Entry by Pat Patterson
As you may already know, there are many benefits of interning, including:
- Enhancing your educational experience,
- testing out a new organization or industry,
- exposing yourself to multiple departments within an organization,
- discovering your talents and aspects of a job you find appealing,
- gaining real-world job experience,
- learning new skills,
- building your resumé,
- making new connections, and
- setting yourself up for full-time employment.
In addition, according to NACE’s 2010 Student Survey, students from the Class of 2010 who had internship experience received higher average starting salaries than students who had no internship experience:
In terms of starting salary offers, there is a definite financial advantage for students who have internship experience, according to results of NACE’s 2010 Student Survey. Overall, students in the Class of 2010 who had internships received an average salary offer of $41,580. Meanwhile, their classmates who didn’t take internships received an average starting salary offer of $34,601.
By major, the biggest discrepancy came among computer science majors; those with internship experience received an average starting salary offer of $58,920 while those without internships received an offer of $45,000.
What other incentives do you need to start thinking about an internship? If you have not had an internship yet (or even if you have), now is the perfect time to begin searching for one. Visit Indiana INTERNnet and/or your career services office to get started today.
