Do you want your resume to pop? Do you want to get in it—like, reeeally in it—and make a difference in grassroots organizations doing meaningful work in Africa? Do you want to grow your professional skills while also opening your eyes to a completely new way of living? And do you like sunset BBQs and anything rainbow?
Then seriously—you should intern in South Africa.
South Africa welcomes hardworking, focused young professionals to fill a variety of roles and projects from coast to coast. All it asks is that you come open and willing to learn—and ready to work hard. Here are just a few reasons why interning in South Africa is an experience not to be missed.
Why intern in South Africa?
1. There are plenty of cool places in South Africa to choose from.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that all of the Rainbow Nation is same-same. There are plenty of placements across the spectrum, from a more urban environment to getting far out in the sticks (really far out!).
The bell of the internship ball, Cape Town has a ton to offer—amazing access to nature, a progressive, hip vibe, dozens of high-quality internships. But there are plenty more options, from national parks to historic neighborhoods in Johannesburg or getting involved in community development projects in eastern Durban and the capital, Pretoria.
And that’s not even scratching the surface. To intern in South Africa is to sign up for a whirlwind of opportunity to explore, dig deeper, and feel enchanted by this oft-overlooked country.
2. You can intern in just about anything.
Want to work closely with big cats? Check out conservation internships in South Africa. Hoping to add some serious street cred to your resume to improve your chances of landing a big-wig business job after college? These business internships are worth checking out. Do you dream of becoming a doctor someday? Medical internships in South Africa, please!
Our round up of the best internships in South Africa shows that a handful of programs offer tailored placements in dozens more fields and specialties. Where there’s a will, there’s a way—and the perfect internship for you.
3. It’s not easy.
Not to sound too much like a heartwarming sports film from the 90s, but the hard is what makes it great!
Moving and living in South Africa will not be as easy as say, moving and living across your home country—or interning in a destination that is more similar to your home country. You might have less access to amenities you’ve grown accustomed to as “needs” and you might struggle with some of the language and cultural barriers. Perhaps you’ve never seen vagrant poverty up close and personal, which can be a beast to wrestle and work through. Maybe you’ve never thoughtfully considered how your fate is tied up in theirs.
Don’t let the media dictate how you view South Africa—it tends highlight the negatives rather than its thriving dynamism. Rather than getting your facts from major news organizations, take a chance and agree to see South Africa for yourself, in a way that the media doesn’t show.
4. It won’t break the bank.
Cost can be a big factor for upcoming interns abroad, especially since you might be wrestling with why you have to pay for your internship placement in the first place. Lucky for you, South Africa is a relatively affordable place for travel. At the time of writing, 1 USD was about 14 South African rand. A meal out will roughly cost you $4-7, a kilogram of apples will cost you $1, and a domestic beer will cost you less than $1. Since the dollar is favorable in South Africa, you can intern abroad on a budget pretty easily, and find affordable internships abroad, too.
5. There are so many good programs to choose from.
This isn’t the wild west of interning abroad. Dozens of established, reputable programs are at-the-ready to help make your time interning in South Africa goes as smoothly as possible—not to mention is as productive as possible! Organizations like VACorps and Connect-123 receive consistently high ratings and positive feedback from program participants, but you can’t go wrong GoEco’s unparalleled conservation opportunities or medical internships in South Africa from World Internships. Or, if you're aiming for a more social justice oriented internship, Kaya Responsible Travel will be a great fit for you.
Here are the cliff notes on what to look for when evaluating potential internships abroad:
- Happy alumni (read program reviews!)
- Great support systems in place for before, during, AND after your South Africa internship
- Customized internship placement that matches your goals—ideally they will coach you to establish S.M.A.R.T. ones before departure!
- Alumni services and support, including networking and other business opportunities
- A strong safety record
- A focus on reciprocity within South African communities
- Other perks, like supplied housing, social events, culture immersion activities, language classes (add “Xhosa” to your list of special skills!)
