Glassdoor, a website that offers an inside look at employee earnings and company reviews, has compiled a report that ranks where interns are compensated most generously. The results are revealing, and pretty shocking when we realize just how much some interns take home.
Of course, compensation isn’t the sole factor that drives workers to seek internships. Most interns rank career growth as their motivation to work for free.
Yet, unpaid internships are far too prevalent in the contemporary working world and all too often younger generations surrender their time and efforts for little or no compensation.
This lends itself to a deeper issue — one with roots in the socioeconomic arena. Most people can’t afford to work for free. Unpaid internships give an unfair advantage to privileged candidates, and ultimately perpetuate a growing equality gap.
These figures, therefore, are like a shot in the arm. Not only are some companies paying their entry-level contributors, but they’re paying them handsomely.
The median annual income for households in the US is $53,000. If the monthly earnings of top-paid interns were to be converted to an annual salary, some interns would stand to earn $75,000 a year.
As someone who writes for a living, I’m more than a little grossed out. Yet, I’m not above celebrating the empowerment of young workers entering the force.
Wondering where to apply for an internship? According to this report, the technology, oil, gas and energy utilities sectors pay the most.
Unsurprisingly, San Francisco-based firms landed 18 of the 25 spots on this list. So, the next time interns in the Bay Area get sent on a coffee run, maybe they should pick up the bill.
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