The Top 25 Highest Paying Internships for College Students

by Ian Balina

Internships can be the stepping stone to a successful career. They are the best medium to gain experience in a field and take a career in the right direction while developing a professional network. This is the main reason a lot of students are happy to work for unpaid internships.

But not all internships are unpaid. As a matter of fact, there are several high paying internships. These internships are highly-coveted and competitive.

In this list, I'll share with you the Top 25 Highest Paying Internships for graduate and undergraduate students. Most of these internships pay more than twice the national average intern salary. All data provided here is from Glassdoor, for internships with more than one reported salary.

Just one disclaimer: Glassdoor salary data is anonymous and self-reported, so subject to the same set of reliability concerns that any anonymous, self-reported data would be. People like to boast about their wage, and nothing keeps them from reporting higher wages than they actually earned. So, read this list with that caveat in mind.

1. Pharmacy

Highest Monthly Salary: $11,833 to $15,416 / Month

Coming in first place is a Pharmacy Internship. A Pharmacy Intern's role is to work in a hospital or retail store under the supervision of licensed pharmacists. This training is important for gaining practical experience working in a real hospital or healthcare setting.

The internship may last a year or two. Pharmacy Interns are expected to learn and practice basic customer service skills in addition to:

Verifying prescriptions
Recording each prescription you fill
Packaging drugs
Collecting payment

You may also need to mix compounds for prescriptions.

Companies offering the highest pay for Pharmacy internships
Ultimate Care

2. Dentist

Highest Monthly Salary: $13,194 / Month

Dentist Interns are responsible for assisting dentists during treatment, which may include mixing bonding agents and impression material, suctioning, preparing bleach, treating some patients without oversight, taking computer images, preparing case discussions, taking mouth x-rays, and starting temporary crowns for patients.

Dentist Interns will also do the following during the course of their internship:

Shadow dentists and receive training with routine cleanings, extractions, suctioning, and abscesses
Work with endodontists to learn about using x-rays and preparing files
Work with oral surgeons to prepare scalpels, sutures, suctioning, and retraction
Assist orthodontists in mixing cement and light curing
Help periodontists prepare sutures, scalpels, suction, and mix packing gum.

Companies offering the highest pay for Dentist internships
Jefferson Dental Clinics

3. Summer Associate

Highest Monthly Salary: $11,000 to $15,000 / Month

Summer Associate Interns work in diverse industries, such as transportation, healthcare, finance, electronics, energy, or nonprofit.

Summer Associates will:

Gain practical experience by working with companies of different sizes across industry verticals
Get exceptional training, coaching, and mentoring from seniors or full-time consultants
Working directly with a team in all forms of client engagement and make recommendations in collaboration with the team

Companies offering the highest pay for Summer Associate internships
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
McKinsey & Company
Norton Rose Fulbright
Bain & Company

4. Senior Associate

Highest Monthly Salary: $10,000 to $12,000 / Month

Senior Associate Interns get the opportunity to apply academic and work experience to help clients solve challenging business problems.

Responsibilities for a Senior Associate Intern include:

Applying academic and work knowledge in team environments
Working to solve client problems across numerous industries and verticals
Creating advanced reports and preparing presentations
Working on international projects and consequently receiving international leadership experience

Companies offering the highest pay for Senior Associate internships
PwC

5. Geophysicist

Highest Monthly Salary: $10,425 / Month

Consistently one of the highest paying internships, duties of a Geophysicist Intern include:

Collaborating with geophysicists to process and interpret micro, seismic, geological and geophysical data
Working on field surveys
Working with data and analytics

Companies offering the highest pay for Geophysicist internships
ExxonMobil

6. Trading

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,916 / Month

Trading Interns are responsible for:

Putting together market updates
Learning about the world's financial markets
Understanding how to trade equities
Working with experienced traders to analyze hedge risk
Assisting seniors in making arbitrage strategies

Companies offering the highest pay for Trading internships
Jane Street

7. Quantitative Analyst

Highest Monthly Salary: $9,765 / Month

Quantitative Analyst Interns are responsible for:

Performing analysis of financial models
Validating models performed by teams in the development of statistical and analytical testing and benchmark methodologies
Producing clear and detailed test results
Providing written communication of findings
Presenting results to management

Companies offering the highest pay for Quantitative Analyst internships
D. E. Shaw & Co.

