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> can't imagine someone like Steve Jobs or Nikola Tesla passing these VC/Ivy League kinds of tests. My "favorite" "test" is the one more for soft studies (thin

by jorvi 2y ago

> can't imagine someone like Steve Jobs or Nikola Tesla passing these VC/Ivy League kinds of tests. My "favorite" "test" is the one more for soft studies (think law or public policy) rather than STEM: for example UN internships typically have no compensation and they often require you to relocate to extremely expensive CoL areas, meaning there is an automatic filter built in where only children of very well-off parents can do these kinds of internships and segue into the jobs connected to them.

keiferski 2y ago
This is a big thing in journalism and fashion, too. Doing an unpaid internship in NYC isn’t exactly cheap
RobotToaster 2y ago
Unpaid internships in general are the same "people with rich parents only" filter, to a lesser extent.
- throwaway11460 2y ago
  On the other hand, it's a way to get inside without being evaluated too harshly because they might lose money on you. I know people who started from nothing, couldn't pay the scholarships and were self taught, and the unpaid internship was what propelled them into a serious well paid career.
  - cruffle_duffle 2y ago
    That doesn’t invalidate what the parent said though. Unpaid internships do filter out people who need a paycheck to survive.
    - throwaway11460 2y ago
      Sure they do, but those can apply to a paid position. I don't see why someone who knows enough to get paid would even consider an unpaid internship.
      - Bjartr 2y ago
        Right, it's the people that need the internship to learn/network and need a paycheck that are SoL
alephnerd 2y ago
VC Analyst Internships are very well paid because they are competing with IB Analyst and FAANG SWE/PM internship offers. Imo the easiest way to get a VC Analyst internship is to do EECS@Cal/MIT or CS@Stanford with a Business (or in Cal+Stanford's case Econ or MS&E) minor, do a SWE internship in Frosh summer, and be prominent in your university's entrepreneurship or hackathon scene. That said, my question would be WHY would you want to do that as an undergrad? I'm firmly in the camp that you need to build domain experience in the industry you are investing in, and that takes a decade of SWE, PM, and Sales experience - and that is reflected by the career trajectory of most VCs I work with. Edit: This is not a snipe at Top Programs and VC Analyst roles. They have value in incubating new founders (plenty of successful YC founders have been VC Analysts who leveraged their VC network to start a successful startup). Most of the replies below are just salty.
- humansareok1 2y ago
  The number of Stanford Juniors with 1 summer internship at a VC posting 'deep' Startup insights or advice is shocking. Like what do these kids with literally no experience running or starting anything know about companies? It's mind boggling.
  - thfuran 2y ago
    It's sophomoric, which probably shouldn't be all that surprising from those so recently sophomores.
  - alephnerd 2y ago
    VC Internships are intense, and not every Stanford student can land one. While some advice might be a bit meh, a lot of it is information that has value. And, no offense, but there is a massive difference in calibre between a Stanford/Cal/MIT/T10 CS program (they tend to have 2-4% acceptance rates to either the college or the CS department) and other programs. This doesn't mean that there aren't high calibre candidates at non-T10 programs (I've known plenty of successful SJSU, CUNY, UMinn, etc founders, EMs, SWEs, PMs, and yes even a couple angels and VCs), but it seems that you have a chip on your back. > Like what do these kids with literally no experience running or starting anything know about companies A lot HAVE tried starting something or are in the process of starting a company. Most VC Analysts are hired explicitly so when those Analysts hit the 2 year mark, they can start their own startup.
jakevoytko 2y ago
My wife found a workaround for it, which is when she realized she didn’t want to continue her PhD she landed the UN internship and used her stipend money for that year to live in Queens off the 7. It paid off in the long run since it gave her an opening to do contracting for them, which gave her the knowledge to pass the entrance exam (which is its own soft studies filter, since many who passed had received formal private education that included how to pass international org entrance exams)
rcbdev 2y ago
I used to live next to the Vienna duty station and have never heard of unpaid internships at the UN. They usually pay well above market rate (esp. IAEA and such) - can you please provide more info?
- padthai 2y ago
  I know a bit about the situation in Geneva, and I can confirm that paid UN agency internship seems to be rare.

