What to Do in the Summer of Second Year

This is particularly ideal if you'd like to do something in a creative industry, like me, or if you just haven't yet found an internship you're interested in. The idea might not come to mind straight away, but it usually allows you to get a more personal, tailored experience than a structured internship. For example, I emailed a philosophy magazine asking if I could come in for a few days to see how publishing a magazine works. From that I managed to have two days a week for a month with the magazine and even got my cover design published! While that's a very specific case, it’s the sort of thing that happens fairly often from just emailing and seeing what happens. In the email you should explain why you'd like to intern at that company specifically, and definitely attach a CV!

If you're not sure what you want to do, and you're not up for potentially unpaid work experience, then getting a summer job is a great idea. That way there’s another thing to put on your CV and you can earn some money to get you through the gap until your next student loan payment! If you didn't want to work the whole summer you could take a part time job, leaving yourself some time to enjoy the summer too.

If you don’t want to take time off after you graduate, then the summer of second year gives you the perfect opportunity to travel. No responsibilities, and a whole three/four months’ off seems like an idyllic way to spend the summer. Alternatively, you could work for some of it and go on holiday for the rest.

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I think there’s lot of pressure during the summer of second year. However, it's important to realize that there isn't as much of a rush as you think. Of course, it’s natural for panic to set in after you realize there is only one year left of university, but a year is still a long time. So give yourself a well-earned rest this summer, so you’re ready to take on your final year with a refreshed sense of energy and motivation.

There are of course lots of other ways to spend the summer, but these are the five most common I've come across. I hope this helps!