Internships have become the starting point to a successful career for many.
People spend countless hours perfecting their resume to get selected as an intern.
But have you ever pondered “Why?”
Why do people spend so many hours just for an internship, and that too, is 30.8% to 58.1% unpaid? How much do the selected interns earn after putting in so much effort?
If so, don’t miss out on going through this topic till the end because here, I’m gonna share some insightful internship statistics that will answer all your questions.
Ready to dive in? Let’s begin –
Most interesting internship statistics
47.8% of respondents engaged in in-person internships, while 44.9% participated in online internships even after the claims that internships would entirely shift to online.
The typical duration of an internship is 18.3 weeks.
The distance from students’ residences to their internship locations averaged 315 miles. Students participating in online internships tended to cover shorter distances, approx. 288 miles, compared to their counterparts engaged in in-person internships, who traveled an average of 331 miles.
67.3% of non-interns at 17 campuses expressed a desire to pursue internships but couldn’t.
University student internship rates range from 21.5% to 50%.
The percentage of unpaid internships ranges from 30.8% to 58.1%.
During the pandemic, 64% of companies that canceled internships did not provide any compensation.
Interesting facts about internship
- 39.8% of interns did not get paid.
- 36.8% of the interns performed high-skill tasks with supervision.
- 22% of students didn’t care if they spoke on a video conference with their manager. 6% preferred phone or chat, and 30% frequently preferred video conferences.
- 41% of interns wanted virtual programming for the entire intern class.
- The farming, fishing, and forestry industries show lower demands for internships.
- The oil and gas extraction industry planned to hire 105.9% more graduates than they hired in 2021.
- In 2019, Yello reported that 85% of students avoided mentioning canceled internships on their resumes.
- In the legal field, Chegg noted that around 86% of law clerks have undergone internship experiences.
- Three in four entry-level hires in professions such as reporting (82%), audit associate (85%), and analyst (77%) have internship experience.
- One in three real estate agents, insurance agents, and systems administrators have also engaged in internships.
- 38% of college students have reported that the internship they secured was canceled, whereas 37% said that those opportunities have been delayed or shifted to remote.
- 36.4% of interns expressed extreme satisfaction.
How are interns selected?
In 2022, only 9% of employers used personality tests to screen candidates, a decrease from about 33% in 2014.
What are the benefits provided to interns?
The National Association of Colleges and Employers outlined the benefits companies provide to interns:
- Over 84% of businesses offered planned social activities to unpaid interns.
- 52% assisted interns with paid holidays.
- Less than 18% offered medical insurance.
- 5% provided tuition reimbursements.
- 6.6% offered scholarships.
COVID-19 & Internships
- Before the Covid-19 pandemic, internship rates ranged between 50% to 60%. Recent research, however, indicates a lower rate of 21.5%.
- Internship recruitment levels are expected to increase, with significant growth projected in several industries: retail, FMCG, and tourism (97%), charity and the public sector (75%), and digital and IT (74%).
- Almost half of employers plan to offer hybrid internships, while 25.8% will stick to in-person experiences.
- According to CNBC, in 2020, 2% of businesses had to take back job offers they initially offered.
- 40% of businesses shifted to virtual internships.
- 84% of students expressed openness to engaging in remote internships.
- Yello’s findings revealed that 67% of students participating in virtual internships preferred daily check-ins with their managers. [4]
- 51% of students were relieved that their internships were not canceled due to the virtual format.
- 70% of students whose internships were canceled due to the pandemic expressed disappointment but understood the situation.
- 4% were relieved about their canceled internship because they didn’t want to work onsite during COVID-19.
- The remaining 26% were worried about what they would do after cancellation.
Paid vs unpaid internships stats
- 71% of full-time interns received a salary, compared to 74% of part-time interns.
- 43% of interns did not receive compensation for their work.
- When it comes to employer responses, they are more likely to respond to candidates applying for unpaid internships than paid ones.
- The percentage of unpaid internships ranges from 30.8% to 58.1%.
- Regarding gender differences, 54.3% of women take unpaid internships.
- First-generation students are more likely to take unpaid internships (52%) than non-first-generation students (39%).
- 46% of the students hailing from families with income lower than $80k did unpaid internships, whereas only 40% of students with family income of more than $80k pursued unpaid work.
- Non-profit organizations offered 57% unpaid internships, followed by the government (48%) and the for-profit sector (34%).
- According to Barroso & Brown, women get paid only 84% of what men are paid in internships.
- Over half of interns in architecture and engineering, sales, construction, and extraction get paid.
- 64% of businesses had no choice but to cancel their internship programs entirely without compensating the interns.
- 81.7% of paid interns started their job search immediately after completing their internship.
- Paid interns could anticipate a salary ranging from $50,000 to $55,000.
- 60.8% of interns received compensation.
- Talking about Unpaid internships, they were most common in social services.
- Women were reported to be 77% more likely to engage in unpaid internships.
- Certain majors, like fashion merchandising, journalism, and human development, were associated with a higher likelihood of unpaid internships.
- Paid interns were found to be 34% more likely to receive at least one job offer after graduation.
Internship salary statistics
- Software Engineers and interns get an average salary of $ 66012.
- Boeing Co. interns had a median monthly salary of $4,167, while Dell interns earned $4,333. Interns at Microsoft received a median monthly pay of $7,250, and those at Google earned an impressive $7,500.
- In the case of Facebook, Vox reported the company’s plan to increase intern pay from $15 to $18 in 2019.
- Signing bonuses were prevalent, with a median of $2,580 for interns and a higher $3,546 for co-ops.
- The average hourly pay for paid interns with bachelor’s degrees was $16.26 whereas it’s $21.90 for a person with a master’s degree.
