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As the former seat of the British Empire, England has a fascinating history and a profound global influence that continues to this day. As England’s capital city and a global hub for a plethora of industries, including finance, marketing, theater, media, and more, London is the perfect place to network and launch your career in a wide range of fields. AIFS Abroad offers Full-Time Internship and Study + Internship programs in London, allowing college students and recent graduates to gain professional experience and network overseas in a booming global business center. Want to learn what it’s really like to intern abroad in England, particularly in London?
Hear from four pre-professionals who did an intern abroad program in London, England with AIFS Abroad!
Kate: Theater Internship in London
Meet Kate, a theater major from Northwestern University who did a full-time internship program in London during the summer before her junior year.
As someone studying theater who wanted to gain real-world industry experience, London was an ideal option to intern abroad, as she explains:
“I was really struggling to decide between London [and] Dublin. But London is such a theater capital that I figured it’d be the best of the three to really get to make the most of my theater internship.”
As Kate explains, one of the reasons she opted to intern abroad, rather than study abroad, was so she would have more free time to explore London and beyond:
“The reason why I decided to do an internship over doing a study abroad [program]… is that I don’t have to do things like homework: I can… do my internship and then have the rest of the day and the weekends for myself. I’m not worried about final projects, homework, [or] getting things in… I wanted this summer to be about… getting work experience and seeing what working professionally in theater looks like, but also just having the chance to be a human being outside of school before I graduate from college.”
London is a big city, so it’s natural to worry about getting around, especially if you’re not used to taking the subway, or “tube,” as they call it in England. But as Kate said, navigating the public transportation in London is a breeze:
“Google Maps has been [helpful]. The public transportation system is also great, I don’t think I’ve really had much trouble at all getting from place to place, even if I’ve never been there before.”
Julia: Marketing Internship in London
Julia, a marketing major from the University of Central Florida, did a summer internship program in London.
Below, provides some details about her host company, her role at her marketing internship, and her schedule:
“I’m doing my internship in marketing for a company [that offers baking experiences]. It’s really fun, and day to day, I just find influencers, make some sheets, find fun things, and film content—it’s the best.
I work from about 9 to 5 every day. And then on the weekends I’m free, and then even after work it’s fun to go out with my friends to get dinner. There’s a lot of free time, and then [I can] take a couple of days off if [I] need to.”
As Julia says, the internship is more than just building her resume, it’s allowing her to narrow down what she wants to do in the future:
“I definitely know that I am growing professionally and it’s going to help me in the future. I am learning what I actually like and what I don’t particularly care for in the field, and it’s so great, and I’m just getting so much experience, it’s amazing.”
Hear Julia explain how easy it was to make friends during her program in London, despite some initial pre-arrival nerves:
“It was super easy to make friends. I was a little nervous going into it, but it was so easy. I came to my flat and I met my roommates, and then I met my co-workers, and then I met everyone else in the program. It was super fun, and we all clicked right away. It’s been great.”
Housing is a major consideration for many college students and recent graduates who want to intern abroad. Fortunately, all AIFS Abroad programs include safe and central housing that is secure and never too far from the city center or your internship/university campus. Hear Julia describe the AIFS Abroad housing in London:
“So housing was a really big concern for me, because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be safe, if I was going to have my privacy, all that stuff. But I feel so comfortable here, it’s in a good place where I can walk to the tube station, then walk to the market. And then there’s a lot of security to get in and out of the building, which is great. I have four flatmates, so there are five of us in total, and we all share a living room, kitchen area, and fridge. And then I have my own room, my own bathroom, and it’s just very great.”
Jay: Video Editing Internship in London
Meet Jay from Salisbury University, who did a video editing internship in London as a second-semester senior. “[It’s] a perfect segue into the working world,” he said of interning abroad during his final semester of college.
As Jay explained, the first thing he’d do after commuting to his internship office was take advantage of the on-site kitchen:
“We have the luxury of having a full kitchen [in our office], so I like to get here 15 minutes early to make some breakfast.”
After eating a good breakfast, Jay would dive into his video editing tasks, which he details below:
“So as an intern here at [my host company], my job is a video editor, which basically means that I have to source content on the internet to make videos [from] and then make quick little three-minute clips of them after I script them and put them out onto our different social media platforms. As an intern, I’m testing the waters in all the different fields that we make content for.”
Listen to Jay’s internship supervisor provide more insight into Jay’s role on the video content team:
“As a part of our team, we create video content for one of the top five most viewed media publishers in the world online. Jay’s role as an intern: he creates videos day to day and puts them out across our communities, which make up about 80 million followers.”
Keira: Study + Internship in London
Keira from the University of Pittsburgh did a Study + Internship program in London during the fall semester of her junior year. These unique programs combine a part-time internship with a traditional study abroad experience—offering the best of both worlds.
Want to know what a Study + Internship program in London actually looks like? Keira provides more details about her internship below:
“I [intern] about three days a week, Mondays, Tuesday morning, and Thursday morning (depending on the week)… I get to work in Notting Hill a lot [and] South Kensington—places I really love in London, that make me really happy to walk around. It’s gorgeous in fall… and the people [at my host company] are really sweet. [My host company] is a non-profit. I work in the activities and events sector, so I help with activities and events that help combat loneliness in people over the age of 55, promote physical activity, and really just make sure people have a really good time…”
In addition to her part-time non-profit internship, Keira also took classes, which she describes below:
“My Tuesday afternoon class is called Bibliotherapy: The Art of Reading, and it’s by far one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken. We’ve looked at how reading makes you healthy—both mentally and emotionally… I’m also taking British Life and Culture… And on Thursday afternoon, I have a film class, where we look at London through film lenses.”
Ever since watching Doctor Who as a child, Keira knew she wanted to live in London. Below, she explains some of her favorite things about the city:
“I love the parks in London… we actually walk through Hyde Park a lot to get to and from class, and it’s gorgeous… I love the free museums… but I think my favorite part was just getting to meet new people and [have] new experiences. I really feel at home, which is something I didn’t think I would say by the end of this, but I really do.”
In addition to earning college credit and gaining valuable professional experience, Keira said that this program helped her make a decision about graduate school:
“I would really like to do grad school in London. One of the programs I’m looking at is actually located five minutes down the road from where I’m living. So, I decided this would be a trial run to see if I could handle living in London, if I enjoyed myself, [and] if I could handle being this far away from my family for a long period of time. I’m really loving it, so I think [this program] did solidify my choice.”
Discover all England has to offer—intern abroad in London with AIFS Abroad like these students and young professionals did!
AIFS Abroad offers many exciting internship programs in London, each tailored to help you meet your personal and professional goals. A global hub for a wide range of industries, an internship in London, England, offers the chance to advance your career in a city brimming with professional opportunities. Whether you intern abroad in England or elsewhere, go with AIFS Abroad and take advantage of our valuable program inclusions (which really take the stress out of planning!), such as housing, trips and excursions, social and cultural activities, 24/7 emergency support, integrated career readiness, and the support of our trusted on-site staff.
