4 ms·

This only really applies to humanities students. Take a degree in the natural sciences, engineering, CS or mathematics and you may find that people are much mor

by SandB0x 16y ago

This only really applies to humanities students. Take a degree in the natural sciences, engineering, CS or mathematics and you may find that people are much more willing to part with money for your services.

orijing 16y ago
Exactly. I was able to pay for tuition and living expenses without debt and financial aid because software internships were so lucrative (even in the midst of the Great Recession). But then again, I studied at a public university. I feel for my friends (and others) who had to work all summer, perhaps during the year, without pay in order to pad their resumes.
nroman 16y ago
The top tech companies (Google, Facebook, MS, etc.) see internships as the best way to recruit the top talent as they graduate from college. For this reason they will often pay engineering interns anywhere from $5000-$7000 a month. Internships are also a much better way to screen a potential full-time employee. The company gets 3 months to interview the candidate in a real work environment, instead of a few hours in front of a white board.
gbrindisi 16y ago
It depends a lot on the politics of the country you live. In my case (italy) hardly anyone will pay you a cent for your interniship even if you are an engineering, CS or math student. Often companies (expecially if they are little) here see internship like a way to have free manpower.
- eru 16y ago
  Just apply for an internship in a different European country. That kind of arbitrage is what the EU is for.
  - gbrindisi 16y ago
    Even if this is a possibility, it's not a solution.
    - bugsy 16y ago
      Could you expand on that a bit? How is it not a solution? If party A will not pay for your labor but party B will, you would choose to work for part B of course and party A would be rightfully deprived of skilled labor because they are not willing to pay for it. What could be wrong with this situation?
      - gbrindisi 16y ago
        What I mean is that this could be a solution for few people but not for every one. Looking from a country prospective, expecially an economic point of view, it's not a long term solution if the majority of your students apply for interniship in a foreign country (even if EU). Europe is not USA, we are not a single federal country but an "alliance" of many countries with different economies, rules, languages and even cultures which are in many cases an obstacle. If it would be relatively easy for a californania student to apply for an internship in NY, would not be as easy for a polish student to go and take an interniship in portugal for the reasons listed.
        eru 16y ago
        Effects on the margin matter. If enough workers shun one place for its conditions, something is bound to happen.
grav1tas 16y ago
Agreed. My second year in college as a CS student I felt like I was rolling in money (relative to working at a grocery store) when I had an internship.
Deutscher 16y ago
I must have done something wrong then. I graduated with a Masters degree in a traditional/hard Engineering discipline (GPA ~3.5) in 2008 and worked as an unpaid CAD monkey for 6 months. I submitted more resumes than I can remember for full-time positions, but didn't even get a single interview call. I am now gainfully employed, but doing nothing related to my undergraduate/graduate education.
- nphrk 16y ago
  Is this Germany (judging from your username) ?
  - Deutscher 16y ago
    No, USA.
- barik 16y ago
  Yes, you probably did something wrong. If you want to have a job after graduation, the surest path is to do an internship or coop while you are still in school. Surprisingly, it doesn't have to be much either. One summer is usually sufficient, as companies don't want to roll the dice on full-time hires with no documented work history.
DarkShikari 16y ago
Agreed -- since entering college, I have yet to be paid less than $6000/month for a software-related internship (counting benefits such as free housing, etc). I have typically been treated as a starting employee who's simply only going to be around for 3 months, not an "intern". Maybe this is just West Coast tech companies, I don't know.
- alnayyir 16y ago
  > Maybe this is just West Coast tech companies, I don't know. reply Yep. I know some pretty poorly paid programmers.

by SandB0x 16y ago

orijing 16y ago

Exactly. I was able to pay for tuition and living expenses without debt and financial aid because software internships were so lucrative (even in the midst of the Great Recession). But then again, I studied at a public university. I feel for my friends (and others) who had to work all summer, perhaps during the year, without pay in order to pad their resumes.

nroman 16y ago

The top tech companies (Google, Facebook, MS, etc.) see internships as the best way to recruit the top talent as they graduate from college. For this reason they will often pay engineering interns anywhere from $5000-$7000 a month. Internships are also a much better way to screen a potential full-time employee. The company gets 3 months to interview the candidate in a real work environment, instead of a few hours in front of a white board.

gbrindisi 16y ago

It depends a lot on the politics of the country you live. In my case (italy) hardly anyone will pay you a cent for your interniship even if you are an engineering, CS or math student. Often companies (expecially if they are little) here see internship like a way to have free manpower.

eru 16y ago
Just apply for an internship in a different European country. That kind of arbitrage is what the EU is for.
- gbrindisi 16y ago
  Even if this is a possibility, it's not a solution.
  - bugsy 16y ago
    Could you expand on that a bit? How is it not a solution? If party A will not pay for your labor but party B will, you would choose to work for part B of course and party A would be rightfully deprived of skilled labor because they are not willing to pay for it. What could be wrong with this situation?
    - gbrindisi 16y ago
      What I mean is that this could be a solution for few people but not for every one. Looking from a country prospective, expecially an economic point of view, it's not a long term solution if the majority of your students apply for interniship in a foreign country (even if EU). Europe is not USA, we are not a single federal country but an "alliance" of many countries with different economies, rules, languages and even cultures which are in many cases an obstacle. If it would be relatively easy for a californania student to apply for an internship in NY, would not be as easy for a polish student to go and take an interniship in portugal for the reasons listed.
      - eru 16y ago
        Effects on the margin matter. If enough workers shun one place for its conditions, something is bound to happen.

grav1tas 16y ago

Agreed. My second year in college as a CS student I felt like I was rolling in money (relative to working at a grocery store) when I had an internship.

Deutscher 16y ago

I must have done something wrong then. I graduated with a Masters degree in a traditional/hard Engineering discipline (GPA ~3.5) in 2008 and worked as an unpaid CAD monkey for 6 months. I submitted more resumes than I can remember for full-time positions, but didn't even get a single interview call. I am now gainfully employed, but doing nothing related to my undergraduate/graduate education.

nphrk 16y ago
Is this Germany (judging from your username) ?
- Deutscher 16y ago
  No, USA.
barik 16y ago
Yes, you probably did something wrong. If you want to have a job after graduation, the surest path is to do an internship or coop while you are still in school. Surprisingly, it doesn't have to be much either. One summer is usually sufficient, as companies don't want to roll the dice on full-time hires with no documented work history.

DarkShikari 16y ago

Agreed -- since entering college, I have yet to be paid less than $6000/month for a software-related internship (counting benefits such as free housing, etc). I have typically been treated as a starting employee who's simply only going to be around for 3 months, not an "intern". Maybe this is just West Coast tech companies, I don't know.

alnayyir 16y ago
> Maybe this is just West Coast tech companies, I don't know. reply Yep. I know some pretty poorly paid programmers.