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible.
Although we were unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this article, we
determined that it might be of interest to you. The resource may be available through
university or public library systems.
Luecking, R. G., & Fabian, E. S. (2000). Paid internships and employment success for youth in
transition. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 23(2), 205–
221.
From the abstract: “This article presents information on the characteristics and
postschool outcomes of youth who participated in the Marriott Foundation’s Bridges . . .
from school to work internship program at seven national sites from 1993 to 1997. A
comprehensive database of 3,024 participants was analyzed to determine the extent to
which participant and programmatic variables predict post-school employment status at
6, 12, and 18 month follow-up intervals. Neither gender, race, or primary disability made
a significant difference in employment status at six months post-internship. Work
behaviors during the internship were highly predictive of postschool employment at 6 and
12 month follow-up intervals. A disparity between disability groups and racial categories was
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noted in post-school employment rates the further out from school exit. The implications of
this program model and these findings for future research and practice are discussed.”
Note: REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible.
Although we were unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this article, we
determined that it might be of interest to you. The resource may be available through
university or public library systems.
Pender, M., Marcotte, D. E., Sto. Domingo, M. R., & Maton, K. I. (2010). The STEM pipeline:
The role of summer research experience in minority students’ Ph.D. aspirations.
Education Policy Analysis Archives, 18(30). Full text available from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ913484.pdf
From the abstract: “Practical research experience has been seen as an important tool to
enhance learning in STEM fields and shape commitment to science careers. Indeed, this
was a prominent recommendation of the Boyer Commission. Further, there is evidence
this is especially important for minority students. In this paper, we examine the role of
practical research experience during the summer for talented minority undergraduates in
STEM fields. We focus on the link between summer research and STEM Ph.D. program
matriculation. We examine evidence on this question using detailed data on students
participating in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program over a 14 year period at the
University of Maryland Baltimore County. Our results provide evidence of strong
positive effects of summer research on participation in STEM Ph.D. programs. Further,
we show that the effects of summer research vary with the frequency and timing of these
experiences. The evidence that educational strategies such as summer research
experiences improve academic outcomes of minorities is vital, given concern about the
science pipeline in the U.S. and the continuing growth in the racial/ethnic diversity of the
college-age population.”
Sagen, H. B., Dallam, J. W., & Laverty, J. R. (2000). Effects of career preparation experiences
on the initial employment success of college graduates. Research in Higher Education,
41(6), 753–767.
From the abstract: “The effectiveness of supplementary career preparation experiences is
conceived as universal or conditional, the latter either enhancing existing assets such as
ability or overcoming deficits such as lack of specialized preparation. Logistic regression
was used to analyze the responses of 1,012 baccalaureate graduates to a questionnaire
survey one month following graduation. Effectiveness was defined as securing
baccalaureate level employment. Work experience related to career goals was the only
experience of universal effectiveness, with participation in student organizations of
marginal significance. Positive conditional effects, however, were found for internships,
work experiences related to career goals, advanced skills courses in quantitative analysis
and writing, and participation in student organizations. These latter experiences were
primarily asset enhancers for those with specialized preparation. An interpretation is
offered incorporating labor market conditions and employer behavior as constructs.”
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Note: REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible.
Although we were unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this article, we
determined that it might be of interest to you. The resource may be available through
university or public library systems.
Wan, C. S., Yang, J., Cheng, S., & Su, C. (2013). A longitudinal study on internship
effectiveness in vocational higher education. Educational Review, 65(1), 36–55.
From the abstract: “A cooperative education experience (or internship placement) is an
essential component of the curricula of vocational higher education. The efficacy of
internship placements has become one of the major concerns facing those who develop
education curricula. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to explore the
relationships among the multi-faceted predictors of intern commitment as a reflection of
internship efficacy. Participants were drawn from third-year undergraduate students. A
structural equation model applied to the final sample of 357 usable questionnaires
demonstrated that individual goal orientation and mentoring positively affected both
person-job and person-organization fit, leading to intern job satisfaction and commitment
to the profession. A non-significant predictor, student learning goal orientation, is also
comprehensively discussed. The findings imply that incorporating an internship (i.e.,
workplace learning experience) and professional mentoring into vocational higher
education curricula would advance students’ personal growth and future careers.”
Note: REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible.
Although we were unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this article, we
determined that it might be of interest to you. The resource may be available through
university or public library systems.
Additional Resources
•
Knouse, S. B., & Fontenot, G. (2008). Benefits of the business college internship: A
research review. Journal of Employment Counseling, 45(2), 61–66.
From the abstract: “The authors explore the research findings regarding the effectiveness
of business internships on several issues: enhanced employment opportunities, realistic
expectations of interns, satisfaction with the internship experience, internship
prerequisites, and internship mentoring. Overall, the internship experience was found to
be beneficial.”
Note: REL Midwest tries to provide publicly available resources whenever possible.
Although we were unable to locate a link to the full-text version of this article, we
determined that it might be of interest to you. The resource may be available through
university or public library systems.
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Additional Organizations to Consult
•
Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment
(http://capseecenter.org/)
From the website: “The Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment
was established in the summer of 2011 through a grant from the Institute of Education
Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education to conduct research and provide
national leadership (in cooperation with IES) for advancing knowledge about the
relationship between postsecondary education and the labor market.”
•
College and Career Readiness and Success
(http://www.ccrscenter.org/)
From the website: The College and Career Readiness and Success Center is operated by
the American Institutes for Research. The center aims to help states better inform, align
and support their efforts to ensure that all students graduate high school ready for college
and careers.
Keywords and Search Strings Used in the Search
•
Job shadows OR internships AND career choices OR career planning
•
Internship AND effect AND career
•
Internship AND career
Search of Databases and Websites
Institute of Education Sciences sources: Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Regional
Educational Laboratory (REL) Program, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),
National Center for Education Research (NCER)
Additional data resources: ERIC, JSTOR database, Google Scholar, Google
Criteria for Inclusion
When Reference Desk researchers review resources, they consider—among other things—four
factors:
•
Date of the publication: We include the most current information, except in the case of
nationally known seminal resources.
•
Source and funder of the report/study/brief/article: We give priority to IES, nationally
funded, and certain other vetted sources known for strict attention to research protocols.
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•
Methodology: Randomized controlled trial studies, surveys, self-assessments, literature
reviews, policy briefs. We generally give priority for inclusion to randomized controlled
trial study findings, but the reader should note at least the following factors when basing
decisions on these resources: numbers of participants (just a few? thousands?); selection
(Did the participants volunteer for the study, or were they chosen?); representation (Were
findings generalized from a homogeneous or a diverse pool of participants? Was the
study sample representative of the population as a whole?).
•
Existing knowledge base: Although we strive to include vetted resources, there are times
when the research base is slim or nonexistent. In these cases, we presented the best
resources we could find, which may include, for example, newspaper articles, interviews
with content specialists, and organization websites.
The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Reference Desk is a service provided by a
collaborative of the REL Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of
Education Sciences (IES). This response was prepared under contract ED-IES-12-C-0004 with
IES, by REL Midwest, administered by American Institutes for Research. The content of the
response does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES or the U.S. Department of
Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply
endorsement by the U.S. government.
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