Tuesday | May 22, 2012
Top 10 Internships of 2007
| Rate Center | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Today's Average Rates Across the Country* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By
Carrie Pierce
15 March 2007
This summer, many college students will explore life in the real world through an internship. Some will stay for a few months, others for years, and all will come out with a better idea of what they want to do after graduation. There is no doubt that their experiences will help significantly when securing a job, as the number of internships completed by students has shown to increase their chances of receiving full-time jobs. Research shows that 85 percent of companies use internships and similar practical education programs to recruit for full-time employees.
According to Vault, a media company focused on careers, if you want to break into a tough field, such as entertainment, advertising or politics, the best way is to intern in that field. You will have great experience, a nice addition to your résumé, and the chance to meet many contacts and potential mentors.
Recently, the company announced its Top 10 Internships of 2007. The list is created by Samer Hamadeh and Mark Oldman, co-founders of Vault and nationally recognized experts on the subject of internships.
- AT&T Finance
- The Boston Consulting Group
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
- INROADS
- JPMorgan
- Late Show with David Letterman
- Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
- Smithsonian Institution
- Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Claire Yaptangco, manager of publicity for Vault, explained that the top internships are determined by multiple factors including substantive work, pay, perks, selectivity, and how the internship looks to potential employers. She warns students that employers for the top internships can be very selective.
"If a student does not have the required qualifications, it may be difficult to obtain an internship with the top ranked companies," Yaptangco said.
Having these correct qualifications can pay off, literally. Yaptangco noted that many of the internship programs help the students financially. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation provides a stipend to chosen interns. The Federal Bureau of Investigation offers some intern positions that are both paid and unpaid – the honors program for undergraduates are paid $470 per week and $522 per week for graduate students. The Hawk Mountain Sanctuary pays interns a weekly stipend of $500 and provides free housing. INROADS pays between $10-$25 an hour. JPMorgan also has an entry-level competitive salary for interns with an incentive bonus. "Late Show with David Letterman" provides academic credit. Northwestern Mutual Financial Network offers a sales commission and bonus incentives.
Debbie Chang, a junior at Harvard University, interned for 12 weeks at the Smithsonian Institution last summer as an assistant in the Environmental Research Center. She spent her time researching the relationship between a red-tide dinoflagellate and its parasite. Chang found the program on the Internet and secured the job through an application and brief phone interview.
"I thought it would be a great introduction to marine biology research," Chang said. "It also seemed like a very well-established program."
University of Maryland senior Stacy Leong interned at JPMorgan as a summer analyst in the Investment Bank Operations department. She found the internship on the company’s website and chose to apply because the job description was interesting to her.
"The program offered different opportunities/job functions, which allowed us to explore different career options within Investment Bank Operations," Leong said.
Andy Ellwood, an intern turned employee at Northwestern Mutual, interned at the company for two and a half years while completing his finance degree at Texas A&M University. Northwestern Mutual was named as a top internship at the Vault for the eleventh consecutive year.
"The internship is set up the same as a real job," Ellwood said. "That is why it is ranked so high."
Ellwood found out about this internship program at Texas A&M’s career fair. After a rigorous interview process and screening, he became an intern repetitive in the Dallas office. After that initial summer, Ellwood stayed with the company after returning to study at A&M and set up an office at his residence. By the time he had graduated, he already had 34 clients.
"They told me I could set my own hours since it was a commission based internship," Ellwood said.
Because of Northwestern Mutual’s flexibility and competitive salary, it is one of the most sought after internships. Interns receive the same commission as full-time employees. Ellwood said that last summer there were more than 500 applicants and only 35 interns were hired.
At the Smithsonian Institution, Chang made $400 per week and onsite housing was available for $75 a week. Other perks were access through the staff entrance at any Smithsonian museum. The internship also came with free IMAX entrance and meal tickets to the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival, panels on ethics in the sciences and career paths and a free group excursion to the Baltimore aquarium. She said this was a wonderful program because she was given freedom to design her own project. She also received training and assistance whenever needed.
"They really put together a great program with a great group of interns," Chang said. "It was a wonderful introduction to lab research for me, and I developed a strong repertoire of the lab skills needed in my field of research."
Leong said interning at JPMorgan was a nice, learning experience. She worked on about eight different projects for 10 weeks, and gave a final presentation to the managing director and vice-presidents in her group. Added perks were the information sessions on various groups within the company and social events with other interns and co-workers.
"The most important thing that I took away from this internship is developing analytical, technical, teamwork, and presentation skills," Leong said. "My favorite thing was the culture and how everyone is supportive and willing to help out."
Ellwood’s favorite part of his internship was that there was no limit to how much money he could make. He was also able to help people and be a resource to them. At Northwestern Mutual, 30% of interns go on to be full-time employees. Of the company’s top 20 financial representatives in the nation, one-third of them are former interns.
Chang did not seek a full-time job at the Smithsonian Institute, but knows another intern who graduated recently who did. Leong also received a job offer at JP Morgan after the internship. She said it was based on how well she performed over the summer and her manger’s appraisal.
Vault’s Yaptangco said interns have a greater chance of receiving job offers. If an intern desires to work full-time for the company of their internship, she said they should communicate that with the hiring manager, determine requirements for going full-time and have solid references from employees and managers with which they worked on projects.
"Internships are important because they allow for students to have an edge over students that never had internships," she said. "Interns will gain on-the-job experience such as communicating with employees from different departments, understanding office hierarchy’s and protocols and learning new resources."
Yaptangco advises that students take advantage of the contacts they made through internships and start building a network of career contacts and mentors. Ellwood said internships are vital because they give one a chance to test drive a career. He advised that it is important to find an internship with a reputable company that teaches skills that aren’t just specific to that company or field.
"Mine gave me the opportunity to learn a lot and build a network," Ellwood said. "Going full-time was seamless and natural because I was continuing something I had already started."
© 2008, Young Money Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Tag Cloud
Financial help Center
Newsletter Sign Up
Enter to win a Young Money Career Package by signing up for our newletter.
I’d enjoy hearing from people who have had experiences with government internships.
Thanks, Debra Karplus, author