Summer Internship Pay Rates?

Parents Forum
21

We never worried about what a summer internship paid. The point was to get practical experience. As long as the student is getting practical experience that is potentially useful to them, and is being paid something, that already sounded quite good to us.

The practical experience is useful multiple ways. It gives the student something to put on their resume. It gives the student contacts in industry. It gives the student a view into the working world, which hopefully might make it a bit easier for them to see practical uses for whatever they are going to be learning in class next semester.

If the student is getting paid enough to cover their living expenses for the summer, that is even better.

Subletting an apartment from a student with a year long lease also worked out well on a small number of occasions.

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22

More important than money is the career experience, learning opportunity, and potential first job offer. Need to consider this too.

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23

I have lived in NYC for the summer on the 29th floor of a high rise on 6th avenue for $5000 total for a 2 BR, 2 Bath in a building with a doorman for 2 months. Corner unit, floor to ceiling windows with a view of the Empire state building. We could have found somewhere cheaper, but we didn’t want to take the subway everywhere and we wanted a place with a controlled entry. So, I am pretty sure somebody can get by on $15k pretty much anywhere in the US. If they find someone to room with, even cheaper.

Many internships are completely unpaid. So, $15k seems pretty solid for (I assume) 10 weeks of work. The experience and the connections are more important than the pay at this point. It would only be not worth it, if they couldn’t afford a place to live, and as I said, I don’t believe there is anywhere you couldn’t find a VRBO or Air BnB for well within that range or far less depending on location.

A $40k summer internship would translate to over a $200k yearly salary, for somebody who hasn’t even graduated yet? That seems ludicrous to me.

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24

The hourly rate reflects what a full time job would pay. If she wants to get an offer from this employer when she graduates then she should think hard about if it is a salary she could live with. The bonus is just a one time deal. She will not get that when she is a full timer, unless the job pays bonus, but at such rate it is not likely. Therefore I do not think she should factor it in.
She should find out what her desired field should pay and figure out if the hiurly reflects that.

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25

I would not make that assumption.

This was not my D’s experience at all. She is working full time now for the same company she worked for during college and her salary is much higher than what she was making while still a student.

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26

Was it a summer internship or part time job while she was in school. Most companies pay their summer interns same as their first year employees.

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27

Wow, some of you live in a different world than I do. I know a lot of smart kids who don’t make that much in their first jobs. Sure, engineering & computer science pay a lot. But many, many graduates don’t earn $21 an hour in their first job. I’m constantly surprised by CC expectations and assumptions.

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28

Not my experience with two children. FWIW, my son made $21/hr summer after junior year, no signing bonus, low COL area. He is a political science/communications double major.

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29

It was a co-op. According to my d’s school data, none of the summer internships or co-ops (which typically pay higher than internships) came anywhere close to what full time grads were making.

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30

And this is why I come to CC. I love how everyone jumps in to workshop a situation.

So here’s where we are:

• The company provided living options, including dorms for rent from the local university within walking distance of the company. We have been reviewing outside living arrangements that are safe and within her budget.

• Not NYC or San Fran but a Top 20 city by population. Taxes aren’t a major concern.
• Yes, the comp is certainly low vs CS or engineering. This is a sales internship that is focused on the industry that she has worked in since high school.

• @momofboiler1, yep, she was headed to the advisor who sponsored the career fair to get a handle on compensation comparables.

• She is thrilled about the idea of in-person “office” work.

• We had a great chat today, which was the impetus for this post. She was like, “Dad, the first thing they teach you here is never accept the first offer.”

• Potential overtime is also under the total comp umbrella.

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31

That certainly wasn’t my son’s experience as an engineering intern and then an employee. The full time job offers were much higher, at least double, and he was paid well during his internships.

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32

My daughter’s last summer internship was 28.50 an hour 40 hours a week, 12 weeks long and 6k signing bonus (housing). Her offer for next summer is the similar. Major EE, City: Dallas.

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33

I think it varies by industry. In some, bonuses are common or even guaranteed, for summer and full-time employees.

Typically most companies pay what the market demands and well are aware of their competitor’s compensation.

34

My child made $15/hr for their internship. Not comp Sci or engineering though.

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35

To me, experience begets experience. The opportunity now pays off later. It’s early but is there an assurance of other opportunities ? Perhaps the bonus is for housing.

