Looking Ahead

As the fall internship season comes to a close, many of you are researching potential internship opportunities for the spring semester (or summer vacation, for you overachievers).  Yesterday, www.forbes.com released the top ten internship programs as researched by Vault Career Intelligence for students seeking new and exciting possibilities for experiential education.

In order to create this list, Vault Career Intelligence reached out to 500 of the 1,000 companies listed in its directory to participate in an internship survey in which 140 companies responded.  Vault gathered over 7,500 surveys from interns that rated their individual experiences based on the quality of life, compensation and benefits, interview process, career development and full time employee prospects.  Because Vault only considered companies that had ten or more interns respond to their survey, only about 100 companies were considered for their cumulative list.  Admittedly, this meant that companies with critically acclaimed internship programs such as Google and Microsoft were not considered for this year's directory.

Ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu, here are the results for the best internships for 2014!

1. BP America Intern and Co-op Program
2. Bain & Company
3. Bates White Economic Consulting Summer Consultant Program
4. Elliott Davis Internship Experience
5. Evercore Partners Investment Banking Summer Analyst and Associate Program
6. Northwestern-Mutual
7. Plante Moran
8. Houlihan Lokey
9. Boston Consulting Group Summer Internship Program
10. Capital Fellows Program

While it is fun to consider the possibility of interning at one of the aforementioned companies, the reality is that these programs are extremely competitive.  Therefore, do not get too discouraged or down on yourself if these opportunities seem justtttttt a tad out of your reach.  While it never hurts to submit an application to your dream internship, it is important to keep in mind that there is an experiential education opportunity out there for everyone.  

Do your research, use the contacts you have made at your current internship to your advantage, and be confident in your skill set and determination to succeed.  While not every intern can land a job at BP America, you will find an internship that best suits you. Remember, it is not necessarily about the "name" of your employer, but about your personal experience.  Where are you going to learn the best about your desired field? Where are you going to expand on your current skills?  Where can you as an employee make the greatest impact on a company?  These are the questions you should be asking yourself when you apply for your next internship!