It’s nearly springtime, which means aspiring tech professionals across the U.S. are scrambling to secure their internships for summer 2023—if they haven’t locked one down already. For many of these seekers, landing an internship at a large, prestigious company would be a dream come true. But how much do such internships actually pay?
As with full-time jobs, internship pay varies by your specialization. According to levels.fyi, which crowdsources compensation data, here are the top-paying companies for research interns. As you might expect, it’s a healthy mix of FAANG+ giants, financial firms, and other tech companies:
(While crowdsourcing isn’t always the most accurate method of data collection and analysis, the numbers generated by levels.fyi have generally aligned with those presented by other sources, so we’re inclined to trust its ranges.)
When we look at the top-paying companies for software engineering interns, something interesting jumps out: they’re mostly financial firms. Over the past several years, financial firms have snatched up tech professionals with a variety of specialties, from SQL and software engineering to Python and JavaScript; those with the deepest pockets have also invested quite a bit in cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and blockchain applications. With that in mind, it stands to reason they’d pay their interns quite a bit:
In fact, financial firms pay their interns twice or even three times as much as FAANG+ companies, at least according to levels.fyi’s data:
Obviously, these high-paying internships are highly competitive. When applying for internships, it always pays to start as early as possible. Applications for summer internships at big companies usually begin the previous year, and many slots are filled by December. At smaller companies and startups, you may have more leeway in terms of applications, but earlier is still better.
In your application, you should highlight your current skills and what you’d like to learn. No matter what your specialization, make it clear to the hiring managers that you’d like to upgrade and polish your skill-set.
Once you land an internship, keep in mind that you’re there to learn: absorb all you can from your team members, and do your best to find a manager or subject-matter specialist who can mentor you. If you succeed as an intern, you could unlock a permanent position at the company, especially if you speak up for yourself and network effectively.