- 43% of college graduates are underemployed in their initial jobs.
- The average pay for recent college graduates with full-time jobs was $47,470 per year.
- Underemployed graduates earned an average salary of $37,330.
Which are the highest-paying internships?
Regarding the highest-paying internships, industries like tech, finance, and consulting stand out.
- Six out of ten of the highest-paying internships for 2022 are in the tech industry.
- Business Insider highlighted the top-paying industries for interns:
- Tech companies like Uber, Facebook, Salesforce, and Google offered the most competitive pay.
- Finance and consulting companies such as Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, and KPMG closely followed.
- The internship with the highest pay is at Roblox, offering an average monthly income of $9,667. The second highest pay is at Uber, with an average monthly pay of $8333.
- Computer science graduates are the highest-paid group of majors, with an average salary of $75,900, followed by engineering graduate students with an average salary of $73,922.
Internship and job offer statistics
- College Recruiter reported that 57.5% of students with internship experience and 43.5% of graduate students without internship exposure received job offers.
- Of graduates who got paid as interns, 66.4% secured at least one job offer, whereas only 43.7% of unpaid interns got job offers.
- 53.2% of graduating interns applying for full-time positions received at least one job offer in 2019, according to College Recruiter.
- Tech giants Google (78.3%), Facebook (80.2%), and IBM (70.1%) highly favor graduates with internship experience.
What are interns’ communication preferences?
When it comes to communication preferences – 40% of virtual interns preferred short, 5- to 10-minute daily check-ins with their manager but once a week for an hour.
7% leaned towards longer, 30- to 60-minute sessions.
Thirty percent opted for weekly, 30- to 60-minute check-ins.
Video conferencing was favoured by 30% of college interns, while 6% preferred chat over video.
What are internships’ impact on retention rates?
- 69% of 2019 graduates had completed at least one internship.
- More than 80% of employees at Big Four accounting firms, namely PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY, have completed internships.
- PwC offers more than 90% of its interns full-time positions.
- The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) provided insights into the retention rates for interns.
| Duration | Retention rate of intern hired with internal experience | Retention rate of intern hired with external experience |
|---|---|---|
| One-year rates | 71.4% | 59% |
| Five-year rates | 43.9% | 37.3% |
Discrimination in the workplace statistics
The percentage of respondents reporting discrimination at their workplace is only 3.3%.
Though 53.8% of students have reported the presence of anti-discriminatory policies in their workplace, 14.8% said they were absent, and 31.4% were unsure if anything like that exists in the organization they work for.
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Frequently Asked Questions –
Which fields are more challenging to find internships in?
Internships in STEM-related fields, social science, communications, media, humanities, social sciences, health, etc., are reported to be more challenging than other fields.
How important are internships?
94.9% of employers regarded internships and co-ops as “very” or “extremely” important.
What are the internship offers and acceptance rates?
The offer rate for interns was 70.4%, with an acceptance rate of 79.6% and a conversion rate of 56.1%.
Which industries show the highest internship demands?
The highest demands are observed in business and financial operations, arts, design, media, and sales.
So, summing up…
A study by NACE says that 80% of employers believe that internships help students develop the skills needed to be successful in the workplace.
Not only employers but 70% of interns believe that internships have helped them improve their communication skills.
On top of gaining skills and experience, internships also increase the chances of getting job offers.
So, we can say that internships have kind of become the stepping stone to employment.
Sources
- National Survey of College Internships 2021 Report
- Unpaid Internships & Inequality
- Students among workers getting stiffed as many internships canceled.
- Virtual Internship Statistics and Trends: A 2020 Covid-19 Impact Report
- The four stages of building a Global Internship Program
- Employers Plan to Hire 31.6% More College Grads
- More than 40% of interns are still unpaid – here’s the history of why that’s legal.
- Roblox is winning the tech internship game the cool way – with money.
- The Demand for Interns.
- Who are the unpaid interns? Preliminary findings from 13 institutions in the College Internship Study
- The 10 highest-paying internships of 2023, according to Glassdoor – some pay over $9,000 a month.
- Gruvi Salary for Software Engineer and Intern.
- Future of Jobs Report 2023.
- Will you get an internship this summer? Explaining the labor market demand for interns.
- Starting Salaries For Computer Sciences Grads to Rise 5.2%: NACE.
- Five internships and placement trends of 2021.
- 2:1 degrees and personality tests lose favour.
- From Facebook to the State Department, how coronavirus has changed summer internships.
- 38% of College Students Lost Work because of Coronavirus.
- How Internships Impact Employability and Salary.
- Coronavirus brings cloud of uncertainty over Summer internships.
- The 25 highest-paying internships in the US.
- 2022 Guide To Compensation For Interns and Co-ops
- Understanding the impact of unpaid internships on college student career development and employment outcomes.
- How unpaid Internships reinforce racial wealth gap.
- How much does an intern earn in the United States.
- The ins and outs of college internships: Paid vs Unpaid.
- 2021 Guide to Compensation for interns and co-ops.
- Underemployment Persists Throughout College Graduates’ Careers
- Trends in One-year, Five-year Intern retention rates.
- How important are Internships and Co-ops?
- Internships by the Numbers.
- 2023 NACE internship and Co-op Report.
- Starting salaries for computer sciences grads to rise 5.2%: NACE
Alison Adams, a Philly native and proud University of Pennsylvania alum, is your go-to Career Expert with a laid-back approach. She’s been in the job seeker’s shoes and knows how to navigate the wild world of work. Alison’s all about sharing practical tips and tricks with a personal touch, making her a favorite for those looking to level up their careers.