Free Web Site Development - Did your school encourage this?

Ever intern at a non-profit? Was it a total waste of time?

[martinibuster]

I have strong feelings about this, but some of you may have had a different experience.

Basically, I think that interning at a non-profit, especially a small museum, is of little relevance to the budding webmaster, and perhaps a total waste of time for both parties.

Did your school actually encourage or organize web design efforts on behalf of local museums or non-profits? If so, what were the results and what did you personally gain from the experience?

[jackofalltrades]

At uni i never did any work experience - it wasnt part of our course, but i would have much prefered it to doing assignments and essays. Now they are pointless.

In terms of job hunting after graduation, work experience or interships can give you an added bonus on your CV.

I had a temp job after Uni, doing admin for a small charity. Although my job was boring, the IT manager took me on and taught me a lot about web design (introduction to Frontpage, accessibility, issues with screen readers, graphic design, ftp, basic seo info, etc).

Although i had some theory behind me already, i learned more in those few weeks than i had my whole time at uni.

That was a year ago. A few months later i set up my first website.

Now i have 3 websites, with 4 on the way in the next month or so and i work full time as a webmaster (3 site more sites) and do freelance work.

That little bit of work experience can make all the difference.

On tip i would give you though is to be enthusiastic and get as much to do as you can. The reference at the end of it will be very valuable and you may find ideas and possible career paths you never considered before.

I run a career advice website and one of the main barriers to graduates getting employment is lack of experience.

Take the opportunity if you can get it, even if it seems pointless at the time.

Good luck.

JOAT :)

[HoloC76]

I wish my school had offered some kind of intern program. They focused mainly on graphics/design. I had no idea what it actually took to make a good site. It's only now, through running a small site at my job, working on my own sites at home, and coming to forums like this that I'm really learning. Guess I just went to the wrong school...!

[choster]

You don't perhaps learn all the same technical skills you would producing a commercial site, because the resources are more limited and the audience and purpose of the site are different. Still, certain philosophies-- accessibility, internationalization-- are gained, and a nonprofit environment may prove more conducive to adopting them.

From a personal business perspective, nonprofit/academic experience was invaluable to me when first starting out as an indpendent consultant, because I had a portfolio to show that was more than just a hobby site. But then, my current business is all academic, government, and non-profit, so your mileage may vary.

[martinibuster]

Mileage may vary

I think that the non-profit should have an established web department if it is going to be a learning experience. If the non-profit is small, they may not have the mentoring environment you need. Which I think is a downside to an internship at non-profit.

Still, it seems that a lot of people got some good experience from the larger non-profits.

It makes me wonder though about the smaller non-profits... Perhaps they're better off seeking pro-bono work?

[choster]

Mentoring? What's that? Generally speaking, I didn't view internships as apprenticeships, but as an opportunity for exposure-- I knew full well my "research" internship would consist of making copies and stuffing envelopes instead of writing and editing. Still, I could look up from the copy machine once in a while, see how the office was run, and plot what angles to use to insinuate myself into the industry.

My web jobs were different in that there was little direction, just html hacking lists of related links or news releases dutifully typed up by those research interns. That meant I had to do actual brain work myself, envisioning how to build and maintain a compelling online presence, researching best practices and proposing them on my own. Since in 1997 and 1998, the web was just hitting the nonprofit world, you had tremendous opportunity to innovate, even at something staid like a political party committee or the Cooperative Extension.

But I could see now how tossing a university student into the mix without providing any direction could prove bewildering if he/she held expectations of programmatic guidance.

[jackofalltrades]

Generally when u go to these places they have no idea what to do with you.

If you want to maximise your experience from them (and i think you should), then your best bet is to sit them down when yoou arrive and tell them exactly what you are capable of.

But be subtle, cos they may have plans for you, so find out what these are first.

Also, spend your time finsing out how the organisation works and make suggestions as to how someone with your skills can contribute to that.

JOAT

[martinibuster]

Sorry to hear about your lousy internship. I think that a student should avoid those entirely. My idea of an ideal internship is where you're put to work updating a web site, taking orders for different changes that need to be made, being forced to hand code, learn new technologies and software, that kind of thing.

Mentoring comes in the form of being guided by an experienced webmaster, who tell you the ups and downs of authoring for the web. That is why I expressed some reservations about whether or not an internship for a non-profit was worth it or not, as opposed to interning at a for profit web site.

Perhaps someone else has a good experience at interning at a non-profit?

I'm not sure if that's the right direction a non-profit should take, if they're hurting for cash. Perhaps a pro-bono solicitation would be in order?

And if you're a student, to look to the for-profits for internship experience?