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The position in discussion did not specifically mentioned that remote work or flexible hours are offered on the posting. As this is a classic engineering office job. However most of the work is on the computer, and the office does have laptops which are given to those going on trips. It is the classic everyone comes in at either 8 or 9 and leaves by 6 kind of atmosphere.

I will not be the only intern, but I would be the one with the most experience. I was wondering if it is appropriate to ask if I can work flexible hours or do part of the work remote? I would be a full time intern, and I plan to take course(s) related to my degree in parallel to the internship.

Partly due to student loans, partly because I would have a significant amount of free time in comparison to being a full time student, and it would be more productive and better for my study habits if there isn't a large gap in studying. As well, the course(s) in question fill up to capacity during fall and winter, but are also offered during the summer which have lower enrollment.

Additional notes: this is a paid internship. It is not software engineering. My commute time would be 3-4 hours / day

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  • Does your office have remote access? or is it cloud based? These two options would allow you to access files without requiring a company laptop.
    – Shadowzee
    Feb 8, 2019 at 5:57
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    Perhaps they only took you on as an intern so that your experience would help the other interns - you being at home defeats that...
    – Solar Mike
    Feb 8, 2019 at 6:02
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    3 - 4 hours ???????????????
    – Fattie
    Feb 8, 2019 at 11:37
  • There are a lot of things unclear for us to provide further suggestions. For example: What is the intern position about? What industry is it? Is the company having majority of its employee work remotely? And probably most importan0lyt: What do you want to get from this internship? Are you looking for chance of full-time employment in this company? Do you just want another experience line or some reference in your resume? Do you just want few weeks of paystub so you don't have to work in subway? Or only thing you care is the experience you get from the process?
    – tweray
    Feb 8, 2019 at 14:08
  • @Fattie my first job out of college came with a 3-hour daily commute. Here in Atlanta, Georgia at least, it's not at all uncommon.
    – souldeux
    Feb 9, 2019 at 17:01

2 Answers 2

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Is it appropriate to ask if remote work or alternate hours are possible for an intern position?

You can always ask. There is nothing "inappropriate" about asking for work schedule. However, keep in mind

  1. Most workplaces do want interns to work from office so that they can closely monitor the work.
  2. In your case if most employees work from 8 to 6 from office and get laptop only when traveling, then it may be even more hard for you to get that approval.
  3. Like other answer suggested, there is lot to learn by coming to office and interacting with people. If you are hoping to convert this to full time opportunity, then even more important for you to increase your company network.

So bottom line is you can surely ask once gently but do not push for it.

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As an intern you are there to learn from those in the field and gain experience.

How much do you think you can learn from others and gain experience working from home?

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  • A significant portion of the work would be through self learn. I would be a senior intern, soon to graduate, so I imagine a higher degree of independence would be expected from me. Going in 2-3 times a week just to clarify things and attend meetings would not be an issue. Just because I'm not sitting beside them, doesn't mean I wouldn't have access to resources to learn more.
    – user99373
    Feb 8, 2019 at 4:06
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    @Mel I just think its a bad idea. You're an intern. I never even heard of a "senior intern". As an intern when they say "jump" you say "how high". Demanding perks like working from home before you've even graduated is not a good way to form a relationship with a company that has so much say over your future. Just my humble opinion. No offense or disrespect intended at all :)
    – solarflare
    Feb 8, 2019 at 4:13
  • its senior in a way that I have had done this type of work prior for 8 month before vs those who are just starting with this type of work. why is remote work considered a perk? aren't the expectations of deliverable deadlines and quality held to the same standard?
    – user99373
    Feb 8, 2019 at 4:18
  • also to clarify in Canada interns ( co - op) are ranked junior, senior I can see why it would be an alien expression for those not familiar
    – user99373
    Feb 8, 2019 at 4:24
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    As an intern, a lot of what they want you to learn is how to transition from being a student to functioning effectively as part of a team in an office environment. You're not going to self-learn that remotely.
    – Fiora the Ferret
    Feb 8, 2019 at 7:24

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