<p>I just got a summer internship offer, but I'm a little confused about how much I'll be getting. What is a "total bi-weekly salary"? </p>
<p>Here is exactly what they said in the offer letter:</p>
<p>"Your total bi-weekly salary will be $1,950.00 (before payroll taxes and other withholdings as
required by law) and consists of a base salary of $1,650.00 and living allowance of $300.00,which you may use to cover your housing, commuting, or other living expenses as you choose."</p>
<p>I'm supposed to be working there for 3 months, so does that mean I'm getting $2k for 3 months of work? I'm a freshman in college, and it is a junior software engineering position (a field I'm interested in). If it is a total of $2k, is it a good offer, or should I be applying for other offers?</p>
<p>And do you think I would be able to just keep the $300 living allowance, or do I have to spend it in housing? I live 30 mins away from the company, so I'm just going to drive there.</p>
<p>bi-weekly means every other week. So $3300/month base + $600 in living expenses pre-tax so plan on a portion of that being held for taxes and what not.</p>
<p>I have no idea if this is good for an internship like that.</p>
<p>That is a good salary for an intern. For an engineering internship, $3,300 a month sounds just about average, but if you are allowed to keep the $300 allowance regardless of whether you use it or not then your salary comes out to $3,900 which is above average for an internship.</p>
<p>Another common misconception some people have is the fact that a year has 52 weeks, so making $1,950 in total every 2 weeks will add up to more than $3,900 per month. Your monthly salary including the housing allowance comes out to about $4,200/month if you were to work a full year.</p>
<p>Usually 3 months can be a 10 week or 12 week program. If it is a 10 week program, your total salary will be $8,250 and $1,500 in housing expenses prior to taxes and deductions.</p>
<p>wow, thanks a lot guys. I really can’t believe I’ll be getting so much. It is 45 hours a week, but it’s definitely worth it, more than $20 per hour but I’m betting there will be more than enough overtime cases.</p>
<p>if you on salary, you don’t get OT.
be aware that you will have to pay taxes on the $300 housing allowance.
be prepared to spend more than 45hr. doing work. </p>
<p>you are lucky to get an internship freshman summer. congrats.
don’t let it go to your head all at once, you’re just cheap labor.</p>
<p>Right, I didn’t expect to get paid overtime, that’s what I meant, and I do expect more hours. But the company seemed really friendly, and I know they’ll put me to work – that’s why I’m in this major. It’ll probably be a lot of work, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s just that I’m surprised I’m getting so much money (even before taxes), considering I don’t even have a degree, and this is just an internship. Honestly I would do this all for free, just for the experience and the ability to put it on my resume, and the skills I’ll learn (I get to program in C# and .NET, which I’ve never done before so…). I’m just viciously happy, and probably super lucky – I went to my school’s career fair, and only got this one interview.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice though, LongPrime. I won’t let it get to my head. I know to them I might just be cheap labor, but this company’s like 30 mins away from where I live, and to me, they’re so much more, so many opportunities. I will be visiting them soon.</p>
<p>thesouthazn, do you have any advice on how to land an internship for this summer? I’m also a Freshman and I still have no prospects for this summer. I’m not in software though, i’m doing chem eng.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think having a good gpa helps a lot if you’re going to a career fair. Most of the companies at the fair only have time to look at your gpa, and most were impressed by my 4.0. During the interview, this company basically wanted me to talk about myself more, so I listed my interests and talked about the activities I listed in my resume. The interview is when they look at everything else than just your gpa, and, I just had a really good resume with scholarships, leadership, sat scores, and skills that the company was just looking for. </p>
<p>Unfortunately though, when you go to a career fair, they WILL be looking for juniors, seniors, and (maybe) sophomores. You will be denied multiple times, but don’t give up. And carry a bunch of resumes. I think I had around 15, because you never know. And don’t use computer paper for the resumes – get the premium stuff so they know you mean business. Arrive early – I know one other company wanted to give me an interview as well, but they showed me that they were booked on interview time slots.</p>
<p>Good luck, it really is possible. I honestly didn’t think I would get one, but I just got lucky, or probably just said the right things in my interview, whatever the “right things” are.</p>
<p>I was able to land an internship this year with a reputable corporation without a great GPA. </p>
<p>I give you the same advice as above, but I think the most important thing is persistence. If you really like a certain company, talk to more than 1 recruiter there if the first one did not seem to like you that much. More importantly, know what your strength is, whether it is a job experience you have/had, your grades, your involvement in clubs, or anything, just know what your strength is.</p>
<p>That doesn’t make a salary low. Simply because it is not the BEST offer does not make it low at all. There’s a gap between the BEST salary and a good salary. If I have a 3.8GPA in school my GPA is not “low” because the best GPA is a 4.0, it is still considered a high GPA.</p>
<p>Along the same lines, with money he is getting paid for the summer he would make a bit over $50K a year. For an internship, and especially one as a freshman, that is very good.</p>