The world around is changing – and no one believes otherwise. Technologies invented a decade or so ago are already being forgotten and every day we are pushing the boundaries a little further. Over the last few years at ECA Internships we are seeing a swift shift in the type of internship opportunities that our hosts are requesting. 4 years ago, over 50% of all internships on our portal were related to marketing, finance and accounting. Now 42% of all internships posted on our portal revolve around data science, data analytics, cyber security, cloud native architecture and other new age technology related roles.
This is quite a significant shift – from 0 requests on a few of these roles just 5 years ago to 42% of all internships! Another puzzler is that when we talk to new companies, they tell us about how finding talent to fill up these positions is becoming a challenge due to the lack of availability. This is a perfect setting for students looking to pursue a career in data science, analytics, cybersecurity and even blockchain – as the number of opportunities are plenty, the pay is lucrative and there is demand for quality talent.
Do you still don’t believe us? Did you know just 10 years back – the concept of Instagram Influencers was unknown. There were 0 influencers on Instagram and do you know why – because Instagram was launched in October 2010! Social Media Manager, another profile that many are recruited as did not exist 10 years ago – well Facebook only had about 400 million users in 2010. That’s how fast things are changing. So, when we say cybersecurity will become one of the most lucrative careers in the next few years – we are not just guessing.
A cyber-attack can disrupt a traditional computer system by manipulating the software or erasing data, but the physical computer is still intact, and with various degree of efforts, the software and the data can be restored. But a cyber physical system, can be destroyed – that is, made to explode. Repairing or replacing such a system can take weeks or even months. Especially if many are destroyed at the same time, since spare systems and parts are usually scarce and often custom manufactured. As we move ahead and the good guys get better, the bad guys will get worse. Cyber security roles across sectors are bound to become a norm. Every company will need a cyber security professional if not a team on their payroll. Today, we can count the number of companies with a cyber security department.
Recently, we had compiled a list of all the skills that will be in-demand in 2021, while compiling that list too we saw compelling data to suggest that the field of data science, UI/UX, cloud architecture, cyber security will see a boom. That article was published in January 2021 and since then 73% of all the new internship opportunities uploaded on our portal by our host companies have revolved around the above-mentioned skills.
One of the main challenges many students face is that frontline colleges do not offer these subjects as a part of their core curriculum hence students sometimes feel that they do not have the required background to apply for these positions, however, that is the beauty of an internship. You can have little knowledge of the subject yet secure an internship and learn at the job.
ECA (Education Centre of Australia) Internships is a proudly Australian Internship Management and student employability program aimed at international students. Our programs and services are specifically designed to assist students with the transition from classroom to the workforce. We manage internship programs for a variety of Universities and Higher Education providers with the aim to increase employability after graduation. ECA Internships offer a variety of solutions designed to optimise career opportunities for students in a variety of industries.
In this article, we share with you the story of an ECA professional year student who went from being a fresh graduate to becoming part of an award-winning App development team.
Starting the journey with ECA and Elegant Media
After finishing her masters of business (IT) at RMIT in 2019, Tina Chim was looking for a way to break into the industry. This was when she came across ECA’s professional year program, and she instantly felt the professional year program being offered by ECA was a perfect fit for her.
Tina began her professional year at the start of 2020, and after finishing her initial certifications and programs, it was time for her to start the process of getting an internship. “The ECA professional year takes you through a step-by-step process for getting the internship that will work best for you, which was great,” says Tina.
Even though she was applying for an internship during one of the worst economic periods of the century, she was offered an internship with Elegant Media, one of the leading App development companies in Australia.
From internship to employee
Tina’s time as an intern at Elegant Media was marked with a steep learning curve. “There were multiple areas of the business that I got to work in. I was working with real projects, which pushed me to learn a lot in a short period of time. It was an excellent opportunity to understand and grow in the industry.”
Tina excelled during the internship, was a good fit with the company environment and a few months after finishing the internship, she was offered a full-time position at Elegant Media.
She feels she was offered a job at the company because of her work ethic and because of how well she jelled within the company.
“Being offered an internship and then a job in a year like 2020 was a blessing, I was very happy when I got hired.”
