Internships in Australia are calling your name, mate. Time to answer! ☆ Interning abroad is a growing travel trend that is opening international doors around the globe for students and young professionals. Why? With international work experience, you can seriously boost your resume while quenching your wanderlust at the same time. No longer do you need to choose between spending a gap year traveling the world and the “responsible” route of embarking early on your career path. You can have both at the same time!
Australia is a perfect destination to grow your resume and develop new skills!
If you’re going to intern abroad, why not take it to the extreme and jet off to the opposite side of the world for international internships! Australia is known for its cuddly koalas, surf culture, and Vegemite on toast – but the land of Oz has so much more to offer interns abroad. With top-notch internship programs and a laidback, multicultural environment, Australia is the perfect destination for internships abroad.
Here are GoAbroad’s top reasons to find internships in Australia, besides the gorgeous beaches and killer accents.
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9 reasons to find international internships in Australia
1. It’s an English-speaking country
While it can be exhilarating to travel to a foreign country where everything is new – the clothing, food, customs, and language – there is bound to be culture shock at some point during a long-term stay. Don’t underestimate the difficulty of traveling and working in a non-English speaking country! While it’s possible to travel on basic language knowledge, it will be close to impossible to land an internship without fluency in the local language.
One of the biggest reasons to choose internships in Australia is the native English language. There is something comforting about traveling to a country where you can speak the native tongue. This way, you’ll be able to fully embrace the lifestyle with internships in Australia without the struggle. And hey, those Aussies use enough slang to keep it interesting!
2. Heard of the working holiday visa program?
Most don’t think of the nitty gritty when planning to intern in Australia. In reality, organizing a visa can be tricky when planning international internships. Australia makes it easy for you by offering a working holiday visa program that targets young people who want to gain work experience while traveling through a foreign country.
Here’s the deal: if you’re in your 20s and hoping to intern in Australia, the working holiday visa allows you to come for one year to work, explore, and if you’re keen, you can even lend a hand at an Australian farm post-internship to earn a second year in the country. Internships in Australia for international students can help with the visa process. The application is simple, straightforward, and gives you a lot more freedom than work visas for other countries.
The convenience of internships in Australia is incomparable, and the best part is it’s simple to extend your stay!
3. There’s a ton of top-notch programs
If you’re going to embark on a life-changing adventure of interning abroad, you’ll want to make sure the placement service and preparation are spot on. Luckily, with internships in Australia, there are excellent programs available to arrange everything for you, from the visa and accommodation, to placements and travel plans. Sit back, relax, and let these world-renowned programs take care of the hard part for you:
IES Abroad organizes internship placements for students around the world. If you’re seeking internships in Australia for international students, IES can match you with your dream placement in iconic Sydney. Choose from part-time, full-time, or summer internships in Australia, where you can spend a couple months or an entire year interning within walking distance of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. IES programs include housing, too, so you’ll feel at home from the moment you arrive in Australia’s biggest city. —Read reviews of IES
API Abroad is another excellent program option for internships in Australia for international students. With internships available in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, and Melbourne, you can hit the east coast to intern in Australia amidst sunny beaches and big cities alike. This program will not only pair you with excellent internship opportunities, but will also include career development and cultural resources, so you can maximize both personal and professional growth while you intern in Australia. —Read reviews of API
Intern OZ is your go-to program for a variety of program options. Targeting students with previous work experience, Intern OZ finds internships in Australia in all industries with the aim of helping you fine-tune your skills. Whether you want to develop your marketing skills in Brisbane or talk politics in Canberra, Intern OZ has it all. Spend a semester gaining credits for university, or embark on summer internships in Australia. Either way, you’ll come out the other end with a high level of work experience in your industry of choice. —Read reviews of Intern OZ
The Intern Group collaborates with big companies and NGOs to arrange internships in Australia for international students. Here you can intern in Australia’s most livable city and capital of art, culture, and coffee: Melbourne. Wander through graffitied laneways, indulge in infinite flat whites, and raise your glasses to after-work drinks on one of the many rooftop bars overlooking the city. Whether you want to intern in publishing, fashion, technology, or finance, The Intern Group will make sure you get the most of your placement with a full calendar of events to balance work life. —Read reviews of The Intern Group
4. The nature is unreal
Whether you are a surfer, sun worshipper, avid hiker, or simply like to breathe fresh air and take in stunning views, the Land Down Under is heaven for international internships. Australia boasts rugged coastlines of white sand and gnarly waves, some of the world’s oldest rainforests, and natural wonders of the world, like Uluru.
Even the cities take on a unique form with iconic waterfronts and luscious botanical gardens. Interns can get a glimpse of greenery in the cities, or hike, bike, surf, climb, road trip, and camp through this country post-internship.
Interning in Australia means you can experience the natural beauty of the coastline for well-deserved work vacays!
