Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#1

Post by et5000 » Fri, Oct 26, 2012, 1:54 PM UTC

At my company we are paying $25/hr + overtime (in Cambridge, MA), but lately I'm hearing a lot of students asking for $35-40/hr and wondering if that's a more standard rate nowadays.

How much do you pay at startups big and small?

UPDATED: my location

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#2

Post by caw » Fri, Oct 26, 2012, 3:02 PM UTC

Can you update with a location? I think that matters a lot.

In Georgia, my friends and I were getting from $16-$25 an hour. My first internship paid only $14 an hour, but I got a 401k match of 3%, health insurance (if I wanted it), bereavement leave, paid vacation and holidays. My co-op paid more but didn't have any of those perks.

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#3

Post by benmanns » Fri, Oct 26, 2012, 3:14 PM UTC

In Lynchburg, VA (it's no San Francisco), my peers think that around $20/hour is a good rate for an internship at a fairly large insurance company. Some smaller businesses and non-profits pay around $10/hour. I've got a lot more experience and some business sense, so I charge significantly more.

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#4

Post by drharris » Fri, Oct 26, 2012, 3:16 PM UTC

My co-op 10 years ago in GA paid $12/hr. Now, in SC (upstate, suburb), we pay between $22-26 for an engineering position depending on the longevity of employment. I think $35 is probably way too much for what value you will get; some experienced professionals will take that pay. If you're in NYC... maybe it's a bit more reasonable.

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#5

Post by et5000 » Fri, Oct 26, 2012, 3:50 PM UTC

caw wrote: post #2

Can you update with a location? I think that matters a lot. In Georgia, my friends and I were getting from $16-$25 an hour. My first internship paid only $14 an hour, but I got a 401k match of 3%, health insurance (if I wanted it), bereavement leave, paid vacation and holidays. My co-op paid more but didn't have any of those perks.

Location updated: Cambridge, MA

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#6

Post by logn » Fri, Oct 26, 2012, 8:45 PM UTC

When I co-op'd in college in a medium-sized city I got $12-13/hr. My recent job paid interns $15/hr plus housing allowance.

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#7

Post by zengr » Sun, Oct 28, 2012, 5:20 AM UTC

Maybe students asking for $35-40/hr because big companies like eBay (in the bay area) pays ~$45-50/hr to interns and students are looking for that kind of money.

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#8

Post by achompas » Sun, Oct 28, 2012, 10:19 PM UTC

The market in NYC pays $4-5k/month for interns, from what I've seen and heard. That's just a bit below the $35-40/hour number you list above.

It's arguably justified, since companies expect interns to ship production-level code, but that's another conversation!

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#9

Post by hoka » Thu, Nov 01, 2012, 9:42 PM UTC

I've seen Austin, TX companies offer between 19 and 23 depending on your academic standing.

I've also seen 22 in Cambridge.

Re: Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days?

#10

Post by aliukani » Wed, Nov 07, 2012, 1:44 PM UTC

My school (Northeastern University CCIS) has a list of suggested salaries: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/co-op/employers/index.html#salaries

  Average CCIS Co-op Salaries
  Student Level               Average  Midpoint  Average top 25%
  Undergraduate First Co-op   $20.00   $19.00    $28.00
  Undergraduate Second Co-op  $22.00   $22.00    $29.00
  Undergraduate Third Co-op   $23.50   $23.00    $30.00
  Graduate Co-op              $28.00   $28.50    $34.00