An internship provides several benefits over waiting until graduation to work in IT. It allows you to discover if you truly want to pursue a given career by exposing you to different positions. Through an internship, you learn practical skills not taught in school, such as appropriate business communication, and gain experience using real work tools. Internships also provide a critical look at how quickly technology changes compared to academic programs and help determine if large or small companies are a better fit. Overall, internships are recommended as the best way to prepare for and launch an IT career.