If you live in the Cleveland, Ohio, area, and you’re looking for a job with a future, you might consider an internship. Internships are opportunities offered by some industries to interested job seekers. An internship will allow you to learn about business and gain entry-level experience. Here are some Cleveland industries that often hire trainees, interns, or apprentices:
You may wonder whether an intern is the same as an apprentice. Although both roles help you learn about a job or industry, an internship typically lasts 1-3 months, while apprenticeships can last 1-3 years. The biggest difference is that apprenticeships are usually paid opportunities, while internships are often unpaid.
1. Wedding Planning
Wedding planning is an industry that appeals to creative people with a flair for working with others. Wedding planners help the couple make their wedding schedule, search through unique wedding venues, and coordinate the outfits for the wedding party. They also plan the wedding reception, including booking the band.
Your position as an intern begins with an intern application to a training course. Wedding planning interns can take online classes to provide instruction and working experience with weddings. Although the courses are online, the courses are coordinated with a local wedding planner who will work with you. During these events, you can take pictures to document your work and build a portfolio.
Interns may begin with simple tasks like running errands. They can be part of discussions with the clients and help select the elements of the wedding plan. Many of their tasks will involve taking the couple shopping, picking up items for the ceremony, and helping everyone do their part in the wedding plan. They may also be responsible for party rentals like tents, tables, and chairs.
2. Florist
Florists bring joy to homes and businesses. Florists may work at flower stores, where they are responsible for arrangement of flowers and plants. Most florist apprentices will begin their studies at a college, as part of a degree in horticulture or floriculture. Many colleges around the country have coordinated programs that provide florist internships.
Once you submit your intern application for the hands-on experience, you might go to a greenhouse, nursery, or flower farm to work and learn. Internship programs often include a rotation of opportunities to allow the intern to experience all the aspects of the flower industry: from farm to store. Most internships aim to allow the participants to meet top florists. The florists work as mentors and guides with the interns.
Florists need knowledge of floriculture, so their academic knowledge is as essential as their hands-on experience. For example, if they work at a flower store, they can tell whether the flowers and plants are healthy. Their experiences at flower farms will help them see the reality of what they study about flowers. Creative design ideas may be an asset, but an intern’s academic background determines if they can carry them out.
3. Roofing
The roofing industry installs roofs on homes and buildings. They also provide roof repair and annual roof inspections. Roofers need to have manual dexterity, be able to lift large objects safely, and must be able to work at the height of the roof. Union employees typically do roofing, so roofers prefer to hire apprentices, although they will sometimes train someone who submits an intern application.
In Cleveland, to become a roofing contractor, you must apply at the office of the Cleveland Building and Construction and Trades Council. To be considered for an apprenticeship, they must have a written job offer. The letter must also confirm the applicant has already worked with a roofing company for 300 hours. Those 300 paid hours will be the equivalent of an internship.
During the internship, you will work under the supervision of an experienced roofer. You will begin with small tasks and work up to extensive projects such as roofing replacement. Some trade schools offer an associate degree course with practical experience for apprentices who want a college degree.
4. Plumbing
Workers in the plumbing industry install pipes and fixtures, and maintain and repair plumbing systems. Although people wanting to submit an intern application to train as a plumber are sometimes allowed to learn on the job, plumbers are typically hired first as apprentices. A high school student who wants to be a plumber can attend a vocational school for training. Vocational school programs will allow their juniors and seniors to get jobs with experienced plumbers or with a plumbing repair service to count as class time.
Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland offers an associate degree program in Applied Industrial Technology, which has a concentration in plumbing. Graduates of the program will have an associate degree and the status of a journeyman plumber. A journeyman can’t work independently but can supervise and train apprentices.
Plumbing is a good job to learn in the Cleveland area. According to the Better Business Bureau, almost 4,000 plumbing companies are in the Cleveland area. If you want to be part of the team that responds when someone needs an affordable plumbing service, consider interning as an apprentice plumber.
5. Septic System Workers
Septic system workers are responsible for cleaning and maintaining home and business septic systems and their drains and pipelines. Some septic system workers repair or replace broken pipes, while others drive the trucks that haul waste to septic treatment facilities. Septic system workers must learn to operate a backhoe. Backhoes are used to dig out the large holes to install the septic system.
Septic system workers often work with local plumbers, as the pipelines make one continuous system. High school students who attend a STEM school (Science, Engineering, and Math) can take an internship program in STS (septic treatment system) at the Northeast Ohio Regional School District in downtown Cleveland. If you submit an intern application to the STS internship, you must have passed advanced placement courses before enrollment.
