Learn Hardcore German: Viele Jugendliche wünschen sich einen kreativen Beruf, doch im Praktikum sehen sie auch die unangenehmen Seiten. - Many young people wish for a creative job, but in the internship they also see the unpleasant sides.

wünschen on its own is more formal and usually takes a direct object:
- Ich wünsche dir alles Gute. – I wish you all the best.
sich etwas wünschen is very common in everyday language for to want / to wish for something (for oneself):
- Viele Jugendliche wünschen sich einen kreativen Beruf. – Many young people would like to have a creative job.

Grammatically:

sich is a reflexive pronoun in the dative case.
einen kreativen Beruf is the direct object (accusative).

So the pattern is: jemand wünscht sich etwas (someone wishes something for themselves).

Why is einen kreativen Beruf in that form? Which case is it and why einen / kreativen?

einen kreativen Beruf is in the accusative case as the direct object of wünschen (sich).

Beruf is masculine: der Beruf.
Masculine accusative with the indefinite article is einen (not ein).
With an article, the adjective takes -en in masculine accusative: einen kreativen Beruf.

Pattern:

Nominative: ein kreativer Beruf (subject)
Accusative: einen kreativen Beruf (direct object)

Here, the thing they wish for (the job) is the direct object, so accusative is required.

Why is Jugendliche capitalized, and what kind of word is it?

Jugendliche is capitalized because it is a noun, even though it looks like an adjective.

In German, adjectives can become nouns when they refer to people or things; this is called substantiviertes Adjektiv (an adjective used as a noun). Examples:

der Deutsche – the German (man)
die Alte – the old woman
die Jugendlichen – the young people / teenagers

Here:

Jugendlich = youthful / adolescent (adjective)
die Jugendlichen = the young people / teenagers (noun)

So Jugendliche in Viele Jugendliche means young people and is treated as a noun, so it must be capitalized.

Why is it Viele Jugendliche and not Viele Jugendlichen?

Because Viele Jugendliche is nominative plural, functioning as the subject of the sentence.

For these adjective‑nouns like Jugendliche, the declension goes like this (plural):

Nominative: viele Jugendliche – many young people (subject)
Accusative: viele Jugendliche
Dative: vielen Jugendlichen
Genitive: vieler Jugendlicher (less common in speech)

In Viele Jugendliche wünschen sich …, Viele Jugendliche is the subject, so nominative is used, and the form is Jugendliche, not Jugendlichen.

What does doch mean here, and how is it different from aber?

In this sentence, doch functions much like aber and can be translated as but or however:

Viele Jugendliche wünschen sich einen kreativen Beruf, doch im Praktikum sehen sie auch die unangenehmen Seiten.

You could also say:

…, aber im Praktikum sehen sie …

Both are correct. The nuance:

aber is the standard, neutral but.
doch often sounds a bit more stylistic or emphasizes a contrast a bit more, sometimes with a slight “yet / however / on the other hand” feeling.

In many cases in written German, aber and doch in this position are interchangeable without changing the core meaning.

Why is it im Praktikum and not in das Praktikum or ins Praktikum?

im is a contraction of in dem (in + the, dative).

das Praktikum (singular, neuter)
Dative: dem Praktikum

Here, im Praktikum = in dem Praktikum and describes a location or context (during the internship / while doing the internship), not a movement into it.

Use in + dative for being in / during:
- im Praktikum – during the internship
Use in + accusative for movement into something:
- ins Praktikum gehen (contraction of in das Praktikum) – to go to / start the internship

So im Praktikum is dative because it describes where/when something happens, not where you are going.

What exactly does die unangenehmen Seiten mean, and why this ending on unangenehmen?

Literally, die unangenehmen Seiten means the unpleasant sides, but idiomatically it means the unpleasant aspects.

Grammar:

Seiten is plural: die Seite → die Seiten.
die here is plural definite article (not feminine singular).
With plural definite article die, the adjective takes -en:
- die unangenehmen Seiten

Case:

In the second clause: sie sehen die unangenehmen Seiten
sie is the subject (nominative), die unangenehmen Seiten is the direct object (accusative).
Accusative plural with die → adjective ending -en.

So die unangenehmen Seiten = the unpleasant sides/aspects that they see during the internship.

How do we know what sie refers to here? Could it be she, they, or formal you?

German sie/Sie is ambiguous in writing, but context clears it up.

In …, doch im Praktikum sehen sie auch die unangenehmen Seiten.:

It cannot be Sie (formal you), because it is written with a lowercase s.
It logically refers back to Viele Jugendliche:
- Viele Jugendliche (plural)
- sie (3rd person plural) = they

So here:

sie = they, the young people.
If it were she, we would expect a previous feminine singular noun as an antecedent; we do not have one here.
Spoken German also distinguishes by verb form:
- sie sehen (they see)
- sie sieht (she sees)
- Sie sehen (you see, formal; capital S in writing)

Why is the word order sehen sie and not sie sehen in the second part?

The second part after the comma is another main clause:

im Praktikum sehen sie auch die unangenehmen Seiten

In German main clauses, the finite verb must be in the second position (the V2 word order rule).

Here, im Praktikum is in the first position (a fronted adverbial phrase), so the verb (sehen) has to come second, and the subject (sie) comes after the verb:

im Praktikum – first position
sehen – second position (required for a main clause)
sie … – the subject follows the verb

If you started with sie, the order would be:

Sie sehen im Praktikum auch die unangenehmen Seiten.

Both are correct; the original just emphasizes during the internship by putting im Praktikum first.

What is the role of auch here, and where else could it go in the sentence?

auch means also / too and modifies what is being said about what they see.

Original:

… sehen sie auch die unangenehmen Seiten.

This suggests: besides positive things they may see, they also see the unpleasant aspects.

Possible placements (all grammatical, slightly different emphasis):

… sehen sie auch die unangenehmen Seiten.
Neutral; auch relates to die unangenehmen Seiten.
… sehen sie die unangenehmen Seiten auch.
Emphasis a bit more at the end; often used in speech.
… sehen sie auch im Praktikum die unangenehmen Seiten.
Could suggest: they also see them during the internship (not only elsewhere).

The usual, most natural position here is right before the part it modifies: auch die unangenehmen Seiten.

Could you say Viele junge Leute instead of Viele Jugendliche? Is there a difference?

Yes, you could say Viele junge Leute wünschen sich einen kreativen Beruf … and it would still be correct and natural.

Nuance:

Jugendliche often implies teenagers or people roughly in the youth phase (often under 18, but not strictly).
junge Leute is broader, can include young adults in their 20s.

Both can overlap in meaning; Jugendliche feels a bit more like a sociological/law or school term (youths, adolescents), while junge Leute feels slightly more casual and wider in age range.