The best part of ECA professional year and becoming a project manager
“Based on my personal experience, the tutor I had at ECA was very passionate about what he was teaching. The tutor ended up making the course extremely interesting and I think that really helped in pushing me to learn more during my professional year.”
The professional year program presented Tina with the opportunity of an internship and she feels it was invaluable in her journey to becoming a Project Manager in an award-winning app development team at Elegant Media.
“The best part about working as a project manager with an App developer is the fact that I am constantly learning. No two days are the same; I get to work on different projects with different clients, and I enjoy this process of learning and adapting to different project needs.”
Future plans and advice to new interns
“I have had the opportunity to work with the new interns that came to work with us this year and it was a very humbling experience. I still have a lot to learn, but while talking to them I also realised how much I have learnt in the last year.”
I plan on growing as a project manager and becoming better at coordinating and handling a team. At Elegant Media, we are always pushing the boundaries of innovation and efficiency and I plan to play a key role in our companies success over the coming years.
I would advise all students thinking of doing a professional year program to not underestimate the connections they can make and the things they can learn during this year. You never know where the professional year can take you.
ECA Internships have helped over 7500 students with internships at their 500+ host companies. Over 65% of our interns get hired in the same sector they intern in.Connect with an ECA expert to being your journey.
The Professional Internship Program (PIP) by ECA Internships is designed to help students bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world industry experience. Offered across a wide range of fields such as cybersecurity, cloud, data science, DevOps, software development, and other areas of information technology, the program enables students to sharpen their existing skills and gain valuable hands-on training.
Throughout the internship journey, each student is supported by ECA’s dedicated placement experts to ensure they are guided and well-prepared for success in their chosen career path.
Earvlin Loong – Accounting Intern My internship was both fun and a professional learning experience. The internship was amazing and provided me with invaluable exposure and helped me gain real world experience in Australia. I was given a project responsibility during my internship which enabled me to contribute to the company whilst learning many new skill.
The Professional Internship Program (PIP) by ECA Internships is designed to help students bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world industry experience. Offered across a wide range of fields such as cybersecurity, cloud, data science, DevOps, software development, and other areas of information technology, the program enables students to sharpen their existing skills and gain valuable hands-on training.
Throughout the internship journey, each student is supported by ECA’s dedicated placement experts to ensure they are guided and well-prepared for success in their chosen career path.
o qualify for the program, you must meet the following minimum requirements:
Be over the age of 18
IELTS of 6.0 or a PTE score of 50+ OR enrolled in an ELSIS course at ECA* OR have completed year 12 studies with English as the language of instruction.
Either enrolled or have completed an Advanced Diploma OR have an equivalent qualification of AQF 6 or above.
You’re an Australian/ NZ Citizen or Permanent Resident or able to obtain a suitable visa with work rights. Student visa holders (subclass 500) are also eligible.
Be available for a minimum 2 days a week for a placement of 10 to 12 weeks. The work hours are approximately 10- 20 hours each week.
Other factors such as Universal Cognitive Aptitude Test scores are also used as part of the evaluation process. ECA Internships’ decision on eligibility and acceptance is final and binding.
To qualify for the program, you must meet the following minimum requirements:
Be over the age of 18
IELTS of 6.0 or a PTE score of 50+ OR enrolled in an ELSIS course at ECA* OR have completed year 12 studies with English as the language of instruction.
Either enrolled or have completed an Advanced Diploma OR have an equivalent qualification of AQF 6 or above.
You’re an Australian/ NZ Citizen or Permanent Resident or able to obtain a suitable visa with work rights. Student visa holders (subclass 500) are also eligible.
Be available for a minimum 2 days a week for a placement of 10 to 12 weeks. The work hours are approximately 10- 20 hours each week.
Other factors such as Universal Cognitive Aptitude Test scores are also used as part of the evaluation process. ECA Internships’ decision on eligibility and acceptance is final and binding.
About ECA
At ECA Internships we have placed over 7500 students at 500+ companies over the years. Our programs and services are specifically designed to assist students with the transition from classroom to the workforce. ECA experts guide you through the entire journey and help you at every step – from polishing your resume to getting you hands-on experience in the industry of your choice to a full-time career.
