
The Best-Paying Internships in America - dpflan
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-02/these-are-the-best-paying-internships-in-america
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tikhonj
The data here is only for large companies. I happen to know what a couple of
medium-sized quantitative trading firms (Jane Street and DE Shaw) pay interns,
and it's meaningfully higher (10–12k/month), although it might even out if you
consider the housing allowance Facebook et al provide.

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geebee
Interesting that they never mention law firms. Summer associates at top law
firms generally earn the prorated salary for a first year associate, which can
be easily in excess of $15,000 a month.

I'm bringing this up because it is important, when we're discussing
"shortages" of engineers, to keep in mind the kind of options highly educated
people have available to them in the US.

Yes, law requires a graduate degree and passing the bar, but many of these
interns at tech companies have graduate degrees, and the undergraduate prep
for a STEM degree is considerably more rigorous than the typical poli-sci or
economics taken by pre-law types (yes, Econ takes a bit more math, but not
typically on a level of what is demanded of STEM majors).

Generally speaking, Law school isn't a great idea, but for the top students at
the top schools, it remains extremely lucrative. It really makes no sense to
compare the top CS and Engineering majors at top schools to some average
salary. You need to look at what the options are in other fields for elite
students.

Once you do, it is pretty clear why people with choice often decide to do
something other than STEM, and why a bit part of the appeal of work visas such
as the H1B is that they create a pool of workers who aren't allowed this free
choice. Without that crutch for employers, I suspect salaries in tech would
rise. And keep in mind, it wouldn't require denying talented immigrants entry
to the US, all we'd have to do is let these talented immigrants make the
decision about what to study and where to work for themselves. No more
allowing Silicon Valley employers to dictate these choices for them.

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dikdik
Jesus Christ, I need to get out of life sciences. What a fucking mistake that
was.

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jensvdh
It's all about Cost of Living. A $150k base salary really doesn't get you much
more than an average-ish life in San Francisco.

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pmiller2
You can do better if you move to the East Bay and cut your rent in half.

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closeparen
Nothing like a daily BART ride to scare you off of working in the Bay Area.
Especially one deep enough into the East Bay (with a long enough bus ride to
the station) to cut the rent in half.

An hour each way (20 minutes for first and last mile, 40 minute train ride)
will save you _maybe_ 30%.

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prezjordan
Some more numbers here:
[https://twitter.com/rodneyfolz/status/724787290824798209](https://twitter.com/rodneyfolz/status/724787290824798209)

Two Sigma at the top with $10.4k/mo + $5k relocation + $5k housing.

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oluckyman
Gotta be Axe Capital, surely.

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eiliant
Pretty sure IB pays significantly more, though they work a lot more hours

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ice109
also summer internships at v250 law firms are prorated first year associate
salaries

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siegel
And summer associate positions are a slightly more professional version of
summer camp. But I guess the firms make it back when you come back as a
regular associate...

