Getting a paid internship over the summer is the dream of many college students, but it doesn’t have to be just wishful thinking if you take the right approach, engage in some networking, and start your search early.
In addition to paid internships, you may want to look into ways to fund your internship (check your college’s career services office, various organizations, and foundations). Some students are able to do an unpaid internship in their field of interest by supplementing their internship with a part-time job.
Good, successful internships typically offer benefits such as the following:
Speak with academic advisors, school career counselors, and professors to discover which companies in your target industry offer worthwhile internships where you'll receive real, value-added experience.
Some of the best internships are landed as a result of prospecting. This means identifying companies or organizations that you want to work for and contacting them directly which can result in some of the best internships around for a number of reasons:
For students from smaller cities and towns, prospecting is often the only way to find potential internships. It’s important to follow some simple strategies in order to increase your chances of landing the internships of your dreams. Of course, the career field or industry you are pursuing will largely determine if paid internships are available.
Even with prospecting, there's no guarantee that students will be able to land a paid internship. Employers have seen a significant rise in the number of students seeking internships. Part of this increase is due to the fact that more students are realizing that employers are looking for students with relevant experience required to hire on for future full-time jobs.
Another reason a number of seniors (and post-graduates) are also interested in finding an internship is that they currently cannot find a job in their area of interest.
In a 2018 study that analyzed the resumes of four million college graduates, the results showed that over 40 percent of new graduates had taken entry-level jobs that didn't require a college degree, and one out of five students were still working non-degree-requiring jobs 10 years later.
Employers have become increasingly demanding, and they expect college graduates to come on board with specific skill sets and experience that the candidates have acquired during internships or through other means.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)'s 2019 Internship & Co-op Report, the average hourly wage for an intern is $19.05 in 2019. Many companies hire interns as a way of previewing them to see if they would fit as full-time employees, and about 56 percent of interns were converted to full-time hires. The good news for employers is that over 70 percent of interns who were hired on as full-time workers were still at the company one year later.
Whether you take a paid or unpaid internship matters to potential employers. According to the NACE 2019 study, 66.4 percent of 2019 graduates who had worked paid internships received at least one job offer. This contrasts with only 43.7 percent of unpaid interns receiving at least one job offer.
If you're looking for an internship that pays well, you'll have the best luck with companies in the technology industry. Glassdoor.com's annual survey of highest-paying internships shows that in 2019, Facebook is paying interns the highest salary at $8,000 per month, and Amazon is second at $7,725. Other companies high on the list include Google, Microsoft, Bloomberg, Capital One, and Apple.
You can also pay a fee to participate in an internship program that includes an interview and resume coaching, guaranteed placement, and a choice of domestic or international locations. Some of these internship programs also offer excellent salaries, although the upfront fees are often expensive and required in order to participate in the program.
In general, it pays to be wary of programs with fees, but for the right student who can afford to pay a fee for their internship, some excellent opportunities exist in specific industries and career fields, and you can find them through companies that match you with internship opportunities based on certain characteristics.
The fee you pay is considered a sort of tuition, and the program resembles a semester-abroad type of program. Choose the city and industry in which you want to have your internship, and the company guarantees placement in a top-quality internship.
