Student blogs

If you’re like me and don’t feel prepared to go into the workforce after KI (that includes PhD) or just feel that the job market is looking pretty rough, then you’ve probably considered what other options are out there. Of course, a gap year spent travelling is an option, but I was thinking more along the lines of benefiting-my-career-as-a-recent-graduate options. This blog will focus on paid internship possibilities that you can pursue after your master’s. 

Graduate programmes in Pharma 

Big pharma companies usually have annual Graduate Programme for recent grads. For this option, I would apply to any and each one that you find interesting, as these programmes are usually highly competitive and a way to get your foot in the door if industry is what you hope to work in. There’s AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk and Novartis to name a few in Europe. 

Erasmus+

Then we have Erasmus+, the less competitive of the options. This is mostly geared towards EU students, however, it may apply to non-EU students in some cases. Erasmus is a programme organized by the EU, in which students can go on exchange during their studies. However, there is also a fun caveat called Erasmus+ traineeships. These are exchange studies/internships post-graduation, in which the EU government pays you a stipend to go abroad. I personally think this is a good option if you are feeling like you still need more experience to fulfill the entry-level job requirement posts of ‘2-4 years of experience in the field!’ So I will definitely be taking advantage of this option. 

KI summer internship 

This option is a slight sidenote, as it is rather temporary: the KI summer internship! Some research groups, through a summer internship fund, are able to pay students a stipend for interning during the summer. If you’re lucky, your thesis group or another group at KI will want some extra help, and have this option available to them. 

Thesis group to research assistant 

Finally, we have a thesis intern to research assistant pipeline. Being a research assistant at KI is not an internship (it is indeed employment), but for the sake of this blog we’ll include it. I have heard of many cases in which students conduct their theses in one lab and afterwards are hired as research assistants for the following year. If this is something that sounds interesting to you, you could always talk to your PI when you feel more settled in the lab and they know you a bit better, and ask them if that is a possibility. It’s a great way to gain more experience in an environment you already know a bit about. 

To sum it up 

As a stressed-out, almost-graduate in this job market, I’ve had to sit down and brainstorm the possibilities that are out there. While I’m not sure if I’ll find a job right after graduating, I feel that these options are more attainable and would be stepping stones to getting a job that I enjoy in my field of interest.