I think it runs the gamut depending on role, location, company profile etc. so far my son has completed 2 internships and will be doing another 2 this summer and fall.
Summer 2023 - Bay Area startup with <10 engineers on the team. Offered $25/hr + free meals every day but no housing allowance. They were only looking for local candidates
Summer 2024 - Famous Research lab that offered flat stipend for the 10 week internship but nothing else, mainly because it was a DOE run program.
Summer 2025 - Big name fintech offers $1600 a month stipend (or) corp housing. Another big name fintech offered $8k no questions asked housing allowance even for local candidates.
Fall 2025 - Big space tech firm offered $3k housing and relocation allowance but helps facilitate interns find shared housing.
My D was a chem e (class of '23). Her co op compensation was very generous + housing + 401k match + relocation money with every rotation. Most of her friends were also chem es but she also had friends in civil, mech, and aero with similar packages.
She accepted an offer from her co op company for an ELDP position after graduation and just rolled out of that program after two years. Her experience with LDP programs has been very, very positive. Congratulations to your son!!! I hope he has a great experience!!!
A friend was telling me about her college student internship things….in DC. She said there were 50 somethings and 60 somethings who had been laid off from government jobs who were looking for the same things the college students usually took. The internship market in DC is apparently a mess.
My daughter is finishing as an FRP at C1…experience and pay has been fantastic. First rotation was FP&A second is credit accounting and she’s heavily involved in the Discover merger…3 McIntire grads and her (Econ) in her class. This was class of ‘23 but 95k starting salary with $17K signing bonus
Candidly, if my kids got a great internship opportunity somewhere, Id pay for the housing.
IMO, anything that could lead to a potential future job opportunity would be too good to pass up. I see it as an investment in their future just like paying for college.
I know not all families could afford this or believe in it (they should pay it themselves/find their own way etc) but that’s just my personal opinion.
Awesome. My kid is headed to Charlotte and would not be a fan of DC. He was not a fan of Atlanta either, which is where I grew up. I think Charlotte may be a good fit for him. It reminds me of Atlanta 30 years ago. Like I said - so thankful he has a good job, love the rotational aspect and he is excited about his roommate (who is from Virginia )
C1 has some great campuses and a really well run intern program. Come to think, most large firms with well structured intern programs typically help with housing in some way. I think the C1 intern program had a $3k stipend or corp housing depending on the location.
My D21 (BS in Earth Systems in June ‘25) applied to about 20-25 paid internships for this summer - June-September - before she begins her MS in CEE in the fall. She had 3 interviews and 2 offers and accepted one offer last week at an engineering firm close to home, so she’ll be living at home this summer before going back to her university in the fall. This past week she also got notified for interviews at 2 more firms. I was surprised (but pleased!) that companies are still hiring interns this late in the spring, she admittedly got a late start applying. I believe the pay is about $25 per hour, so living at home and not having to pay rent or for a sublet is ideal.
Housing is not typically included in internships. It is a rarity. And 3k stipend is a month in NYC. We paid it because we could but many cannot. In Atlanta almost no one offers housing or any stipend at all. Curious what market you are talking about?
From a practical standpoint, I’m going to have my D type “exempt” on her W-4 for the summer internship. She didnt owe taxes last year and should be under the threshold in 2025 as well.
I believe if you make less than $14,600 (earned income )in 2024 (assume $15k in 2025) you dont have to file a tax return. And by claiming exempt, she wont have to file a tax return to get her withholding amount back next year.
I am not a tax preparer so dont rely on this. Consult your own tax professional.
I believe there are different tax filing rules if you are still claiming your child as a dependent on your own taxes. We claimed our daughter until she graduated and she had to file and owed taxes every year from her internships/co-op/work income.
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