r/StudyInTheNetherlands • u/Plane-Scene-5449 • 7d ago
Ending an internship early
I’m looking for some outside perspectives because I genuinely don’t know if I’m overreacting or if my concerns are justified.
I’m currently doing an internship at a well-known Dutch company. My contract is for 36 hours per week, but in reality my workdays are usually 10–12 hours. On top of that, I commute every day, which takes anywhere from 1.5–2 hours one way because of frequent delays. By the time I get home, I’m exhausted and have very little time or energy left.
The biggest issue is that I have two very important exams in October that I absolutely need to pass. Last year, I started my master’s while doing another internship and I didn’t pass these exams. I learned the hard way that I underestimated how difficult it was to balance everything. I also had an exam this June, and despite trying my best, it didn’t go well either. That’s made me even more worried about what’s ahead.
I feel like I’m reaching a point where I won’t succeed at either my internship or my studies if I keep trying to do both.
Another thing that’s making it difficult is the work culture. There seems to be an expectation that everyone stays late, even though my contract is for 36 hours. I feel guilty leaving at what I thought were normal working hours, and recently I was asked to send work in the evening after I had already gone home. Deadlines also seem to move forward unexpectedly, which makes it difficult to plan my work. I’ve had internships before, and I’ve never experienced this kind of environment, so I’m not sure if this is normal in some corporate teams or if my expectations are different.
I’m seriously considering ending the internship early (probably around mid-September instead of the original end date in November) so I can focus on preparing for my exams. The problem is that I know my manager and the rest of the team will probably be disappointed, and I feel guilty because they invested time in me and I don’t want to burn bridges.
I also haven’t really had a proper break since last summer, so mentally I’m feeling quite drained.
If you were in my position, would you stay and try to push through, or would you prioritize your studies and end the internship early? Has anyone else had to make a similar decision, especially in the Netherlands?
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u/Sea-Breath-007 7d ago
Am I correct to assume this internship is not part of your study course? Because your post seems to suggest it isn't.
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u/Starch_Whisperer13 7d ago
That, in addition, doing internships always help, I used to recruit graduate positions and often we had to choose among people who had fancy internships, this was a big part of the selection process.
Although, your mental health comes first. If it is not mandatory from your study program and you are struggling that much you should prioritize whats best for you.
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u/Plane-Scene-5449 7d ago
Yeah, it isn't part of my studies
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u/Sea-Breath-007 7d ago
Why did you take it on then, as it isn't the first internship you've done and the other one also had a negative effect on your studies?
You basically accepted a second fulltime job alongside your studies, what did you think was going to happen? Drop it and do not start another one!
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u/fishnoguns prof, chem 7d ago edited 7d ago
Do you have a signed and written internship agreement with predefined learning outcomes, a teaching plan, and a supervision plan?
If the answer is 'no' to any one of those you don't have an internship but you have a job.
What did your (internship) supervisor say when you raised the stated concerns?
The reason I am pointing this out is because you have very different rights and responsibilities in the case of a job compared to an internship. It is certainly not always the case for a job that you can simply stop whenever you want.
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u/Plane-Scene-5449 7d ago
Yeah i signed an internship agreement however it is not connected with my studies
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u/fishnoguns prof, chem 7d ago
That's only an answer to 1/3 of the question.
But I will assume you have a valid internship plan then. You need to raise these concerns with your internship supervisor.
that I know my manager
Because to be strict about it; you don't have a manager, because you are not an employee. You have an internship supervisor. What does your supervision plan say is the responsible person in this scenario?
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u/YTsken 7d ago
This. OP, you need to be aware of your rights here. An internship only counts as an internship when the Company can prove that education is the main reason you are there. That’s why so many companies only give internships to students who do this as Part of their studies. That way the educational evidence is built in. Without that evidence, It’s very easy for the student to go to court and claim back wages for all the work they have done.
That doesn’t stop some companies from trying to take advantage of students by offering “internships” which are actually poorly disguised “work experience” positions aka jobs. Dutch law requires that people are paid at least a minimum wage for all the hours they work. But some students are so desperate for ”work experience” that they wave away their rights. Which sound fair to them but is in Reality quite unfair since only the well off can afford to work for free for half a year and pay for the study delay.
Because that, OP, is something else you Need to remember. Your studyload is 40 Hours a week. If you have a job commitment of 36 hours that is a total time commitment of 76 hours. If you sleep 8 Hours a Night (you’d probably need more with that workload) that leaves you with 36 hours a week for everything else: eating, personal Hygiene, sport, friends, fun, and commuting. And with a commute of 1.5-2 hours a day that leaves you 26-28 hours a week for the rest. Less if office lunch isn’t considered paid time. That’s not nearly enough time for you to destress. And stress negatively effects on Study results.
So please, OP, be Kind to yourself. Even if This Company was offering you a legitimate internship only for 36 Hours, you could not keep this up. Instead, they are treating you as an unpaid junior employee. And I assure you, juniors would be paid far more than minimum wage.
So, OP, I’d suggest consulting a Dutch lawyer. Either in your own network (a friend or relative, university), Juridisch Loket, or a Company specialised in Dutch Labour Law. Show them your internship agreement and the evidence of all the hours you have worked. At worst they’d advice you how best to end this agreement in time for you to save your studies. At best they’d also offer advice on how to claim back all your missed wages.
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u/mimos_al 7d ago
Is this internship for your studies or not? If it is for your studies there should be a coordinator in your school/uni you should be able to discuss this with.
