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Internships / Co-ops

Internships and co-ops are a great way to earn and learn. You can earn money, credit, and increased marketability for the permanent job search while learning more about a specific field and applying classroom knowledge in a corporate environment.

An internship (semester experience) or a co-op (two semester experience) helps to give you the experience needed to obtain a full time job. Start by researching the careers you are interested in, then use SmealConnect (online job posting system) to review and apply to internship/co-op postings.

Employers consistently list internships and co-ops as the best source of new full-time employees and will look to hire from the intern pool before opening the position to outside candidates.

Towers Watson Career Information Website"Internship experience is the key to putting yourself ahead of the competition. To a prospective employer, prior employment experience illustrates initiative on the part of a student, a sense of career direction, and confirms that he or she has been exposed to work in an office environment."
~ Gina Vaglia, Towers Watson

From the Career & Corporate Connections 2011-2012 Preliminary Recruiting Report*:

  • 76% of students were paid for their internship or co-op experience
  • Average weekly salary for an internship/co-op was $786
  • Average Weekly Salaries by Major
    Accounting $901
    Actuarial Science $838
    Economics n/a
    Finance $849
    Management $602
    MIS $805
    Marketing $634
    Risk Management $724
    Supply Chain
    		 $730
    This salary data is only calculated on base salary. Some companies also include housing
    assistance and other benefits (e.g. Actuarial Science majors frequently receive housing
    assistance along with base salary).

  • 42% of internships resulted in full-time positions with their internship employer - 88% of students hired for full-time jobs had at least one internship or co-op experience during their college career (based on 2012 Senior Survey data). You can view the average salaries for full-time employment online.

*This information is accurate as of August 9, 2012. Final reports will be completed in December 2012.