

Ask HN: What is the going hourly rate for co-op/interns these days? - et5000

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.<p>How much do you pay at startups big and small?<p>UPDATED: my location
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aliukani
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

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caw
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.

~~~
et5000
Location updated: Cambridge, MA

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drharris
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.

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benmanns
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.

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achompas
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!

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zengr
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.

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

I've also seen 22 in Cambridge.

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logn
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.

