Income - Eng Intern

<p>Freshman Civ E son is applying for a summer internship with an environ/civ eng firm. Application ask for desired pay and we have no idea of the normal range. Anyone have knowledge of such issues?</p>

<p>Gosh…it can be anything from $10 an hour to $20+ an hour.</p>

<p>Is there anywhere you can find what they pay interns? I would think that it would be safe to put a lowish number. If that is below what they pay interns then I doubt that they would decrease the offer. They may just be weeding out those who are expecting too much.</p>

<p>I think putting 10 to 15 would be safe, especially since your son is a freshman. He may not get as high as 15, being a freshman. But I can’t imagine an engineering internship would be less than 10, so I don’t think putting 10 would be unreasonable. Good luck!</p>

<p>go to glassdoor. enter the company or a company that you think is comparable. look at salaries. that should give you an idea.</p>

<p>there is another mom here with a son doing a CivE internship this summer. i forget who, though.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/civil-engineering-intern-salary-SRCH_KO0,24.htm”>http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/civil-engineering-intern-salary-SRCH_KO0,24.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>“Negotiable” is the best response in this case. Most companies use standard application for both full time employees and interns - this field is probably meant for full-time or part time hires. Most companies also standardize pay for interns and co-ops based on hours completed and number of rotations with the company, so you may have absolutely no say in the matter whatsoever. </p>

<p>Source: I’ve had 3 engineering internships.</p>

<p>Will Glassdoor provide info for an intern?</p>

<p>Since the student is only a frosh, I think going with the lower estimate is safe. </p>

<p>I think the idea of putting “negotiable” is ok, unless it suggests that the student is going to try to negotiate a higher rate…which an employer may not like the way that sounds.</p>

<p>radical - if it is an online application, it may not accept “negotiable” as a valid response. they may also not accept leaving it blank.</p>

<p>yes, they probably do have a set pay scale. i guess if the applicants expectations are not within range, then it isn’t a fit. just another way to narrow down the pool.</p>

<p>mom - yes, many companies do have salaries listed for interns. helpful info. :)</p>

<p>My son, as a freshman last summer, earned $15/hr, as an “application eng’r intern”, in aero/mechanical area.</p>

<p>But was your son classified as a freshman? My son worked as an intern between his sophomore and junior year, and after hiring, they asked for his transcript to determine his pay scale. Because, at that point, he was classified as a senior, he earned higher than he expected. A nice surprise! But I think $15 is probably a fair figure to put down, but just to be on the safe side, I’d put down $10, and maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised! It also depends on the work you’re doing. Students that are doing research tend to get paid less, and get less hours, too, since their pay usually comes from funding that is limited. But most students doing research are not doing it for the money, but for the experience. I do believe, though, REUs are well paid, though, because you not only get a stipend, but your housing is usually paid as well. Unfortunately, REUs are very competitive, and there are many variables besides academics and recommendations that come into play to qualify for them.</p>

<p>^ My son was in between Freshman and Sophomore year. At the time of his interview, he only had his Fall Freshman grades to show them (regardless of any incoming AP credits, etc.). He had had other jobs, but no other eng’g experience. I would put down $15/hr as an expected amount. $10 is too close to minimum wage (IMO). Anyone can flip hamburgers…they are getting a quality student, here! If you have stellar GPA + some extra-curriculars + interview well, you should feel comfortable putting down $15/hr. REU in mechanical/thermal at UA is $500/week and some of the interns will get housing, but not all. So, that is ~$12.50/hr (if 40 hr/wk). Not great pay, but great experience, to be sure. Good luck, everyone!</p>

<p>With AP credits and such, many freshman finish their first years as juniors. That might make a difference.</p>

<p>That said, I would probably put $10 unless I knew for sure that the company paid first year interns more.</p>

<p>S2 is a Frosh CE student also. He was offered a CE internship for this summer in Birmingham with Archer Western (The Walsh Group) @ $13/hr. This appeared to be on the lower end of the average pay range of $12-$18/hr nationally, so for a smaller city such as BHM it’s probably fairly appropriate.
You might also be able to glean some pay rates in different locales via Payscale.com:
<a href=“http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Intern+Civil+Engineering&l=”>http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Intern+Civil+Engineering&l=&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>^^^
6Lambs…glad to see you posting again, and glad to see that S2 did enroll at Bama and joined his older bro.</p>

<p>Roll Tide!</p>

<p>It’s hard sometimes to gauge average pay for interns because often freshman don’t get internships or are lower paid then a rising junior or senior (by years, not credits). </p>

<p>I know Coops are different from internships, but my EE son was offered coops ranging from 14-16 in Huntsville at the beginning of his sophomore year.</p>

<p>The amount is going to vary by company and by eng’g credits the student has. The more eng’g credits, the more valuable. </p>

<p>My older son, who started out as an eng’g major (but changed to math), did a summer internship at a Cummings Research Park company after frosh year (this was summer 2008). He was paid about $15 an hour. BUT, he was first offered $12, and then when they found out he had been a NMF, they immediately increased by $3 an hour (weird, but true). When he continued for the next two summer, he was given another raise. He was also allowed to work during Christmas breaks which was really nice because he got paid for holidays. He did a REU/VIGRE after that. </p>

<p>My younger son did mostly REU’s and those just pay an established amount (like $3k for 10 weeks), but housing is provided. </p>