I need internship advice p l e a s e

[JadeTheJewl]

So i'm trying to get an internship for summer break working with the IT staff and the head IT member wants me to thoroughly go through Flutter to learn about web development. The only issue is that i had a conversation with him one day and I brought up specifically that I don't like programming and would rather stay within the bounds of infrastructure work. I'm mostly wondering, should I let him know that I don't like web dev and would rather do things related to what I'm interested in? It feels like it would risk my internship chances but I'm not interested (plus its too much to do at the same time as school) in what he sent me. 

[Skipple]

Here's my two cents on the topic:

 

It's a summer internship. You certainly aren't going to lock yourself into a specific position or role within IT work due to that internship. You are mainly going after three goals by accepting the position:

1. Get your foot in the door of an organization. Demonstrate that you are competent, reliable, and can show up to work 5 days a week on time. This may open doors for you within the organization to ultimately get into the position you would like.
2. Have work experience and references to put on a resume when you go job hunting for real. Perhaps you can even come out of it with a letter of recommendation as well. 
3. Gain personal insight to the structure and day to day operations of working within a company. Being in that environment is a big change.

Depending on the size of the organization, outright refusal to work in a given position in preference for another may hurt, or simply eliminate, your chances of actually getting the internship. Hiring an intern (or any personel for that matter) in mid-to-large organizations is a fairly tedious process. It requires a manager to demonstrate need, examine budget constraints, etc.. More than likely the approval for hire is locked to that specific job role and title and internships can't be transferred from team to team. 

 

Everything in life comes with costs and benefits. Are you better off biting the bullet, taking this position, and getting the work experience? Or perhaps should you decline the internship and use your summer to expand your education. Something like getting the CompTIA Network+ certificate may be a better use of your time.

 

I'm not sure how old you are (high school, college?) or what your IT background is, so that may play a factor when weighing your options. Ultimately it's up to you. There's no wrong answer here. 

[Skipple]

44 minutes ago, JadeTheJewl said:

go through Flutter to learn about web development.
snip
(plus its too much to do at the same time as school)

One additional note. If you are looking into getting the internship it's completely reasonable to respond and say that doing training (presumably without pay) isn't something you are interested in. I work in IT. If a job I was applying to asked me to complete training for the position, I would require that time training to be on the clock and paid. I certainly wouldn't complete unpaid training in advance of a position. 

 

This doubly goes for an internship. You are being hired to complete menial task for not much pay. Your main payment is education and experience. That education should be included within the internship, not a prerequiste. 

[JadeTheJewl]

1 hour ago, Skipple said:

One additional note. If you are looking into getting the internship it's completely reasonable to respond and say that doing training (presumably without pay) isn't something you are interested in. I work in IT. If a job I was applying to asked me to complete training for the position, I would require that time training to be on the clock and paid. I certainly wouldn't complete unpaid training in advance of a position. 

 

This doubly goes for an internship. You are being hired to complete menial task for not much pay. Your main payment is education and experience. That education should be included within the internship, not a prerequiste. 

To clarify a few things:

 

*I'm a sophomore (going into junior-year) highschool student currently studying for the CompTIA A+, although I do have a couple Testout certs

 

*The person who I would be doing the internship under runs his own IT business and I would be interning at a GI clinic 

 

I'm not sure if this will change anything with advice but its information I forgot to include.