Internships for the experience

I have just finished my first year of a Bachelor's degree in Economics at a target university in the UK. I would like to get into a BB for IB as a career but would also like to do a Master's after my Bachelor's and study at a language school in China for at least six months. Both of these are important to me for my life goals and I know that it will be more difficult to do these things after I have started my career so ideally I would like to do them right after my Bachelor's.

This leaves a couple of free summers available where I could do internships. Work experience is something that is considered preferable for my Master's application and I have read that prior intern experience can help in applications for other internships which lead to job offers. However I have also read that BBs can be inflexible about when you are supposed to start your full-time job. I am apprehensive about applying for a summer internship between second and third year which leads to a job offer as I wouldn't want to be in the position of choosing either between accepting the job or doing a Master's. Ideally I would like to do both. I have read that turning down job offers gets you blacklisted. 

Are there any summer internships out there you can do just for the experience? Or is the best approach to be forthright from the get-go about my intentions in the applications processes?

15 Comments
 

So are you saying definitely go for one of the entry second-year internships? With all due respect, what then? Are you suggesting I should forget about doing a Master's?

 

So are you saying definitely go for one of the entry second-year internships? With all due respect, what then? Are you suggesting I should forget about doing a Master's?

 

If you want to work at a BB you've missed your first chance if you didn't do/convert any spring weeks. Lock in for next summer recruiting which has already started. If you want to do a target masters, you really need a solid CV, with meaningful experience. 

 

Don't agree

Have seen lot of people at multiple BB who got the summer internship with no spring weeks. But do have previous experience

they are def. lots of people who just have uni experience (investment societies etc.)

 

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