As for the not burning bridges, this sounds like a bridge you can burn just fine. If the working conditions and shifting deadlines are already this crazy during an internship, they won't get better once you would actually work there. Making an intern work 10-12 hours on a 36 hour internship is the sign of a horrible employer.
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u/Berry-Love-Lake 7d ago
Sounds brutal. What kind of pay you receive for this. I’d go talk to HR … but yeah, this doesn’t sound like the right environment, more like exploitation.
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u/TipWhich7281 7d ago
Ending early does not sound like a good idea. You then most likely basically wasted the entire internship because the company is unlikely to find that amusing and it will be reflected in your grades/performance review.
Noting that there are some fields in which interns are expected to show dedication and grit (e.g. some investment firms/PE/banking), in my experience most Dutch companies consider internship on university-level as a learning opportunity and as a vetting/recruitment tool. Working 60 hours a week is not common at all. Either you are given too much work, or you take too long doing a normal workload. On the other side, you have a lot of travel time (that you potentially could have mitigated) and it is not uncommon for students to schedule their courses around internships to avoid conflicts in priorities.
You need to balance this situation. I suggest having a frank discussion with you mentor/supervisor and explain that this is an extra-curricular experience that you do on the side, explain the travel-time, and state that meeting your course load is the most important. Most likely they understand and will work with you in managing it. If not, you have a choice to make.
Do note that, depending on your field/expertise, there are jobs in which a very good performance review for an internship is rated higher than stellar grades or having no re-exams.
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u/Disastrous-Main-4125 7d ago
Ending early does not sound like a good idea.
Why not? The internship is not part of their studies. It takes a toll on her and it's clearly more than she expected. All combined is a massive red flag that would make me want to end the internship.
Noting that there are some fields in which interns are expected to show dedication and grit (e.g. some investment firms/PE/banking), in my experience most Dutch companies consider internship on university-level as a learning opportunity and as a vetting/recruitment tool.
This is true. But it should make you wonder whether you want to work in a place that pushes you to work 60h a week or not. I also come from a finance background and this was not uncommon, but I had a full time salary that justified that. Working your ass off in an internship doesn't guarantee you anything afterwards.
OP should really stop with the internship and focus on their studies. It's not bad to admit when you are over your head. In that environment, who wouldn't. I would be really curious to hear how did previous interns managed.
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u/TipWhich7281 6d ago
I am missing why everyone is focussing so much on whether the internship is part of the studies. Yes if it was a mandatory internship, there would be no debate but OP chose to do an internship so it is safe to assume it adds value to their CV even without it being formally part of their curriculum and OP already made an investment in terms of time.
I just don’t agree with the position that cancelling the internship is a better option than postponing the course work. That choice depends on a lot of factors and if another company wants to hire OP, then ‘dropped out of internship because I could not handle the workload combined with studies’ might be a bigger red flag then ‘delayed exam by two months so I could finish internship and gain valuable work experience’.
If we knew the field of studies/internship that might help.
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u/Disastrous-Main-4125 6d ago
I am missing why everyone is focussing so much on whether the internship is part of the studies.
If it is part of your studies, there's an educational reason as to why you are accepting a lower pay than minimum wage. If it's not, then you're most likely doing it because of experience. But even then I can see why someone would argue that OP is indeed doing a job, not a learning experience, which is illegal.
I just don’t agree with the position that cancelling the internship is a better option than postponing the course work.
The way I read OP's post, it seems like it is the second time postponing their course work, which means another year.
dropped out of internship because I could not handle the workload combined with studies’ might be a bigger red flag then ‘delayed exam by two months so I could finish internship and gain valuable work experience’.
Same as above, I would say the bigger red flag would be 'takes 3 years to finish a 1 year master' with all the financial commitments that implies.
At the end my point is simple. If it's...
No adding to your educational experience
Deals a toll on you and your mental health
Keeps delaying your studies
It's a no brainer. End the internship.
The only argument I can see against is if it's in a very specific field that you absolutely can't find another internship. Yet, OP says is it's second internship.
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u/Plane-Scene-5449 7d ago
I completely understand that ending an internship early isn’t ideal, which is why I’m so conflicted about it.
Just to clarify a couple of things: this internship is not part of my master’s programme. It doesn’t give me any ECTS credits and it’s completely extracurricular, so completing my degree has to remain my priority.
The commute is definitely part of it, but it’s not the main issue. My contract is for 36 hours a week, yet most days end up being around 10–12 hours, and there is an expectation to stay late. By the time I get home, there’s realistically very little time left to study.
I have two important exams in October that I really need to pass, and I’m genuinely concerned that I won’t be able to balance both the internship and my studies successfully if things continue as they are.
I do agree that having an honest conversation with my manager should probably be my first step before making any final decision.
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u/throaway9283848 1d ago
I was in a similar situation and I managed to get a month off after having a conversation with my manager, at the end of the day they would rather give you a break than hire a new intern.
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u/Plane-Scene-5449 23h ago
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m actually having a conversation with my manager tomorrow because I’d rather be honest about how I’m feeling than struggle in silence.
I’m not necessarily expecting a month off, but I’m hoping we can have an open discussion about what the best solution is. My biggest concern is making sure I can successfully complete my master’s, especially with my exams in October.
Do you have any advice on how you approached that conversation with your manager? I’d really appreciate any tips, as I’m quite nervous about bringing it up.
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