Internships Galore

Location: Budapest
September 2010
Adventure #32

It's a conundrum familiar to most 20-somethings: reconciling current jobs with future goals, which is how I ended up at this odd stage in my career: simultaneously being an intern and managing an intern.

This summer I began a marketing internship at a small, private Budapest space called the Ari Kupsus Gallery, which showcases antique furniture and contemporary art. My main motivation behind joining the gallery was to flesh out my graduate school application, because I am applying to a masters degree program in Arts Management, and I wanted more behind-the-scenes experience in the arts. Mainly, I am focusing on marketing, reaching out to the press and writing press releases - something I did this week. Now, my hardcore journalism peers would say I have crossed to the dark side, as we don't typically have too much respect for PR folks. For journalists, someone in PR is like a professional football player who got cut from the team, so instead of being in the huddle, he is now an announcer, passively commenting on the action and trying to score an interview with the players. I am not saying I agree with this summary, but I will try and maintain my true journalism force, even though I did enjoy writing pieces like this "About Us" section on the website.

While I am hoping that my unpaid intern days are coming to a close, they are just beginning for my new magazine intern. I was recently promoted to managing editor of my publication, which means I get to manage someone, who happens to be a nice college boy from a Hungarian school. I am certainly happy to have a native speaker who can do my arduous Magyar cold-calling, but I better not let him know that I am a mere intern myself in my other professional life. I don't want to lose my authority (if I even have it), or worse yet, show him early in his career that for those involved in media, unpaid opportunities never cease.