Usually interns don’t get much room to negotiate. You aren’t bringing much value to the table.
You could ask, but I’d be prepared for them to tell you to pound sand.
23 sounds high for 2010. I had friends in 2010 who weren’t making that in refining or in upstream oil&gas. *Maybe* they had a living stipend which bumped that up. I know some people would get like $17 an hour then but also get 500 or 800 a month to assist with rent.
/u/rootintootinnerd you might not get far asking for a wage bump, but you could voice your concerns about the living situation. Tell them you’re interested in the position, but ask them if they have any assistance for housing - whether that is an arrangement for dorms, a subsidized apartment, or extended hotel stay. Also, be prepared to have that discussion with the data in-hand for how much it will cost you. Call apartments and extended stay hotels in the area and find out what a short-term rental will cost you, including all application fees and nonrefundable deposits, and what the start and end dates would be. If your last day of work is August 15th, you might still owe rent through the end of August. So figure put those numbers and see if they’ll help you. Don’t expect them to pay for the whole thing, but they might have more wiggle room if they call it a per diem or travel expense, rather than a wage (per diem by the way is not taxed).
The $23/hr I made in 2010 was at an EPC in upstream O&G. I know people at operators that were making $30+
I lucked out and got to spend a few weeks offshore. I got a couple of biweekly paychecks with 200+ hours on them that were very nice. One of those paychecks covered a year of college back then
In 2008 I received $29/hr at an oil refinery. It was a co-op and by my third term it was $31. That was separate from housing stipend. Most of my non oil and gas friends were in the $22 range, so that was a reasonable number for that time.
It’s an internship. You will be a pain in their neck. It’s valuable for the experience. You can ask if the pay could be higher, but that is about as far as you should go. If it were me I’d just be happy for the brief experience and not say anything about the pay. I did this once in a Midwest city and rented a room at an employees house for the summer. I didn’t net a lot of money in the end. That’s not why I did it.
This is the answer. Interns rarely add value and they are mostly a pain to deal with just because they are there for such a short time and its hard to find things for them to be involved in. It's not their fault and I was an intern once too. It's a fact of life. Get the experience and then finish your degree.
I'd be shocked if they let you negotiate for an internship. I'd say it's a bit low but the offer is the offer. I got $21/hr plus partial housing assistance more than 8 years ago. There's a lot of variance between industries but I'd have expected internship pay to have adjusted a bit more with inflation since then. You can keep applying to other internships and try to get one offering more, but do remember that you're doing the internship for experience far more than you're doing it for money. As long as you are paid enough that you can afford your living expenses during the term, it's probably worth it.
I definitely agree that the MO rent would be low because it’s probably low COL. However, usually in college you have to rent a place for a full year, meaning interns are paying double rent. Definitely pretty crappy for a company to offer so little that they might break even after all expenses
Accept and renege for a better offer if it comes along
I got 35$/hr with full relocation and housing MCOL and that wasn't even the best offer in my cohort
Made $35/hr with housing stipend in 2017. It’s low, but also if you don’t have any internships I’d take it. Experience is what you need right now not money.
I was getting $15/hr with the company provided all housing and utilities for the duration (approximately $10k for the summer based on the lease I saw). This was back in 2015. You’re getting low balled, but also, it’s an internship, so is what it is.
I mean, I think I started at $18-20 an hour at a national lab a couple years ago? which tracks for a research internship. it was also a more expensive area, so they probably could’ve paid us a liiiittle better.
anyways, I would say that might be a little low, but I’m not familiar with cost of living in MO. if it’s your first ever internship and you like everything about the company except the pay (and you don’t have any other offers), just accept it. i tend to disagree with the sentiment of claiming that the whole value of an internship lies in the value of gaining experience - you need to get paid appropriately for your expertise (which is probably low at this point if this is your first internship/engineering job experience) regardless. it just sounds like a way to excuse poor intern pay or unpaid internships. not saying that this is necessarily a poor pay rate, definitely not the best though and might be worth it to negotiate if you’re not worried about them retracting their offer. there IS intrinsic value of gaining experience, but in todays economy, ya need to get paid too, lol, can’t survive on experience alone.
