Spring break is around the corner. So now students may be wondering what they are going to do for the summer, and with the economy still in a less than favorable condition, the outlook for those killer internships cannot be good.

The options for internships may be slim, especially if you have moral standards, which I expect everyone to own up to. You are the only one who can decide what you believe in and those morals determine who you are and how people respond to you.

Do you apply and go on interviews for jobs with companies that you do not necessarily agree with ethically?

For example, if you are a devoted consumer of Apple products and do not agree with the practices of Microsoft, would you take the internship with Microsoft if it was 10 minutes from wherever you choose to call home this summer and pays, possibly even more than minimum wage?

It is a very legitimate question, and it all comes down to ethics.

Of course going against your morals for an internship seems preposterous; it would be like a vegan drinking a cold glass of chocolate milk or an atheist attending a religious ceremony, but take a second look at the options. You could always go back home to your faithful pizza delivery job or back to CVS stocking shelves.

The truth is those jobs are probably not going to get you far after college. Employers are going to be looking for some solid experience, and in order for a person to acquire a noteworthy internship, sacrifices must be made.

Finding an internship that has a minimum amount of commuting would be prime. Think about it, gas prices are on the rise again, and most internships aren’t paid internships.

Do you really want to drive an hour in traffic going to and from work? I would assume not, especially if your temporary office would most likely not pay for your gasoline intake.

It would be great if all companies were required to pay. Wouldn’t that just be a dream come true? Not only would the competiveness die down because all internships would be paid, but companies might actually value you more and want you to actually do something because they are throwing money out the window otherwise. Credits are being offered along with experience, but how far is that going to take you when you’re trying to pay for weekend adventures?

Students want the perfect internship. They want an internship that doesn’t require coffee runs or photocopies all day, but realistically, students have to know that something has got to give. And in the world of internships, nothing is perfect. As students entering the job market in a tough economy, again, sacrifices must be made.

Maybe that paid internship is a few miles away. Or maybe it is unpaid and requires extensive travel time, but without taking a chance on an internship you might be risking your future. We all know about the challenges that last year’s graduating class had to overcome or have heard nightmare stories of students who have had to move back in with their parents because they have yet to find a job a year later.

The problem is doubly worrisome when you consider that not only does a lack of a career mean a lack of income, but also, a lack of means to pay off the $80,000 debt that some graduates have accrued over their four years at UMass.

Say you don’t see eye-to-eye with the company completely. Going against your ideals might seem crazy, but that company might prepare you for a career in your selected industry better than any of its competitors. Chances are you do not agree with all of its practices. However, you will get a better understanding of the company’s views working there, and the good news is, flexibility is an important quality to have in a student seeking employment.

We have to enter the real world eventually, and we must come to terms with the fact that we can’t all get what we want.

Applying to an internship in your academic field is better than wasting another summer waiting for your more successful friends to get out of work after you get off your part-time shift. Despite what it entails, putting any chances of a future advancement on the back-burner at this moment in time is the last thing you want to do.

Get started because the good internships are going to go fast.

Amanda Joinson is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].