6. You’ll participate in different ways of living.
Life as an intern in South Africa will be far removed from your typical life on your college campus or in your daily commute back home. These differences are important and worth diving deeper into. Interning in South Africa will give you not only exposure to an entirely new culture, it will also give you a taste of different workplace environments and cultures. Lastly, it will give you a new lens with which to consider thoughtfully your home country’s culture.
The customs are different. The languages. What they serve for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What is appropriate professional attire. How your coworkers and managers get to work. How they relax after clocking out. Pay attention to your “new normal” and think more broadly about how this impacts your awareness of yourself as a global citizen and young professional.
7. You’ll grow professionally AND personally.
You know that little thing you call your comfort zone? It’s about to get pushed. Big time. SInce you’re being daring and venturing out of your bubble, you need to be prepared for some deep learning. Your reward for all this hard work? A wider comfort zone. You’ll feel more confident as you walk in the world, resilient and self-reliant. You’ll learn to leave the familiar and not feel scared. And you’ll feel ever-ready to continue pushing your comfort zone to its edge, with a renewed openness to the value these (sometimes tough) lessons can bring.
8. It’s good for the world.
Yes, you can read about South Africa. Yes, you can watch every Nelson Mandela documentary on Netflix. Yes, you can befriend that exchange student from Cape Town on campus. But none of these are really going to change your mindset—or your heartset (is that a word?)—about how real people live their lives here. No news story will give you the same experience, and if you are able to change your mindset through traveling and interning in South Africa, you’ll be much more likely to show compassion towards the world at large (not to mention more earnestness towards doing your part to make it a better place).
The reality pill might be tough to swallow, but it’s an important dose. There’s more to life than your daily routine back home. You realize how lucky you are to have things like running water, air conditioning, a car, dozens of choices when it comes to your late night cravings. All the little things we take for granted suddenly become more pronounced.
A heartfelt revelation that our differences should be celebrated and our basic rights fought bodes well for our collective future.
9. You’ll have a bomb resume.
Seriously.
Who doesn’t want to start their next interview with a quick yet potent anecdote from their time advancing women’s rights in a rural community? Or by demonstrating your cross-cultural communication skills vis-a-vis a project collaboration with your foreign manager?
[Why International Internships Are Great For You & Your CV]
Adding an internship in South Africa to your resume will make it instantly rise to the top of the pile!
Next steps to interning in South Africa
- Decide where to go. Somewhere advanced? Somewhere far flung and rural? What country is calling—and where will your skills be most useful? Pick a place!
- Decide when to go. Give your calendar a good-hard look and figure out what time of year—and how long—you want to participate in unpaid OR paid internships abroad in South Africa.
- Choose from the best intern abroad programs in South Africa. Pay attention to past participants’ reviews, program/job reputation, location, and your ease of getting settled. Some providers may even provide contact info for past interns if you want the REAL dirt. Here's more advice on how to find the perfect program provider for you. Pro tip: You can use MyGoAbroad to compare programs side-by-side.
- Plan your finances. Sort out your ongoing funding before you go to afford daily essentials and splurge in travel (in addition to program costs and airfare). Do your research to have an idea of how much your day-to-day life abroad will cost, and get to work on learning how to pay for your international internship.
- Get prepared. Preparing to intern abroad is as fun as it sounds. With the days til departure number dwindling and your excitement boiling, it can be easy to overlook the details. Lean on us to help guide you through your pre-departure process—that's what we're here for.
Improve your career prospects—intern in South Africa!
You're going to love life as an intern in South Africa. You won't just file paperwork or do coffee runs for big wigs. You'll get real, hands-on field experience that will help you learn more about your strengths and weaknesses in your career path of choice. You'll walk away a more grounded, self-aware world citizen, eager to continue putting your skills to good use for our global community. And you'll probably have a really good tan too.
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