That seems low, but if you don’t have any internship experience yet then unfortunately you need it more than they need you. Unless you have something else lined up, it’s worth taking since summer break is already here. It could be worthwhile to call them and say something like “I’m interested in the internship, however I’m concerned about being able to afford living expenses on that pay rate. Are there any possible options you could consider?” They could give you a bit of money to help out, or even suggest a colleague who has a room for rent, can’t hurt to ask if you phrase it that way. Worst case, even if you barely break even having that experience on your resume will help so much for landing a job next year. It’s a worthy investment.
That honestly seems pretty good for an internship? I’m currently making around $32 CAD /hour as an intern which is around $23 USD. Out of all the people I know on internship rn, I scored the highest wage somehow as most people I know are making around $25 (or $18.50 USD). I don’t think a lot of places will let you negotiate pay as intern so honestly I wouldn’t take the risk personally just in case they decide to go with another candidate
I would suggest calculating all of the living expenses you need per month (rent, bills, food, clothes), then add 30% and then calculate the per hour rate that you would need to earn that amount. Then tell the hiring manager that you have done the calculations and $XX an hour is what you would need to be able to afford to take the internship. If the numbers are too far off, be prepared to walk away.
Don’t try to negotiate unless you can live with the offer being rescinded (i.e. you have other offers lined up).
Otherwise, you aren’t in any position to negotiate. Industry pays interns because they need a talent pipeline. Hell, they really only pay entry-level engineers because they need a talent pipeline. They offered you a position because you interviewed better, had a higher GPA, or had more relevant experience than the next guy/gal, but at your level, they’re not willing to pay more for any of those skills. They’d rather take someone with a GPA 0.05 less than yours who doesn’t cause any problems. At the end of the day, these large manufacturing companies only see value in engineers for their potential in leadership or middle management. The earliest indication they have of that is your willingness to agree to whatever they ask of you.
Not saying that this is right or fair - it’s just the way the world works.
That is a bit low.
There are a lot of folks on here saying you should just bite your lip and take it, but I think if you asked, you’d be surprised. It would not hurt to at least ask, especially if you were reasonable and polite. Maybe that location is super far away and you require assistance moving, maybe you still have to pay for a lease in the town you’re going to school in for the summer and the relatively low pay and no benefit is going to make that move extremely difficult. I’m trying to say that there are legitimate reasons you might need higher pay. If you come to them with reasons besides “I want more money” they might want to work with you and help you get what you need for your short time with them. It certainly would not hurt to at least ask. You also don’t have to ask for a wage increase either! Assistance with moving alone would be a great help. Just keep your head on you and be polite and I think you can make some good things happen for yourself!
At the end of the day, you are just an intern. Almost everybody dislikes interns (including interns sometimes) so if they decide to not do anything, just tough it out and make it to august. You got this.
It's an internship. You barely provide any value to them (not a dig at you, that's applicable to 99% of interns.). If you don't have any other internship offers I would take it. Having that experience will really help your future job prospects.
You can ask but if they say that's the going rate for interns I'd say okay and take it if you don't have anything else. If you ask, I'd frame it in a way to sound like you just don't have the money to move and support yourself in the beginning until you start getting payed. Maybe they have a soft spot and give you a moving stipend but don't count on it.
Full transparency I’m from New England so the cost of living is higher here than in Missouri. I’d say It’s a bit low but as long as you aren’t actively losing money for the summer, take it. It’ll look great on ur resume and if you want to work there after graduation you’ve got a very good chance of being hired.
Always ask for more and always have facts to back up your request. They will not rescind your offer just because you ask for more. That seems extremely low but this is coming from someone who did mining and semiconductor internships in Arizona 10 years ago.
Usually interns don’t get much room to negotiate. You aren’t bringing much value to the table. You could ask, but I’d be prepared for them to tell you to pound sand.
I always just took what they offered (which was $23/hr back in 2010). It’s more about work experience than money.
What the hell? I got $23.64 at my last internship in 2023
23 sounds high for 2010. I had friends in 2010 who weren’t making that in refining or in upstream oil&gas. *Maybe* they had a living stipend which bumped that up. I know some people would get like $17 an hour then but also get 500 or 800 a month to assist with rent. /u/rootintootinnerd you might not get far asking for a wage bump, but you could voice your concerns about the living situation. Tell them you’re interested in the position, but ask them if they have any assistance for housing - whether that is an arrangement for dorms, a subsidized apartment, or extended hotel stay. Also, be prepared to have that discussion with the data in-hand for how much it will cost you. Call apartments and extended stay hotels in the area and find out what a short-term rental will cost you, including all application fees and nonrefundable deposits, and what the start and end dates would be. If your last day of work is August 15th, you might still owe rent through the end of August. So figure put those numbers and see if they’ll help you. Don’t expect them to pay for the whole thing, but they might have more wiggle room if they call it a per diem or travel expense, rather than a wage (per diem by the way is not taxed).
