[miguelrios]

Wow... you just explained my experience at Twitter. I went from being a future PhD looking for a fun summer to someone who forgot about grad school and wanted to stay creating "real" stuff in 4th and Folsom for ever.

Suffice it to say, I ended my internship, left grad school (including a fellowship by Google via GEM) and stayed at Twitter.

Get an internship, it can change (or confirm) your vision about a career and your future in general.

[sabj]

Great to hear Miguel, sorry we never got to really catch a proper meal together last summer... (can you guess who this is? ;) )

Let me know if you are out NYC / Boston way.

To chime on on this subject: Several internships at Google have offered tremendous learning experiences and network-building opportunities, and the subtleties picked up by immersion in the communities around the SF Bay area - or wherever you might fight yourself - are truly valuable. Internships are great, if you are a student reading this - go forth!

[EnderMB]

I felt exactly the same way after my internships. I was dead set on getting either my Masters or my PhD and after two internships at small businesses in my home city work felt like a holiday compared to more university.