Is the AIESEC internship worth it? Is it reliable? Is it a scam? I made 4 international internships through this organization – in India, Egypt, Serbia, and Ukraine – and I went through all the ups and downs that an exchange experience can offer. In this post, I list the essential points that you should consider if you are thinking of traveling by AIESEC.
As I also worked at AIESEC as a member of the Florianópolis local committee in Brazil and I was part of the national support team for AIESEC in Mozambique, I have no right to speak badly of the organization. I am forever grateful for the experiences, for the discussions about culture shock, and for meeting people from all corners of the world, including those who have become my friends. Today, as an alumnus, I am not aware of how the management is doing and what goes on within AIESEC, but I will emphasize in this post the management of expectations that are created both by the committees and by those interested in doing an internship.
Speaking of expectations when traveling off the beaten path, as is often the case at AIESEC, the experiences of travelers, exchange students and anyone else who ends up in these places tend more to resemble Chuck Thompson’s hilarious descriptions in the books To Hellholes and Back : Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism and Smile When You’re Lying than any romantic stories about changing the world. These 2 books are indispensable for any traveler planning adventures around the world and tourism professionals.
Looking beyond the financial cost
Firstly, I recommend looking beyond the financial cost if you are considering an AIESEC internship. I understand that you are looking for cheap exchange options and agency prices tend to be high for students on a tight budget, I have been in this situation. The price is not the only aspect in the case of AIESEC, the exchange can work out or go wrong, there are many things at stake that are beyond your control and of the local committee that receives you, even with the help of seriously dedicated members. . You save your hard-earned money, make raffles and kitties, borrow money, and … you arrive at your destination and discover that the project you applied for does not exist. It makes you angry just to think, right? In two months in India, I could no longer count how many people I saw in this situation and the project I would work on in Egypt was a scam, too. The cost of living in the country can be cheap, accommodation can be included during the project or not, a visa may be necessary plus costs with bureaucracies, and the ticket can be expensive, among other issues to note. If you do not take all of this into account when planning the internship, it can be financially inexpensive but generate a lot of frustration.
AIESEC is run by students
AIESEC is run by students who work voluntarily and receive nothing for the time dedicated to the organization, being in your country so as in the other countries where it is present; except members of the national committee and the international committee who receive something equivalent to a trainee’s salary, at most. So, don’t expect an exchange agency service or anything like that. There are more and fewer committed members, as well as absent members. There are poorly managed AIESEC committees while there are committees with better management than many companies out there. There are countries where AIESEC works well and there are countries where committees only count the number of exchange students arriving, there are ghost projects, and there are members using AIESEC for parties and hooking up with foreign girls, especially in countries where contact between men and women is very restricted. And there are also interns who mess up everything. All of this has to be taken into account.
AIESEC is not an exchange agency
The international internship is probably the most renowned product of AIESEC, however, the organization functions as a platform for leadership experiences. I understand that you may only be interested in doing an internship abroad, traveling cheaply, or going to a particular country. But AIESEC is not just about an internship, it is not limited to a local committee, it is a global movement present in some 120 countries, at least. Like everything in this world, it is a matter of knowing how to use the opportunities around you, from meeting people with common interests in other countries to joining interesting events.
The country where you go to
Most of the countries where AIESEC operates are outside the traditional international exchange routes: the USA, Canada, Ireland, England, Australia, and New Zealand; South Africa is an exotic destination for agencies. AIESEC goes totally off-road and for those who are doing an internship abroad for the first time or have little international experience, it’s about internships in the third world or underdeveloped countries, as you prefer to understand. Bear in mind that an internship in countries like India, Russia, or Colombia has nothing to do with a work experience in the USA or backpacking through Western Europe.
Although there is much more information available today than in the time I was doing internships, countries outside traditional tourist routes challenge even travel agencies accustomed to these types of itineraries. Finding trusted partners, confusing visa regimes, stupid laws and bureaucracies, security and criminality issues, corruption, scams, and the cultural shocks that already give a lot to talk about by themselves. Most third-world countries are not for relaxing holidays, except in resorts and tourist bubbles. They are destinations for those looking for adventure and are open to dealing with discomfort, either due to the circumstances of your destination or due to cultural differences, and any unforeseen events that occur along the way.
Why this country? Why this internship?
For me, these are the most important questions to ask those who want an AIESEC internship. I went to India and the other countries where I did my exchanges (Egypt, Serbia, and Ukraine) because I was looking for experiences in countries with similar and worse circumstances than Brazil. Why? Because the majority of the world population lives under such circumstances and understanding the realities of India, Eastern Europe, and the Arab world matches my goal of working on global projects. A Harvard degree does not show anyone what life really is like outside the first world, nor the challenges of dealing with corruption, crime, poor infrastructure, political and economic instability, etc. And what is your reason for choosing a particular country? Keeping in mind your reason to go and planning what you are going to do in your guest country is essential to enjoy your internship in the best possible way. I cannot recommend India for a fancy girl who cannot see dust, for example, nor an Arab country for an effeminate boy.
Access to people who have joined similar international experiences
One of the greatest benefits of AIESEC, if well-used, is the contact with people who have had international experiences similar to yours, as well as the challenges of adapting to the old routine after the internship. Anyone who has done an internship abroad knows the challenge of returning to the home country as another person after an intense experience, you literally change and your horizons expand, and the people around you will not understand your difficulties in adapting to your old routine. Ah, but it is a two or three-month internship… They are short experiences, but very intense. Two or three months in countries like India, Egypt, and Kenya are much more intense than two years living in a country like Switzerland; what I can confirm from my own experience, maybe I’ll write an article about it.
I hope I have given an orientation to anyone who is planning an internship. AIESEC members, especially VPs, can have an inflated ego and push the goals beyond what the organization can really handle. Many of the frustrating experiences that I have seen and heard about could have been avoided if there were a frank conversation and an alignment of expectations. Even for premium travel agencies and publishers that publish world-renowned travel guides, organizing all the logistics for a third-world country is a big challenge, so an organization run by student volunteers, with high member turnover, must go down to earth about its limitations.
Originally posted 2021-01-07 03:23:08.
