Internship or Study Abroad?

Question

I am a college freshman right now, but in another year I will be preparing to study off campus and I am faced with a tough decision. I have a couple of career interests, but one is working for a Federal agency. I study criminology/international relations.

One option is to go to Dubai and focus on Middle Eastern studies, which may include courses in Arabic, Islam and such topics.

On the other hand, I could do an internship in Washington DC with a government agency. I could also take the internship abroad to London.

I want to go abroad no matter what, but I think going to Dubai may look more impressive than London. Plus I don't know if an internship with an agency would be enough experience for them to hire me after I graduate, no matter how well I did.

It is also possible for me to get a scholarship to go to Dubai from the Clinton Foundation, so there is another incentive to try that.

Anybody have any advice?

Answer 1

Ooh, this is such an interesting question. I'm on the exact same page as you (except I'm a sophmore and I focus more on Asia than Middle East).

What I'm doing (as of right now) is studying abroad in Japan and interning with an embassy while over there. I would advise to do the same thing. Go to Dubais and find an intership over there.

Also, four years goes by fast so make sure you plan ahead for everything!

If you still want to intern, you can do Inside Washington. It's an intern experience in DC over the summer. I'll (hopefully) be doing it soon and I've heard nothing but great things about it.

The london internship looks cool and you'd have a great time, but if you're doing Middle Eastern studies you want to go over there and talk to natives yourself.

It'll be an eye-opening experience and one you'll never forget!!

Answer 2

I say you do both if possible. Dubai sounds more interesting