Animal lovers will fall in love with internships in Australia, too. No matter where you intern in Australia, there will be plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with koalas, kangaroos, quokkas, wombats, and rainbow colored fish along the reef. Don’t forget to snap a selfie!
5. The diverse culture
They may speak English in Australia, but the cultural influence is diverse. Australian culture mixes its aboriginal roots with English influence, and throws in a dash of traditions that have been adopted by immigrants from around the world.
As an intern in Australia, you’ll be right at home in an international hotspot, surrounded by expats and travelers from nearly every continent. The variety of food, people, and languages screams cultural diversity that is unique to all others around the world.
6. A laidback work environment
To say Australians are friendly is an understatement. Perhaps it’s the influence of endless sunshine and surf culture, but Aussies are some of the most friendly, laidback, and welcoming people on the planet. Everyone’s your mate when you intern in Australia.
While every company is slightly different, there’s no doubt this down-to-earth attitude rubs off on the workplace. Sure, there will be internships in Australia that require a nice button-down and slacks, but it’s also not uncommon for more relaxed work settings to feature board shorts and bare feet.
The best part: Work schedules are predictable – in a good way. As an intern in Australia, you’ll be sure to wrap up no later than 6:00 p.m., so say goodbye to late nights in the office. You’ll be sure to have some free time to yourself so you can have some fun and explore your new city.
7. You’ll get a resume boost!
There’s no doubt internships look great on a CV, and international internships are even better. While there are heaps of countries to choose from, internships in Australia for international students are always impressive, whether you dedicate yourself to semester, year, or summer internships in Australia.
They show future employers you’ve literally worked on the opposite side of the world, and you’ll be more adaptable to whatever your future employer throws at you. And don’t forget about the international contacts! If you want to open doors to an international career, internships in Australia for international students are where it’s at.
Having interned while navigating a new city in Australia will give you a leg up in any field.
8. Find travel opportunities post-internship
Australia is one of the biggest backpacker destinations in the world, and deservingly so. Consider semester or summer internships in Australia, and you’ll have plenty of extra time on your working holiday visa to travel through this massive country.
After you intern in Australia, you can explore some of the other hotspots with an East Coast trip; snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, learn to surf in Byron Bay, hike the Daintree Rainforest, drive the Great Ocean Road. Head out west to ride camels and swim with whale sharks, stick to the cities to discover hole-in-the-wall cafes and trendy restaurants, or make it your mission to tick off every adventure on the Aussie Bucket List!
One of the best things about traveling Australia is how well adapted it is to travel by caravan. No matter what you decide to see or do after you intern in Australia, you’ll be able to live out your hippie dreams with an epic road trip.
9. A land far, far away...
An internship abroad is the perfect opportunity to break out of your comfort zone and travel to a new country for a new experience. If you’re from the US, or really anywhere in the northern hemisphere, the most common choice is to go to Europe for international internships.
Australia, on the other hand, really is a magical land far, far away. While it tends to be at the top of most travelers’ lists, it may not be as accessible once you have to balance work, family, and growing responsibilities.
Europe will always be there! Seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to intern in Australia and discover a beautiful country that won’t be as easy to explore once you enter the “real” world.
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Next steps to intern in Australia
Don't pack your sunblock juuuust yet. There are a few items on your internship to-do list you should check off first.
- Decide when to go. Give your calendar a good-hard look and figure out what time of year—and how long—you want to live in Australia as an intern.
- What type of internship do you want? There are plenty of different types of internships to be had in Australia—it's just a matter of YOU deciding which field of study/experience you want to pursue. Popular fields include business and tech.
- Choose from the best intern abroad programs in Australia. Pay attention to past participants’ reviews, program/job reputation, location, and your ease of getting settled. Some providers may even give you contact info for past interns if you want the REAL dirt. Here's more advice on how to find the perfect program provider for you. Pro tip: You can use MyGoAbroad to compare programs side-by-side.
- Plan your finances. Sort out your on-going funding before you go to afford daily essentials and travel splurges (in addition to program costs and airfare). Do your research to have an idea of how much your day-to-day life in Australia will cost, and get to work on learning how to pay for your international internship.
- Get prepared. Preparing to intern abroad is as fun as it sounds. With the days until departure dwindling and your excitement boiling, it can be easy to overlook the details. Lean on us to help guide you through your pre-departure process—that's what we're here for.
You’re ready for internships in Australia!
Now get ready to take on new skills and grow as an individual!
If you’ve always dreamed of interning abroad, or you’re just dying to see the world and looking for the best way to do it, look no further than internships in Australia for international students. Not only will you gain valuable experience that will ‘wow’ every future employer, but you’ll also have the opportunity to travel to a truly unique country that will excite you and feel like home at the same time. Intern in Australia for the flat whites, the beaches, the cuddly kangaroos, and the adventure of a lifetime. You won’t regret it!
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