During the past decade, it is not hard to notice the massive growth of international internship around the world.

These job opportunities abroad are widely accepted as it brings heaps of benefits.

In comparison to other places around the world, Asian countries top the ranks when it comes to being highly active in the field of internships, which is all led by the rapid development in Asian countries, such as China, South Korea, etc.

However, how could students decide on where would be a better option for their internship with such a huge variety to choose from? (read more).

You can now make your big decision by looking at the comparison of interning in Asia and interning at the rest of the world.

Before taking a closer look at the details, I have first divided the factors you should consider while choosing your internship into several segments.  

What Are You Actually Working For? (Work Scope)

First of all, I am sure the biggest fear of interns while working, is not being able to get a job that could help you to gain better knowledge or improve your skills in your desired business field.

There are many companies out there, which hire interns in order to use them for menial works that are irrelevant to the job.

Honestly, these are unavoidable tasks you will need to do during an internship , but it shouldn't be your main work scope.

However, there are many organizations nowadays that would help interns to create a personalized internship placement based on their backgrounds and requirements.

Interns are provided with opportunities to work on practical tasks in order to help them to improve their skills.

You will be able to get insight on the job you want in a similar setting, to learn if that's what you really want to do.

In Asian working environments, you'll get to receive help and support from your colleagues, as they are easier to reach out while facing problems in your job because they believe in achieving success through teamwork, which helps you to understand the job better and faster.

On the contrary, it is harder to approach colleagues in European working environment as most of them work independently.

The diversity in Asian workplace would also lead you to be a more dynamic person as you will need to multitask most of the time, especially in startup companies.

This will contribute to making your resume stand out from the rest of your peers who only have domestic experience.

Besides, there are a lot of companies in Asia that wish to get foreign employees to help develop their businesses internationally, so foreign interns are much appreciated and given more opportunity to propose a new idea and conduct projects based on that.

Interns will get the chance to access firsthand experience in the participation of the globalization market.

This is definitely something you could hardly experience in the rest of the world except Asia.

What kind of working environment will you experience? (Working environment)

The working nature in Asia is rather competitive, which makes it pretty common for staff to work overtime several days a month, especially during a busy period.

However, this working attitude in the Asia companies would help interns to build an aggressive character in striving for success on their career paths.

For example, many workers in South Korea work until late at night without getting any overtime allowance.

However, looking at two sides of the same coin, the working environment in Asia is much more friendly compared to other regions as they like to create a strong bond among the colleagues by having after work activities frequently, and interns are also included in these gatherings, which helps in creating a better connection and easier approach for interns to reach out while working in the office.

Also, it will be a great asset in the future for the intern as it will be valuable contacts to keep.

Even though there are colleagues' gatherings in the rest of the world too, the experience is definitely different as it is not just going to grab a beer together after work but to be able to create memories together.

For instance, our company created a Line group for the company staffs to interact not just for work discussion but also planning activities outside working hours, such as playing tennis together, or inviting others for a short weekend getaway, it sounds fun as it eliminates the rigid communication in the workplace.

In this way, Asian companies provide a platform where interns are able to voice out their opinion and getting valued since there is less tension in the relationships between colleagues.

Overall, Asians are less likely to speak out about their thoughts, so employers look forward to having foreigners, of whom are able to think differently and bring in fresh ideas.

Western cultures are known to be more straightforward, hence the criticizing might sounds hurtful sometimes, but Asian cultures promote politeness and harmony, which leads to avoiding conflicts and approaching the problem in a rather gentle way that is considered to be more encouraging for interns sometimes.

What Will You Gain From YOUR Internship IN ASIA? (Benefits)

If you are looking to earn money, an internship might not be the right choice for you, but if you are looking to gain something beyond that, it will be great to join an internship.

According to the internship survey conducted by InternMatch, students nowadays care about the possibility of career advancement through the internship.

One of the great benefits of internship in Asia is probably being able to participate in the current wave of globalization.

Asia has become a main spot for conducting international businesses, so internship in Asia could get you to participate in this important event and gain better prospects on current trends in your respective field and a better idea of future directions of your path if you tend to work in an international company.

Moreover, with the experience you gain from this internship, you would own a better resume, which leads to a better job offer in the future (read more).

Besides that, you would probably get to learn extra languages while interning in Asia even though you are only required to master English.

As Asia is a region packed with multicultural countries. For example, the 3 main ethnics in Malaysia is Malay, Chinese and Indian, so just by interning in this country, you'll get a chance to experience at least 3 different culture and to learn even more languages in your daily lives.

Furthermore, you get to travel while working during your internship, which is a great chance for you to explore new places.

For example, you don't just get to travel in Thailand while doing your internship in Thailand, but you could also travel to countries nearby such as Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, and other South East Asia countries.

The costs to travel around Asia is considered to be much cheaper compared to other regions as the living expenses here are on the lower end.

On top of that, interns could look forward to obtain full time employment after their internship, as companies would prefer to employ an experienced person more.

In conclusion, whether you choose to join internship in Asia or in other parts of the world, they all have their respective attractiveness, and it is your choice to find the one that fits your needs the most.

No matter what is the final decision, participating in an internship is all about gaining something useful for your future and creating a precious memory to keep for life.

In addition, the process of applying for an internship is getting more convenient now, so why not give it a try?

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What would be your ideal internship destination in Asia? We'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.

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