by jorvi 2y ago

keiferski 2y ago

This is a big thing in journalism and fashion, too. Doing an unpaid internship in NYC isn’t exactly cheap

RobotToaster 2y ago

Unpaid internships in general are the same "people with rich parents only" filter, to a lesser extent.

throwaway11460 2y ago
On the other hand, it's a way to get inside without being evaluated too harshly because they might lose money on you. I know people who started from nothing, couldn't pay the scholarships and were self taught, and the unpaid internship was what propelled them into a serious well paid career.
- cruffle_duffle 2y ago
  That doesn’t invalidate what the parent said though. Unpaid internships do filter out people who need a paycheck to survive.
  - throwaway11460 2y ago
    Sure they do, but those can apply to a paid position. I don't see why someone who knows enough to get paid would even consider an unpaid internship.
    - Bjartr 2y ago
      Right, it's the people that need the internship to learn/network and need a paycheck that are SoL

alephnerd 2y ago

VC Analyst Internships are very well paid because they are competing with IB Analyst and FAANG SWE/PM internship offers. Imo the easiest way to get a VC Analyst internship is to do EECS@Cal/MIT or CS@Stanford with a Business (or in Cal+Stanford's case Econ or MS&E) minor, do a SWE internship in Frosh summer, and be prominent in your university's entrepreneurship or hackathon scene. That said, my question would be WHY would you want to do that as an undergrad? I'm firmly in the camp that you need to build domain experience in the industry you are investing in, and that takes a decade of SWE, PM, and Sales experience - and that is reflected by the career trajectory of most VCs I work with. Edit: This is not a snipe at Top Programs and VC Analyst roles. They have value in incubating new founders (plenty of successful YC founders have been VC Analysts who leveraged their VC network to start a successful startup). Most of the replies below are just salty.

humansareok1 2y ago
The number of Stanford Juniors with 1 summer internship at a VC posting 'deep' Startup insights or advice is shocking. Like what do these kids with literally no experience running or starting anything know about companies? It's mind boggling.
- thfuran 2y ago
  It's sophomoric, which probably shouldn't be all that surprising from those so recently sophomores.
- alephnerd 2y ago
  VC Internships are intense, and not every Stanford student can land one. While some advice might be a bit meh, a lot of it is information that has value. And, no offense, but there is a massive difference in calibre between a Stanford/Cal/MIT/T10 CS program (they tend to have 2-4% acceptance rates to either the college or the CS department) and other programs. This doesn't mean that there aren't high calibre candidates at non-T10 programs (I've known plenty of successful SJSU, CUNY, UMinn, etc founders, EMs, SWEs, PMs, and yes even a couple angels and VCs), but it seems that you have a chip on your back. > Like what do these kids with literally no experience running or starting anything know about companies A lot HAVE tried starting something or are in the process of starting a company. Most VC Analysts are hired explicitly so when those Analysts hit the 2 year mark, they can start their own startup.

jakevoytko 2y ago

My wife found a workaround for it, which is when she realized she didn’t want to continue her PhD she landed the UN internship and used her stipend money for that year to live in Queens off the 7. It paid off in the long run since it gave her an opening to do contracting for them, which gave her the knowledge to pass the entrance exam (which is its own soft studies filter, since many who passed had received formal private education that included how to pass international org entrance exams)

rcbdev 2y ago

I used to live next to the Vienna duty station and have never heard of unpaid internships at the UN. They usually pay well above market rate (esp. IAEA and such) - can you please provide more info?

padthai 2y ago
I know a bit about the situation in Geneva, and I can confirm that paid UN agency internship seems to be rare.