BYU-I internship trends over the last 15 years
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February 19, 2021
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February 19, 2021
BYU-Idaho has kept detailed records of past internships from 2004-2019. The university recorded the number of internships that were paid positions and which employer hired the most interns to name a few of the available stats.
In the last 15 years, there have been 31,000 total internships university-wide. The College of Business and Communication accounts for 11,500 of them — that’s 37% of all internships at BYU-I.
BYUI Statistics found here: https://www.byui.edu/career/statistics/internship-numbers
The College of Agriculture and Life Science ranks second with 8,300 internships. These two colleges alone account for more than half of all recorded internships at BYU-I.
Top Five Employers
Finding which businesses have offered the most internships to BYU-I students can also offer direction to future interns. These are the top five employers from 2004-2019.
The first-place employer with 745 recorded internships is BYU-I.
Coming in second is the Research and Business Development Center with 504 internships on record. The RBDC is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide students with career experience by connecting clients to guided student projects. They operate out of Rexburg City Hall.
The third-place employer, with 339 recorded internships, is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
With 283 internships recorded, Madison Memorial Hospital sits in fourth. They are located in Rexburg, serving the city and its surrounding areas.
In fifth place is Eastern Idaho Public Health with 225 internships on record. Eastern Idaho Public Health is an organization that provides basic health needs to five counties in Eastern Idaho.
BYUI Statistics found here: https://www.byui.edu/career/statistics/internship-numbers
How likely is it for a BYU-I student to find a paid internship?
For many college students, doing an unpaid internship could be a financial strain.
Forty-one percent of internships are unpaid volunteer positions, leaving 59% compensated. Compensation rates vary, but $10 to $13 an hour is the most common with 15% of paid internships falling into that range.
BYUI Statistics found here: https://www.byui.edu/career/statistics/internship-numbers
The statistics from BYU-I don’t offer insight on how the pandemic has affected internships from 2020 or will affect internships moving forward.
Brandie Hathaway, an office assistant in the Career Center, shared how internships had to change in 2020 since remote internships were never allowed until the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted that internships stayed relatively consistent throughout 2020 with only a slight downturn in healthcare positions.
Amanda Peck, a senior studying welding engineering technology, completed her internship during the pandemic. She interned with a company called Caterpillar, the internship was supposed to be in person but was forced to go online due to quarantine.
Most of the work changed since it was online and focused on digital projects that could be completed remotely. One project was measuring the efficiency of some of Caterpillar’s tractors to see if they could be improved by changing how pieces were welded.
“It was kind of weird because it was virtual,” said Peck. “I wish it could’ve been in person but it was still great experience.”
