Page 6 - State of the Internship NoSeal
P. 6
Defining Internship Preference
Chapter Highlights
• Students seek major-relevant internships that will help them get a foot in the door
for later job and career opportunities. This finding is particularly true for juniors and
seniors in career-oriented majors.
• Other top five internship attributes endorsed by about five in 10 students include
access to mentorship and company executives; a good work/life balance; and
clearly defined assignments. Receiving compensation falls just outside of the
top five, but should be considered a strong second-tier attribute, voted as “very
important” by 47.4 percent of students.
• Students consider two to three months as the ideal length for internships. Students with
prior internship experience are more likely proponents of longer durations of three or
more months.
• About two-thirds of students believe internships should be a mandatory component of
any college degree. This belief becomes more prevalent with more years of education.
For example, 67.7 percent of seniors believe internship should be mandatory, as opposed
to 74.4 percent of graduate students.
• While opinions are somewhat divided, midsize companies draw the greatest interest
among students looking for internships. These are defined as companies with 50-250
employees and receive 42.2 percent of the student vote. Small and large companies
follow, at 20.2 percent and 18.6 percent respectively.
• Across three business types, students prefer internships at for-profit companies, at 67.1
percent. Non-profits are second at 19.1 percent, with the remaining students preferring
government internships. Preferences are highly influenced by degree, major, gender,
ethnicity, region and other variables.
• Across a host of industries, marketing/advertising/PR agencies are the top pick for
internships with 36.9 percent of the vote. This preference is highly driven by female
students, at 43.6 percent. Other top picks are technology, including hardware, software
and web companies (driven by male students at 43.1 percent), government, professional
services and healthcare. Industry choices are highly influenced by majors and gender.
• An analysis of students’ “dream internships” clearly shows that there is student interest in
organizations of all industries and sizes. Ideas ranged from very detailed descriptions
of projects to specific companies, mentors, job functions and projects. Dream orga-
nizations include Fortune 500 companies right along with small businesses,
government, community groups and other organizations. Dream mentors include
legends in all industries, from sports and music to business and engineering. Projects
range from inventing products at a startup to being part of the next Apple product. A
full list of dream internships can be obtained by emailing nathan@internmatch.com.
© InternMatch | State of Internships 2014 Page | 6
Chapter Highlights
• Students seek major-relevant internships that will help them get a foot in the door
for later job and career opportunities. This finding is particularly true for juniors and
seniors in career-oriented majors.
• Other top five internship attributes endorsed by about five in 10 students include
access to mentorship and company executives; a good work/life balance; and
clearly defined assignments. Receiving compensation falls just outside of the
top five, but should be considered a strong second-tier attribute, voted as “very
important” by 47.4 percent of students.
• Students consider two to three months as the ideal length for internships. Students with
prior internship experience are more likely proponents of longer durations of three or
more months.
• About two-thirds of students believe internships should be a mandatory component of
any college degree. This belief becomes more prevalent with more years of education.
For example, 67.7 percent of seniors believe internship should be mandatory, as opposed
to 74.4 percent of graduate students.
• While opinions are somewhat divided, midsize companies draw the greatest interest
among students looking for internships. These are defined as companies with 50-250
employees and receive 42.2 percent of the student vote. Small and large companies
follow, at 20.2 percent and 18.6 percent respectively.
• Across three business types, students prefer internships at for-profit companies, at 67.1
percent. Non-profits are second at 19.1 percent, with the remaining students preferring
government internships. Preferences are highly influenced by degree, major, gender,
ethnicity, region and other variables.
• Across a host of industries, marketing/advertising/PR agencies are the top pick for
internships with 36.9 percent of the vote. This preference is highly driven by female
students, at 43.6 percent. Other top picks are technology, including hardware, software
and web companies (driven by male students at 43.1 percent), government, professional
services and healthcare. Industry choices are highly influenced by majors and gender.
• An analysis of students’ “dream internships” clearly shows that there is student interest in
organizations of all industries and sizes. Ideas ranged from very detailed descriptions
of projects to specific companies, mentors, job functions and projects. Dream orga-
nizations include Fortune 500 companies right along with small businesses,
government, community groups and other organizations. Dream mentors include
legends in all industries, from sports and music to business and engineering. Projects
range from inventing products at a startup to being part of the next Apple product. A
full list of dream internships can be obtained by emailing nathan@internmatch.com.
© InternMatch | State of Internships 2014 Page | 6
