Vault is a career services and career education platform. Each year, Vault ranks internship programs based on 30+ categories such as prestige, diversity, key employment factors, and industry. Vault has recently released its 2024 ranking of best internship programs along with the latest internship market data. According to their website, they collected this data by “survey[ing] more than 13,000 current and former interns from 145 internship programs,” this past summer. Keep reading to learn important information about the current internship climate!
What are Interns Getting Out of Their Internship Programs?
The O’Neill School requires most of its students to complete an internship in order to be eligible for graduation. Why? Because internships provide students with work experience that is crucial for success in life post-college. According to Vault, the #1 reason that people decide to participate in internship programs is to enhance their career development. The #2 reason is for employment prospects. Not only does an internship looks good on a resume and provide you with connections in the workforce, but it makes you a more well-rounded individual—a professional that employers will want on their teams. By developing your career in an internship program, you are making yourself a more marketable, competitive potential employee. You are building skills that are directly applicable in the workforce. Sure, you are building employability skills in your academic and extracurricular endeavors; however, hands-on workforce experience is invaluable. An internship is a necessary part of your professional development and career building journey.
#1 Internship by Industry: Consulting
Many O’Neill graduates go on to work in the consulting industry. You may have heard of consulting firms such as Cherry-Bekaert and Crowe, who actively recruit at O’Neill, if you have ever been to an O’Neill career fair or stopped by the career hub. The #1 ranked consulting industry internship is the Bates White Summer Consultant Program. According to Vault, “Bates White is a midsized consultancy specializing in advanced economic, financial, and econometric analysis.” Its professional staff provides consulting services for law firms, corporations, and government entities to solve complex problems. You do not have to have a major that is related to economics or finance to be eligible for this program. The internship is a paid 10-week program located in Washington, DC, and it is available for rising undergraduate seniors. During the program, interns receive extensive training, have a mentor, connect with senior-level staff, work on a specific engagement project, conduct research, prepare presentations and reports for internal and external audiences, and develop databases. At the end of the program, interns are evaluated for a full-time position offer. Not only does Bates White offer incredible work experience, but the program also includes plenty of out-of-office fun around DC.
Regarding their experience at Bates White, interns had this to say:
- “Quality of life is excellent for interns! It is very clear that work/life balance is important, and you do not need to work more than 40-45 hours in a week.”
- “We were trained in Stata, Excel, Outlook, Word, Teams, and somewhat in R. Throughout the internship, I felt that my assignments were important, and my managers made the bigger picture of my work very clear. I felt constantly challenged and rarely overwhelmed by the work I was given.”
- “I never felt like I was competing with someone, I was much more focused on learning as much as possible.”
Learn more about the Bates White Summer Consultant Program here.
#1 Internship for Overall Career Development, Real-Life Experience, and Networking Opportunities: College Works Painting Internship
If you are in search of hands-on leadership, business, and management experience, the College Works Painting Internship can provide you with all of this and more. It was ranked #1 in three of Vault’s ranking categories! It is a paid program available to undergraduate students with over 2,000 interns throughout the United States each year. Vault says, “The value of the College Works Program is not just about the money you can earn; it’s also about the firsthand, real-world experience gained by running a business and learning how to lead, how to be a manager, and how to be an entrepreneur.” During this program, interns will lead their own local painting business, serve their communities, and receive comprehensive, one-on-one training with a mentor.
Interns at College Works had this to say while reflecting on their experience:
- “Work hard, play hard. It is not easy, but it is very rewarding. The company treats you well with bonuses, trips, social events, etc. There were no required hours to work, but if you want to be successful, you have to put the time in. They understand that we are interns, so they encourage us to have fun and learn great time management to be productive as well.”
- “Every intern is given a mentor the entire way through the internship that is on call and always ready to help. Every assignment I was given developed my character and my business… Lastly, when it comes to networking, I have made close friends and valuable corporate relationships all throughout the country.”
- “The internship program allows everybody with the same opportunity to prove themselves despite being from different backgrounds.”
Learn more about the College Works Painting Internship here.
Vault is an excellent platform to use to search for an internship. Their yearly rankings may help guide you to a life-changing internship experience! Read more about the 2024 best internship programs on Vault here.
