Doing an internship can be costly. Not only are you not working in your ordinary job, you may be paying for accommodation and meals which you may not ordinarily do. Just getting to “work” can be expensive if you aren’t used to paying fares.

To make your international internship dream come true you need to factor in costs for:

  • Airfares
  • Passport
  • Visas
  • Accommodation
  • Travel and Health Insurance
  • Living Expenses: food, utilities, transport
  • Working equipment such as phones, data plans etc.

Even if you receive financial assistance, if you are planning to do an international internship you will need to budget carefully to ensure that you can afford to spend time away from home.

Costs vary depending on your destination. As a guide, it is recommended that you budget at least AU$2,000 for accommodation and living expenses for each month you will be away.

In preparing for your international internship you should:

  • Apply in a timely manner for any financial assistance available through RMIT (the pot does empty, so if you leave it too late you may miss out).
  • Make sure that any government benefits you receive normally will continue (you may need some paperwork from the university explaining why you are away).
  • You may be eligible to add some of the cost of your internship to your HECs debt, but rules change frequently and you will need to talk to Global Mobility about the latest information.
  • You maybe eligible for help from the RMIT Equity Travel Grant scheme.

Featured Image: kawaiikiri via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA

Published by Alexandra Wake

Alexandra Wake has been a journalist for 30 years. Although initially trained in print, she has adapted to other technologies and now boasts a career spanning radio, television and on-line. Alex has worked in Ireland, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, as well as Australia. Alex worked for three newspapers: The Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, the Mackay Mercury and The Star (Ireland). Alex spent seven years working for the ABC in Queensland. She has spent time training working journalists at the South African Broadcasting Corporation and three years as a journalism educator at Dubai Women’s College in the United Arab Emirates. Alex also spent three years working as a senior media advisor for a Queensland government minister. Alex still tries to work as a broadcast journalist when her academic work allows. Alex completed her PhD at Deakin, MA (Research) at QUT, holds a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Learning from RMIT, and a Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults from Cambridge.

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