Ho Jin Shin – Information Technology Intern Professional development is an extremely important way to get ahead. My internship work experience with ECA helped me grow in confidence, communication skills as well as helped me learn a great deal about the IT industry. I feel the experience will definitely be a stepping stone to my employment and information technology career in the near future.
“My ECA Internship experience allowed me to apply my theoretical accounting into Practice at Seen technologies. I have also gained a deeper insight into how companies operate. I have also learnt how to deal with issues and challenges and learnt problem solving skills that I have found to be extremely important in the workplace. An internship allows you to gain insight into your soft skill competency areas as well.” – Yu-Chi Huang Currently working full-time in an accounting role at Seen technologies
Fill the form to download the brochure and connect with an ECA expert to begin your journey towards a fruitful and successful career.
LinkedIn recently released a list of most in-demand jobs in 2021 and we wanted to focus on the skills undergraduate students can master in order to be recruited for these roles. We are living in uncertain times, the pandemic has had an impact on the way companies are recruiting – with many positions that earlier required one to be physically present turning remote, companies are getting applicants from around the world – thereby tremendously increasing competition. Acquiring key skills that companies are on the look for and completing multiple internships during your time at college are no longer a choice for the driven but a must for all.
Most In-demand Skills to Master in 2021
Digital Marketing Skills: Digital Marketing roles saw a rise of 33% year-on-year and was the fastest growing space of all! 94% of all hires had a bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer applications or came from a business studies background. Recruiters seem to prefer students with basic coding knowledge.
The below skills along with basic requirements for the position will enhance your recruitment chances and give you an edge
Specialized Engineering Skills: Hiring for these roles grew by 25% year-on-year. There was a time when engineering meant civil, mechanical or electrical but the truth is many of the roles engineering students are being recruited for do not require them to have an engineering degree rather recruiters are looking for some very specific skill set! Jobs in the field of game development, web development, Front end developers are seeing the most growth.
The below skills are being looked at by recruiters –
User Experience Professionals: Hiring in this space grew by 20% year-on-year. These roles over the last few years have combined design thinking and technology. More and more students interested in design are now learning programming skills and students with a background in coding are acquiring key designing skills. Jobs like User Experience Designer, Product Design Consultant, User Interface Designer, User Experience Researcher have an incredible demand.
Skills that recruiters are looking for in this space are
As you can see many of the skills the most in-demand jobs of 2021 require are yet not fully taught in colleges. Very few courses focus on interface design, web design or train you to become a full stack developer. In the past few years, we have seen several students opting for certification programs to upskill and become more recruitable. However, many of these programs & program providers aren’t recognized by recruiters and do not help you stand out – students who have completed several of these certifications find themselves without a job after graduating. If you are looking for a program that can propel you career – check our ECA Internship’s Professional Job Guarantee Program. The guarantee means you get the job you deserve or you don’t pay!
Download Professional Job Guarantee Prospectus
While skilling up is important to improve your chances of being recruited one sure fire way to get noticed is to have work experience. Completing multiple internships at both mid-level and large organization gets you much needed real-world experience and helps you to attain new skills. Internships are great way to get noticed by the company that recruited you and other companies in the industry. At ECA Internships we have seen that over 65% of interns we place secure a job at the company they interned at or in the same industry. While the coming years might be tough to secure a full-time position for many it doesn’t need to be that way for you – act now.
Fill the form to get early access to new internship positions available on ECA Internships. With over 500 companies recruiting from our platform, we have new opportunities every day. Click here to fill the form.
Internships are often thought as one of the first steps when collecting “real-world” experience, encounters, and environments. An internship can be a great portfolio enhancer, provide learning lessons for students, and allow for the “application” process of academic studies to be utilized. At ECA Internships, our goal is to assist students looking to transition from academic studies to corporate settings.
“Cybersecurity” internships are not the most common types of positions offered in the corporate industry due to its requirement of skill specialties, a risk of breaching company confidentiality, and the specific requirements needed when being a security intern.
