3 ms·

STEM students can't apply for internships because they are on site and will not pay for relocation, will not pay for housing, and rent leases rarely will do sho

STEM students can't apply for internships because they are on site and will not pay for relocation, will not pay for housing, and rent leases rarely will do short durations. Most grads get those because their family+friends had the resources to help them be successfull. Living in a large city with stem jobs and having an extra room. As housing capital is squeezed so is the nation. The trend is not improving, many otherwise successfully people are or will be homeless and written off. The haves vs the have nots.

kai_ferr 3y ago
The only one benefit of proximity between industry and education is apparent. However, the current financial burdens and stringent prerequisites render these institutions inaccessible to many. High cost of living necessitates parental intervention, often negating the possibility of self-funded students. Prudent individuals are unwilling to jeopardize five years of their life and accumulate substantial debt for a potential. This perhaps elucidates the high attrition rates among higher education students.
lumost 3y ago
aye - we've made the sciences into a bit of a hobby career, or a short career for those who want to pursue passion project for a few years. Of my physics undergrad, around 1/10th were independently wealthy - guess who is still working in physics. The rest either did it for a few years, or got the picture over the course of the undergrad. A 40k/year job is great if you are getting an additional ~120k in cash from existing investments at 22.
chihuahua 3y ago
Is Microsoft not considered STEM? They have always had a lot of interns, and the interships are paid lavishly.
- devwastaken 3y ago
  The num of interns hired is very small, same as how tech has almost no scholarships.
reaperman 3y ago
For chemical engineering internships it was customary and expected for the employer to provide housing as well as some relocation money, in addition to wages. I think lack of housing assistance is generally true of the sciences (biology, chemistry, etc) but less true for engineering. Computer science internships seem to be highly variable and not have any established industry-wide norms for internships.
- devwastaken 3y ago
  Trends from 2010 are no longer applicable. Market has shifted significantly. When there is too many applicants it's easier to limit to local area.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
al_borland 3y ago
I worked a STEM job near a campus we got interns from. It was $26/hr, which at the time was more than we paid contractors for the same work, and possibly more than some entry level direct hires. They could work around school as much as they wanted, we had people there 24x7, so they could set their own hours… as little or as much as they wanted. It was just a few miles from campus, so they already had housing. And with all that, our biggest issue was them deciding to stop showing up after a while. It blew my mind how many of them just stopped coming to work.
- devwastaken 3y ago
  That's a positive effect of having education close to industry. Unfortunately the costs and requirements to get into those schools is now so significant that few can do it. High cost of living = parents have to pay. There isn't the "self funded" student in those circumstances. Responsible and reasonable individuals are not interested in giving up 5 years of their life and accruing high interest debt for the chance at a job. This may explain why many higher education students stopped going to work. The people you actually want to hire likely are working other jobs to afford to stay in school.
  - al_borland 3y ago
    Ironically, the best intern we had, who showed up every day on time, always had a smile on his face, was willing to do whatever, and left on good term, was likely from the most well off family. We all thought he was going to be a spoiled rich kid, but he was great.

kai_ferr 3y ago

The only one benefit of proximity between industry and education is apparent. However, the current financial burdens and stringent prerequisites render these institutions inaccessible to many. High cost of living necessitates parental intervention, often negating the possibility of self-funded students. Prudent individuals are unwilling to jeopardize five years of their life and accumulate substantial debt for a potential. This perhaps elucidates the high attrition rates among higher education students.

lumost 3y ago

aye - we've made the sciences into a bit of a hobby career, or a short career for those who want to pursue passion project for a few years. Of my physics undergrad, around 1/10th were independently wealthy - guess who is still working in physics. The rest either did it for a few years, or got the picture over the course of the undergrad. A 40k/year job is great if you are getting an additional ~120k in cash from existing investments at 22.

chihuahua 3y ago

Is Microsoft not considered STEM? They have always had a lot of interns, and the interships are paid lavishly.

devwastaken 3y ago
The num of interns hired is very small, same as how tech has almost no scholarships.

reaperman 3y ago

For chemical engineering internships it was customary and expected for the employer to provide housing as well as some relocation money, in addition to wages. I think lack of housing assistance is generally true of the sciences (biology, chemistry, etc) but less true for engineering. Computer science internships seem to be highly variable and not have any established industry-wide norms for internships.

devwastaken 3y ago
Trends from 2010 are no longer applicable. Market has shifted significantly. When there is too many applicants it's easier to limit to local area.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

al_borland 3y ago

I worked a STEM job near a campus we got interns from. It was $26/hr, which at the time was more than we paid contractors for the same work, and possibly more than some entry level direct hires. They could work around school as much as they wanted, we had people there 24x7, so they could set their own hours… as little or as much as they wanted. It was just a few miles from campus, so they already had housing. And with all that, our biggest issue was them deciding to stop showing up after a while. It blew my mind how many of them just stopped coming to work.

devwastaken 3y ago
That's a positive effect of having education close to industry. Unfortunately the costs and requirements to get into those schools is now so significant that few can do it. High cost of living = parents have to pay. There isn't the "self funded" student in those circumstances. Responsible and reasonable individuals are not interested in giving up 5 years of their life and accruing high interest debt for the chance at a job. This may explain why many higher education students stopped going to work. The people you actually want to hire likely are working other jobs to afford to stay in school.
- al_borland 3y ago
  Ironically, the best intern we had, who showed up every day on time, always had a smile on his face, was willing to do whatever, and left on good term, was likely from the most well off family. We all thought he was going to be a spoiled rich kid, but he was great.