US Internships: Boon or Bane? 'Computer Science' Majors Earn 4-5 Times Minimum Wage

[Han Seunghee's Workplace Life Counseling] With Many Opportunities, Carefully Choose Whether to Participate in Projects

As the job market in Korea becomes more challenging, I often receive questions about internships in the United States from job seekers and employees looking to change jobs. In the U.S., where the internship system is well-established, there are more internship opportunities than in Korea, and internships also carry more weight in hiring decisions.

First of all, for American companies, it is almost impossible to get hired without internship or summer job experience. For this reason, most American college students complete at least one internship before seeking employment. Typically, college students do a 10-week internship between their sophomore and junior years, before the new academic year begins. During this period, wages are usually 1.5 to 2 times the minimum wage. However, computer science students graduating in fields with labor shortages in the U.S. can earn wages 4 to 5 times the minimum wage.

Since the internship system is well-developed in the U.S., there are more opportunities, but you need to choose 'carefully.' Good internship opportunities include those where you can work with well-known professionals, where having interned at the company is highly valued during hiring, or where you can participate directly in projects rather than just performing simple tasks. Internships to avoid are those that merely fill a position. Situations where you are too busy or do not receive proper attention from senior staff are also examples of poor internships. You should also be cautious if the internship seems to be used to hire labor at a 'cheap' cost, such as low or unpaid wages.

For example, Coca-Cola, a company famous for its marketing, has managers at the department head level who sponsor interns and carefully mentor them. They not only encourage interns to actively participate in projects where they can demonstrate their abilities but also provide thorough feedback to help with personal development. Multinational companies like Johnson & Johnson and Unilever, which have operations in Korea, tend to hire fewer new employees directly but use internships to identify and recruit highly potential talent in advance.

I often receive questions from Korean company employees about whether it is okay to start again as an intern rather than as a full-time employee. Regardless of the differences between American and Korean companies, I usually recommend gaining experience first. Even in Korean companies, where the hiring rate after internships is relatively low, interviewers increasingly ask if candidates have internship experience in related fields and tend to prioritize candidates with internship experience when qualifications are similar.

Even if the objective conditions do not seem favorable, starting out can reveal unexpected insights and perspectives that you would not have known otherwise. Moreover, based on this experience, when a full-time job opportunity arises, you will have the discernment to distinguish between good and bad opportunities. / Seunghee Han, CEO of Asia Talent Development Consulting, asksunghee@gmail.com

When Should You Resign?

How should you manage your career to move to a better job? How can you live your company life to receive good evaluations? Seunghee Han, CEO of Asia Talent Development Research Institute, shares tips for better workplace life. Ms. Han worked in marketing for 16 years at Samsung Electronics, Coca-Cola, and British American Tobacco, and is a coaching expert who completed a career development coaching program at Sogang University Graduate School of International Studies. 

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.