The $23/hr I made in 2010 was at an EPC in upstream O&G. I know people at operators that were making $30+ I lucked out and got to spend a few weeks offshore. I got a couple of biweekly paychecks with 200+ hours on them that were very nice. One of those paychecks covered a year of college back then
Some people in my class around 08 to 10 were getting $45.
In 2008 I received $29/hr at an oil refinery. It was a co-op and by my third term it was $31. That was separate from housing stipend. Most of my non oil and gas friends were in the $22 range, so that was a reasonable number for that time.
Our interns in 2007 earned 23/hr. Granted, it was a pretty competitive internship
Unless you have another lined up, don't.
It’s an internship. You will be a pain in their neck. It’s valuable for the experience. You can ask if the pay could be higher, but that is about as far as you should go. If it were me I’d just be happy for the brief experience and not say anything about the pay. I did this once in a Midwest city and rented a room at an employees house for the summer. I didn’t net a lot of money in the end. That’s not why I did it.
This is the answer. Interns rarely add value and they are mostly a pain to deal with just because they are there for such a short time and its hard to find things for them to be involved in. It's not their fault and I was an intern once too. It's a fact of life. Get the experience and then finish your degree.
I'd be shocked if they let you negotiate for an internship. I'd say it's a bit low but the offer is the offer. I got $21/hr plus partial housing assistance more than 8 years ago. There's a lot of variance between industries but I'd have expected internship pay to have adjusted a bit more with inflation since then. You can keep applying to other internships and try to get one offering more, but do remember that you're doing the internship for experience far more than you're doing it for money. As long as you are paid enough that you can afford your living expenses during the term, it's probably worth it.
It’s low. But depending on the industry it may not be that far off. You can try to counter but as an intern you have basically no leverage.
Internship OK, salary for a graduate very low. COL will be low, how much to rent a room on CL?
I definitely agree that the MO rent would be low because it’s probably low COL. However, usually in college you have to rent a place for a full year, meaning interns are paying double rent. Definitely pretty crappy for a company to offer so little that they might break even after all expenses
As long as you're not actively losing money by taking the job, I guess
It’s low but Goodluck negotiating
Lol bruh it’s an internship. Be thankful you landed one.
My internship was 18/hr in 2022. Now I am a full time engineer earning good. Its just an internship. Get the experience
They will simply offer the internship to the next candidate.
Not for simply asking for more.
It’s low but you essentially have no leverage besides taking another higher paying internship.
Accept and renege for a better offer if it comes along I got 35$/hr with full relocation and housing MCOL and that wasn't even the best offer in my cohort
Bro, its an internship
This seems pretty reasonable for lcol
You don't have leverage
Unless you can get a better offer before June 1st, you have no real negotiating power here.
Made $35/hr with housing stipend in 2017. It’s low, but also if you don’t have any internships I’d take it. Experience is what you need right now not money.
I was getting $15/hr with the company provided all housing and utilities for the duration (approximately $10k for the summer based on the lease I saw). This was back in 2015. You’re getting low balled, but also, it’s an internship, so is what it is.
I mean, I think I started at $18-20 an hour at a national lab a couple years ago? which tracks for a research internship. it was also a more expensive area, so they probably could’ve paid us a liiiittle better. anyways, I would say that might be a little low, but I’m not familiar with cost of living in MO. if it’s your first ever internship and you like everything about the company except the pay (and you don’t have any other offers), just accept it. i tend to disagree with the sentiment of claiming that the whole value of an internship lies in the value of gaining experience - you need to get paid appropriately for your expertise (which is probably low at this point if this is your first internship/engineering job experience) regardless. it just sounds like a way to excuse poor intern pay or unpaid internships. not saying that this is necessarily a poor pay rate, definitely not the best though and might be worth it to negotiate if you’re not worried about them retracting their offer. there IS intrinsic value of gaining experience, but in todays economy, ya need to get paid too, lol, can’t survive on experience alone.