My son’s first summer was at a car manufacturer. $19.50 + a car for the summer (he had a car so it was nice to let his sister have his but if he didn’t get the car he’d have lived. Because it was more than 50 miles from home he got $1k per month for housing. The job was in MS. He shared an air bnb with two kids ftom Ga tech. All interns there make the same regardless of major - business, engineering, philanthropy etc. it was hard for him to get the job. It was near the end of the hiring season . First internships are the hardest to get.

Second year internships were easier bcuz of that experience. He went back even though he had other opportunities including a $25 in upstate NY + housing in a college dorm provided… Second year paid $20.50 + car. No housing as it was 38 miles from home.

Tons of interviews and 5 job offers by xmas for a full time job. Solid offers. It was bcuz of the internships. Their $$ don’t matter. The experience does.

My daughter worked for the state in civil rights this summer. Like my son, it came late. She would have had another chance in insurance claims that paid $23 but not aligned to her Poli sci degree/Intl studies degree. The state job paid $20 an hr.

She is in DC for the fall with a well known think tank. She’s earning 9 credits plus 6 more in classes. Plus $17 an hr. She had 5 paid offers -$16 to $18 and two unpaid. As she’s in a college program it’s a bonus she’s getting anything.

Her BF goes to U Denver. He’s in finance. Worked in Nashville last summer for $25 an hr at a healthcare real estate company.

His friend goes to UTK for CS. Got $28 plus housed in an Extended Stay hotel.

If the job is meaningful, I truly think the $$ are secondary.

In some ways you take risk by letting it go away. On the other hand it’s early and if the student hustles-clearly they do there will be more.

I’ll leave it with this - if she feels the job is meaningful, that she’ll learn and get mentorship, then it would be a great opportunity !! The payoff - next summer and a full time job in a few years either there or like my son decided, somewhere else.

Btw if it stinks or she doesn’t like the location - it’s only 3 months.

Ps like an ED college acceptance, the pressure is off if she takes it !!

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36

That looks very competitive to.me based on what my company pays interns with much more experience and education and based on what DS made.

At this point, experience should be her top priority- not pay.

Fwiw, negotiating internship compensation was frowned upon at the last two places I worked. Most managers felt that given their experience, interns required a lot of the manager, especially if the manager was trying to make sure it was a good experience. So an intern who came in feeling they were worth more? Uh, no. They’d rather do without. After a summer, HR would do what they could to get the high-performing interns back FT.

If your D doesn’t like this job at this wage, she should keep looking!

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37

Same here. my S18 got $25/hour (but exempt so really just $1000/week) summer after junior year. Happily it was literally down the road from his college apartment in LA and he already had a lease for the summer. He took the return offer which was about a third higher, or at least 50% higher once you included the annual bonus that wasn’t available to interns.

He didn’t get a signing bonus, so this sounds great as all-in compensation. I’d check that there’s another signing bonus if you get a full time offer.

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38

I agree that negotiating salary as an intern is a bad look. Maybe if you have some unique situation you can ask for more fringe benefits, eg a bit more to help cover travel expenses or the rent you are committed to pay on a college apartment?

Especially given the economic situation where jobs might be in short supply in 12 months time, it makes sense to take the internship, even if you keep looking. If something better comes along then so be it. But if you turn it down now then it’s not like they would make you a full time offer. So if you walk away later you are in no worse a situation vis a vis that company, even if they don’t like it.

Not quite the same but I had to push S18 to both accept his return job offer and apply for competitive scholarships in parallel in the fall of senior year. Even then he was reluctant and he eventually submitted the Marshall scholarship but not the Gates scholarship application. In retrospect that was a mistake (he ended up as a Marshall finalist but in some ways Gates was a better match).

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39

Obviously, this works for someone attending an easily affordable college, perhaps with common forum demographic parents with lots of money (who could subsidize the intern if the pay level is too low relative to living expenses).

This means that those who choose an unaffordable or barely affordable college when they have easily affordable options may have to forego a lower paid internship that gives better experience because they have to chase the money.

However, many students from lower income families do not have much of a choice – they may be only barely able to afford the cheapest college to begin with, so their internship search may require a greater focus on the pay level.

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40

Some depends on whether you live in a high cost of living area. In Washington state, minimum wage is &15.74/hour, going up to over $16 in January. With tips, my D22 earned $20/hr at her food service job over the summer (base pay was minimum wage).

Her internship offers were in the mid-$30s/hr.

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