by Sarah Y. Durning, CourseAdvisor
Get started on your career path today!
Gone are the days of stuffing envelopes in a dark corner without a dime to show for it. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), paid internships are becoming a significant component of college degree programs — and no wonder, since this apprenticeship is a win-win situation for both student and employer.
How can you benefit from paid internships?
- Substantially increase your chances of being hired for a permanent full-time job after you finish your college degree program
- Earn high pay (average wage in 2007 was $16/hour)
- Gain valuable work experience, which makes you more qualified for a good full-time position — even with employers not related to the internship
Employers appreciate and hire interns
Employers have found that paid internships are an excellent source of talented employees. Successful interns, like trained apprentices, are on-the-spot candidates for permanent positions, having learned the necessary skills on the job while also earning their college degree.
Employers also appreciate the job dedication that paid internships seem to encourage — it turns out that interns who accept full-time positions with their internship employer stay with the job longer than those not hired through the internship program. This is probably because a paid internship gives the student and employer time to build a relationship that works for both.
How much do paid internships pay?
The average hourly wage for paid internships is about $16, but the pay scale depends on a number of common sense factors, including:
- How far into your college degree program you are. First year? Almost finished?
- The degree you're earning. Undergraduate degree? Master's degree?
- Your field of study. Computer science? Business administration? Liberal arts?
- Where the internship company is located and what business it serves
How to find paid internships
- Visit your school's career center. Many schools have long-standing partnerships with local employers to provide internship opportunities and job placement
- Go to career fairs
- Talk to your teachers or academic advisor for internship contacts through industry connections
Internship as Career Training: Experience + Education
Paid internships benefit both students and employers.
For students, this career education is a chance to learn the practical skills related to their college degree program — and it keeps them employed while they're in school, a necessity for most students.
For employers, the paid internship program provides for training talented students on the job while looking forward to having dedicated, college-educated employees after graduation.
The paid internship is a great career education opportunity — you're getting paid to learn!
Sources: National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) "2008 Experiential Education Survey" and "2007 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey." Employers who participated in the Experiential Education Survey reported that they offered jobs to almost 70% of their interns and that 36% of the new college graduates they hired came directly from their own internship programs.
About NACE: Since 1956, NACE (www.naceweb.org) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE provides quarterly surveys of starting salary offers and hiring projections to new college graduates and a range of recruiting information and services to career services professional members.
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Sarah Y. Durning is a Content Editor at CourseAdvisor
