What cultural differences affected your interactions with the citizens of the country? How did people in the country handle issues such as conflict, time management, encountering “foreigners”? What is their basic value system? What are the major differences in living, economic and political conditions for the average citizen in your internship country? More specifically, how are the people you meet on the streets every day likely to view someone who is an American citizen and/or who goes to school in the U.S
As my time in Dublin is rapidly coming to an end, I’ve reflected a lot on the difference in experience that an internship in Dublin vs. an internship back home would provide. Not only did this internship provide me with an new perspective on international business practices and how they differ from the way business is conducted back home, it provided me with a solid look at how working 9-5 Monday through Friday feels. There have been times at work where I’ve thought- this would never happen in a business back home (like the tradition of the last Friday of every month they bring in lunch complete with booze to the office) and times where I’ve thought that there really isn’t too much difference between America and Ireland’s business environments.
Overall I think one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from this internship is that business, office work, and a 9-5 Monday through Friday isn’t for me. I came into this program wanting to graduate and continue on to receive a PhD in industrial organizational psychology and work in the business sector of psychology. through out this summer I’ve come to realize that my personality is more suited to working hands on with people directly. Although it was very much on the back burner at the beginning of the summer, I was considering clinical psychology also. The more I’ve considered this path the more I feel like it fits what I want for myself professionally. So even though the internship experience is not directly relevant to my career path- I firmly believe that it was an invaluable step in deciding on how I want my career trajectory to continue. I was able to enjoy my internship experience and get the most out of it that I could by working hard and always asking for something new, while at the same time finding that I would be better suited in a different industry. I look forward to the research opportunities I have for the fall semester back at Pitt in hopes that they will solidify my decision to switch to clinical psychology.