Internships are great. Not only because you can meet a lot of great people in the industry, but they are loads of fun. You're going to hear some people say, don't bother and get hours instead, but this industry is all about timing and who you know. There have been people with 2500 hours get a job before the next guy with 10,000 hours? How? A good internal recommendation. They look great on a resume. If you were on an interview panel for XJET, for example, looking at resumes, wouldn't the one that said, "XJET Intern" on it stick out at you? It shows that you were interested in the company and still are. Here's another example. CAL's online application system gives you an option to select a dropdown menu that includes "Intern" on it. Hmmm... wonder why? If I had the chance to do an internship for 3-4 months instead of busting my ass 12 hours a day as a CFII at $15 an hour, I'd probably do the internship. Especially when I'm getting college credit for it for very little $$$. You'll probably save more $$$ doing the internship than you'd make as a CFII in 3 months.