Interns Jobs: What Postings Say About Pay and Hiring

What is the posted pay for interns?

Among postings that list hourly pay, the median is $21.81 an hour. The middle half of postings start between $19.43 an hour and $25.48 an hour, while the median top end of posted hourly pay is $28.69 an hour. For postings that quote an annual rate, the median starting salary is $59,000 a year, with the middle half starting between $44,000 a year and $106,000 a year.

New job postings have changed over the last 30 days. Total new postings came in at 3,779 compared to 7,938 in the prior period, marking a 52% shift down over this 8-week tracking window.

Who is hiring interns?

Employers across multiple sectors are seeking interns. The employer with the most open postings is Enterprise Mobility with 318 listings. This is followed by CDM Smith with 238 active opportunities.

Other major hiring organizations include CVS Health with 154 active postings, Kiewit with 149, and Xcel Energy with 113 open roles.

How to get hired as an intern

Qualifications vary, but the vast majority of positions are accessible. A full 97% of postings are designated as entry-level. While many roles specify a college path, 89% of postings that mention a degree require a bachelor's degree or higher. For postings specifying minimum experience, the median requirement is 1 year.

• Acquire or maintain a valid driver's license, which is listed as a requirement in 5% of postings.
• Build proficiency in Microsoft Office, which is requested in 8% of the opportunities.
• Learn programming fundamentals such as Python, which is named in 6% of postings.
• Master core productivity tools like Microsoft Word (required in 6%) and Excel (found in 5% of postings).

Interview questions for interns

During your interviews, hiring managers will ask about your technical coursework, your ability to handle new challenges, and how you collaborate on projects. Prepare for these real situations:

• Tell me about a time you had to learn a new software tool or programming language quickly for a class project. What steps did you take?
• How do you handle a situation where you are given an assignment with vague instructions or unclear requirements?
• Describe a time when you had to balance multiple tight deadlines, such as exams and major projects. How did you prioritize your work?
• If you notice a mistake in a data spreadsheet or code base created by a senior team member, how would you approach them about it?

Where the jobs are for interns

Opportunities are concentrated in major metropolitan hubs. The city with the highest concentration is New York, NY with 203 active postings, followed by San Francisco, CA with 175, and Chicago, IL with 116.

Additional active cities include Austin, TX with 110 postings and Atlanta, GA with 109 postings. On the state level, California leads with 999 open roles, followed by Texas with 679, New York with 509, Minnesota with 364, and Illinois with 335.

Flexible arrangements represent a small portion of the market: 1% of postings are fully remote, representing 122 active openings, and 10% of the postings are hybrid.

Questions people ask

How much do interns get paid?

The median posted pay is $21.81 an hour. Starting rates in the middle half of postings typically fall between $19.43 an hour and $25.48 an hour.

Which employers have the most postings for interns?

The leading employer is Enterprise Mobility with 318 listings, followed by CDM Smith with 238 and CVS Health with 154.

Are there remote opportunities for interns?

Yes, but they are limited. Only 1% of open positions are remote, which accounts for 122 active listings, while 10% are hybrid.

What skills are most commonly required for interns?

Office productivity and basic coding are highly valued. Postings frequently call for Microsoft Office (in 8% of postings), Python (6%), and Microsoft Word (6%).