In the internship program, students will get hands-on experience. Many of the principles and actions taught in the academic program are the same as those for plumbing workers. This background means you will be knowledgeable about plumbing repairs if a nearby plumbing problem occurs during the septic system service. Those ready to take an exam to be a septic system worker must go to Columbus, to the Operator Training Company.
6. Technology
The technology industry has many jobs available. The number of tech jobs will likely increase due to the increasing degree to which technology is integrated into our lives. If you enjoy working with computers, consider getting experience with a job as a technology intern. People who want to be a technology intern should have some computer skills before they submit an intern application.
A technology intern can assist with the creation of websites and apps, make copies, and learn how to code. The technology interns might work with several technology staffers in the same large office. This rotation of jobs helps the intern discover their skills.
To provide an idea of the variety of technology-related jobs in the Cleveland area, a recent search for “technology intern” on Indeed resulted in diverse opportunities. For example, there is a job for a technology intern at a flat-rolled steel distributor that will have the worker processing applications for metal mining projects. Another posting requests a technology intern to rotate duties within the technology department, including answering phones at a help desk and developing software installations for a company in the sustainability industry.
7. Banking
The financial industry has many different types of jobs available. Several of these jobs may offer a position as an intern. If you have a talent for mathematics, you might be a good candidate for a banking internship. For example, you could intern at a local bank and begin your internship as a teller. You might work in the financial department of a large corporation and learn about corporate finance.
Your efforts to find the right internship will vary with your future career goals. For example, if you are an accounting major, you might be asked to intern with the bank’s accountants. If you’re an economics major, you might be interested in an internship with the money exchange department.
Tying your banking intern position to your college major can benefit you. Since you’re ideally studying a subject related to your position, your academic knowledge will help you excel at your internship. These positions aren’t paid because the internship duties are considered part of your college course.
8. Engineers
There are many types of engineers, and most of them provide opportunities for internships. Interns will work on an engineering project under the supervision of an experienced engineer. Because of the nature of engineering tasks, an engineering intern must have a bachelor’s degree. So, when you submit your internship application, bring a copy of your degree to the interview.
Many duties assigned to an engineering intern involve data collection and analysis, plus generating reports about that data. You should also be computer-literate. As an intern, you’ll be able to learn from the engineer you’re working with and expand your knowledge base.
Because engineering is a lucrative industry, applications for an internship are competitive. However, it is a good idea for you to try for an internship, because it will be an excellent experience to prepare you for your future career. Some internships lead directly to a job at your company because they’ll get to know your work.
9. Hospitality
The hospitality industry has been on the rise since the pandemic ended. Hospitality jobs appeal to people who are good communicators and who have excellent math and organizational skills. Hospitality jobs are available in travel agencies, hotels, transportation companies, restaurants, attractions (like amusement parks), and fueling stations. Cleveland attracts many visitors yearly, so many hospitality workers will be needed.
Submitting an intern application for a hospitality intern job can boost your career. For example, the intern can work with the hotel manager to learn how to run the front desk and reservations system. The intern might listen to discussions with clients meeting with the hotel’s event planner. At an amusement park, an intern might be a roving cartoon character, a ticket taker, or a ride operator. At an airline company, the intern might be answering calls from people scheduling flights.
Although some of these positions accept high school graduates, you should consider getting a degree in Hospitality Management to benefit your future career. If you’re looking for an online course, you can find several online certificate programs for hospitality industry jobs. From food and beverage management to hotel planning and design, you can take a certificate course to improve your chances of advancing your future in the hospitality industry.
10. Medicine
A list of internships wouldn’t be complete without one of the most common uses for the term: a medical intern. Cleveland’s healthcare system has an excellent reputation. If you want a medical future, you’ll need to be an intern before you can work independently as a doctor. Future doctors need to get a bachelor’s degree first.
Although many future doctors will get their undergraduate degree in ‘pre-med,’ you could also use a degree in health science, life science, or biology. When you make an intern application for a medical intern job, the interview process can be competitive. When you go to the hospital for an interview, be sure you’ve studied the facility. According to GlassDoor, one of the most common questions asked at the interview is, ‘Why do you want to work at this hospital?’.
Interns learn to be doctors under the supervision of a resident (a recent M.D. graduate gaining experience in their chosen field.) Interns will learn by doing small medical tasks first, then working up to more complicated medical procedures. Interns may get experience in several hospital departments, so they know what to specialize in.
As you can see, an internship is a good way to start many different types of careers. Cleveland area residents are in a good position to find a job to help them find a good future. According to BestPlaces, there was a 1.0% growth in the Cleveland job market last year, and the market is predicted to rise by over 20% in the next ten years.