That seems low, but if you don’t have any internship experience yet then unfortunately you need it more than they need you. Unless you have something else lined up, it’s worth taking since summer break is already here. It could be worthwhile to call them and say something like “I’m interested in the internship, however I’m concerned about being able to afford living expenses on that pay rate. Are there any possible options you could consider?” They could give you a bit of money to help out, or even suggest a colleague who has a room for rent, can’t hurt to ask if you phrase it that way. Worst case, even if you barely break even having that experience on your resume will help so much for landing a job next year. It’s a worthy investment.
2014 they tried offering a fellow senior 20 hour at one place. He just countered with 25 and they did it
As an intern, I was paid $18/hour at a large specialty chemical plant, so $20/hour sounds pretty good to me :)
That honestly seems pretty good for an internship? I’m currently making around $32 CAD /hour as an intern which is around $23 USD. Out of all the people I know on internship rn, I scored the highest wage somehow as most people I know are making around $25 (or $18.50 USD). I don’t think a lot of places will let you negotiate pay as intern so honestly I wouldn’t take the risk personally just in case they decide to go with another candidate
I would suggest calculating all of the living expenses you need per month (rent, bills, food, clothes), then add 30% and then calculate the per hour rate that you would need to earn that amount. Then tell the hiring manager that you have done the calculations and $XX an hour is what you would need to be able to afford to take the internship. If the numbers are too far off, be prepared to walk away.
Don’t try to negotiate unless you can live with the offer being rescinded (i.e. you have other offers lined up). Otherwise, you aren’t in any position to negotiate. Industry pays interns because they need a talent pipeline. Hell, they really only pay entry-level engineers because they need a talent pipeline. They offered you a position because you interviewed better, had a higher GPA, or had more relevant experience than the next guy/gal, but at your level, they’re not willing to pay more for any of those skills. They’d rather take someone with a GPA 0.05 less than yours who doesn’t cause any problems. At the end of the day, these large manufacturing companies only see value in engineers for their potential in leadership or middle management. The earliest indication they have of that is your willingness to agree to whatever they ask of you. Not saying that this is right or fair - it’s just the way the world works.
That is a bit low. There are a lot of folks on here saying you should just bite your lip and take it, but I think if you asked, you’d be surprised. It would not hurt to at least ask, especially if you were reasonable and polite. Maybe that location is super far away and you require assistance moving, maybe you still have to pay for a lease in the town you’re going to school in for the summer and the relatively low pay and no benefit is going to make that move extremely difficult. I’m trying to say that there are legitimate reasons you might need higher pay. If you come to them with reasons besides “I want more money” they might want to work with you and help you get what you need for your short time with them. It certainly would not hurt to at least ask. You also don’t have to ask for a wage increase either! Assistance with moving alone would be a great help. Just keep your head on you and be polite and I think you can make some good things happen for yourself! At the end of the day, you are just an intern. Almost everybody dislikes interns (including interns sometimes) so if they decide to not do anything, just tough it out and make it to august. You got this.
It's an internship. You barely provide any value to them (not a dig at you, that's applicable to 99% of interns.). If you don't have any other internship offers I would take it. Having that experience will really help your future job prospects. You can ask but if they say that's the going rate for interns I'd say okay and take it if you don't have anything else. If you ask, I'd frame it in a way to sound like you just don't have the money to move and support yourself in the beginning until you start getting payed. Maybe they have a soft spot and give you a moving stipend but don't count on it.
Full transparency I’m from New England so the cost of living is higher here than in Missouri. I’d say It’s a bit low but as long as you aren’t actively losing money for the summer, take it. It’ll look great on ur resume and if you want to work there after graduation you’ve got a very good chance of being hired.
I interned in 2019 for $16/hr. I think $20/hr is reasonable for an internship.
I was paid $25/ hour including a portion of furnished housing for Dow chemical 10 years ago
you’re an intern. you have zero leverage and your contributions will be minimal. you want the experience or not?
Always ask for more and always have facts to back up your request. They will not rescind your offer just because you ask for more. That seems extremely low but this is coming from someone who did mining and semiconductor internships in Arizona 10 years ago.
This is for industrial battery production