Oh, the joys of being a computer science major, and an intern at a technology titan. Glassdoor, the careers Web site, released a ranking of the companies with the top paying internship programs.
And, guess what? If you pull down an internship at companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, eBay, or Google, you can make big bucks. All of those companies were in the top 10 in terms of compensation for interns, paying out more than $5,000 per month.
Palantir, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based data science company, led the list with an average monthly payment of $7,012. That would equate to $84,144 if annualized, or as Glassdoor notes $31,000 more than the U.S. median household income of $53,046.
Internships at tech companies are highly coveted, and can set the stage for more long-term work.
For many companies, it is an important pipeline of talent, getting a chance to grab smart and talented programmers before they make a final employment decision.
The pay — and perks as highlighted in the comedy “The Internship” — also make it especially challenging for smaller startups to compete.
Interestingly, 18 of the top 25 companies are based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two companies — Microsoft and Amazon.com — are located in the Seattle area. Google, Facebook and Twitter also have growing outposts in the Seattle area.
