A: One of the main reasons college students are advised to pursue internships is they have little work experience and few contacts. Since you have bookkeeping and accounting experience you may already be one step ahead of those students who either have no work experience, or who passed up the internship opportunities.

You have benefited from your work experience if you have made contacts that will serve as excellent references, and if you're fairly certain what accounting designation you want to work in. You want to consider an internship if you feel you need more experience and strong references, or if you don't know what career path to pursue. Of course, experience can't hurt you, so if your goal is to get as much experience as possible, an internship is the right way to go.

As a non-traditional student, however, squeezing in an internship may be tough. A full-time, non-paid internship may be impossible, and finding flexible internships will require more effort on your part. So consider the alternatives. Tutor accounting students once a week through your college. Shadow professionals in the field whenever you have a free day. In short, volunteer your time however and whenever you can to meet people in the field.