In addition to the scarcity of internships offered overall, the competition is intense with individuals competing against talented, skilled, and advanced students all around the nation/world.
Types of Cybersecurity Internships
There are five main types of cybersecurity internships offered to students. These five types of internships can be broken down into multiple sub-internship positions. Keep this idea in mind when applying for a security intern position and building your resume.
Cybersecurity Analyst: As an analyst you will support a team of people to identify and assess the capabilities, activities, and logs of an adversary. You will be expected to collect, analyze, process, and disseminate cyber alerts or threats while assessing the network for any potential alerts. In addition to monitoring the network, an analyst intern is responsible for incorporating security policies, implementing security awareness, and establishing a plan to combat potential threats.
Security Assurance: Perform gap analysis of existing controls/regulations. As an intern you will compile and record controls for compliance while working with additional business units to catch and quickly mitigate potential security risks. An intern could also assist in publishing risk reports, conducting a risk assessment, creating/collecting required documentation, and configure reports/user account management.
Application Security: Assist and perform in activities such as penetration testing to review internal applications of an enterprise. Highlight any vulnerabilities to remediate efforts or develop new automations to harden system applications. Gain an understanding and participate in the secure software development lifecycle. Provide viable feedback and input for an organization to improve the overall security of a system. Follow and demonstrate an understanding of the penetration testing methodologies laid out through specific standards. Probe and scan for vulnerabilities in client and standard applications.
Security Management: Assist in the creation and review of policy documentation, develop additional security awareness training materials while supporting any additional problems with the training. Help the security management team in activities associated with security awareness and risk compliance. Create news articles, communication emails, and deployment of security products. Develop and procure business continuity and recovery procedures. Research and recommend overall security upgrades to an enterprise’s network.
Network Management: Participate in the development/deployment of computer networks with a overall “security” in mind. Integrate and administer a network regarding switches, routers, firewalls, and network security appliance management. Respond and remediate security alerts regarding the network. Identify, implement, review, create, and define requirements for information security. Notify and alert other teams when system alerts have appeared. Reduce and remediate the efforts in false positives.
Building your resume
The ideal cybersecurity candidate has a mixture of technical and soft skills.
On the technical side, most employers want proof that you are:
Grounded in IT fundamentals: e.g. networking, systems administration, database management, web applications, etc.
Versed in day-to-day operations: e.g. physical security, networks, server equipment, enterprise storage, users, applications, etc.
For soft skills, they’re looking for candidates who:
Know how to communicate with non-IT colleagues and work in a team
Understand business procedures & processes
Love to solve complex puzzles and unpick problems
How to Gain Practical Cybersecurity Experience
Self-Directed Learning
Teach yourself to code. (Experts recommend this again and again.)
Build your own computer and security lab using old PCs, your own wireless router with firewall, network switch, etc. Practice securing the computer and network, then try hacking it.
Create an open-source project.
Participate in cybersecurity contests and training games. e.g. Wargames, Capture the Flag competitions (CTFs), etc.
Look for vulnerabilities on open-source projects and sites with bug bounties. Document your work and findings.
Guided Training
Pair your cybersecurity certification exams with side projects that utilize the same skills.
Offer to help your professor or employer with security-related tasks.
Take free online cybersecurity Programs and Pre-assessment tests.
Invest in training courses over and above your degree.
Networking and Volunteering
Join LinkedIn groups, professional networks and security organizations.
Attend local security group meetings and events.
Collaborate with a team (at work or in school) on a cybersecurity project.
Volunteer at IT and cybersecurity conferences.
Volunteer to do IT security work for a non-profit or charity.
Further Steps
Read IT and security magazines/news sites and blogs.
Bookmark useful cybersecurity websites.
Keep tabs on cybersecurity message boards like Information Security Stack Exchange.
Run a background check on yourself to see if there are any existing red flags, then determine what you can do to address them. Security is a sensitive field and employers are looking for ethical candidates.
Tina’s time as an intern at Elegant Media was marked with a steep learning curve. “There were multiple areas of the business that I got to work in. I was working with real projects, which pushed me to learn a lot in a short period of time. It was an excellent opportunity to understand and grow in the industry.”
