Doing two internships simultaneously?

Question

I need advice and I would appreciate your help.

I recently got accepted for two internships, both require me to work 20 hours a week, and am wondering, is it wise to accept both and work 40 hours a week as an intern for both companies, is that even possible?

I am interested in both to be honest and its hard for me to choose between them, yet I am afraid that doing both will be too much for me to handle.

On the other hand, if I work for both I can be in a more stable state (money wise) and it would help me a lot in paying my college funds (among other stuff).

I need some advice please?

Answer 1

Firstly, make sure that both employers are OK with you having other obligations, in general, and with the particular companies involved. Some contracts can come in the way of this.

Second, 20 hours a week is not necessarily only 20 hours. You might have to work overtime, and if two deadlines come up at once and you have to pull all-nighters for each... it's a difficult situation. If you're also in school at the same time, you'll have three times the headache (but in my experience, employers are more understanding about school obligations than other-work obligations).

Third, if you're still in school, it might be helpful to use your spare time brushing up programming skills outside of a work environment. Or, you can take more classes / summer classes to speed up graduation and save money that way.

In general, I'd recommend against it, especially from the get-go. If you start at one employer and find yourself with too much free time, that might be the time to start looking for more part-time work.

Answer 2

One of the first things you should consider is whether or not this is logistically possible. Have you asked your potential employers the hours that they want you present in their office? Due to things like mandatory meetings and other expectations it may not be feasible to have both jobs. Moreover, even if they have minimal overlap in terms of their scheduling needs, you must also consider things like travel time from one location to another and the availability of other employees to support your endeavors. Certainly as a new employee initially much of your time can be spent confirming best practices and such with others.