8. Software Engineer

Highest Monthly Salary: $9,000 to $10,000 / Month

Software Engineer Interns have the opportunity to work with some of the newest programming languages and frameworks. You are responsible for:

Using front-end and back-end programming languages to create end-to-end, scalable apps that improve the performance of products
Improving code and testing
Helping improve the reliability of customer-facing products

Companies offering the highest pay for Software Engineering internships
Citadel
Snapchat
Lyft
Airbnb
Facebook
Google

9. Research Engineer

Highest Monthly Salary: $9,000 / Month

Research Engineer Internsgain practical experience in product development.
Responsibilities include:

Assisting scientists or seniors in executing and reporting experiments
Supporting the application team in product development for product demonstrations, technical presentations, or client visits
Aiding in the sensory evaluation of products

Companies offering the highest pay for Research Engineer internships
ExxonMobil

10. Investment Banking

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,000 to $10,000 / Month

Investment Banking Interns work with professionals and analysts to gain the necessary knowledge to become integral members of investment banking teams.

Responsibilities for the intern may include:

Shadowing and learning from Senior Investment Bankers
Assisting teams with investment research and analysis
Participating in social events and meeting industry experts with colleagues

Companies offering the highest pay for Investment Banking internships
Barclays
Citi
Wells Fargo

11. Product Manager

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,000 to $9,000 / Month

Product Manager Interns are groomed to be future Product Managers. As part of the product management team, you are responsible for:

Spearheading transformation of company products
Joining a team of catalysts whose role is to innovate and develop products
Bridging technical and business worlds with innovative products and acumen
Breaking complex problems down into steps to drive product development

Companies offering the highest pay for Product Manager internships
Amazon
EBay

12. Manager Intern

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,888 / Month

Manager Interns work on real projects to gain actual insight into the professional life of a manager. Working alongside committed professionals, interns will gain both formal and informal training to hone their managerial skills.

Companies offering the highest pay for Manager internships
EY

13. MBA Summer

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,000 to $9,000 / Month

An MBA Summer Intern works closely with key business stakeholders in a collaborative environment. Their responsibilities as interns include:

Ideating and implementing strategies with a focus on company growth
Analyzing and interpreting data
Assisting senior management in building financial models and making effective decisions
Managing time effectively and analyzing competitor performance and trends

Companies offering the highest pay for MBA Summer internships
Google
VMware

14. Product Marketing

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,000 to $9,000 / Month

Product Marketing Interns are expected to spread the word about company products in a highly competitive market. You will learn how to persuade customers and help expand company reach while driving sales.

Companies offering the highest pay for Product Marketing internships
Google
VMware

15. Retail General Manager

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,000 to $9,000 / Month

Retail General Manager Interns work closely with a company's leadership teams. You will report to a Department Manager and receive guidance and assistance on assigned projects. While working as a retail general manager intern, you will get a glimpse into full-time opportunities within the company. In addition, you will have the opportunity to develop professional and social networks within the retail industry.

Companies offering the highest pay for Retail General Manager internships
Amazon

16. Marketing Manager

Highest Monthly Salary: $7,000 to $10,000 / Month

A Marketing Manager Intern's role is to reach out to potential partners and engage in negotiations. You are expected to contribute to the overall marketing strategy and work with cross-functional teams and external stakeholders to develop partnerships.

Companies offering the highest pay for Marketing Manager internships
American Express

17. Petroleum Engineer

Highest Monthly Salary: $7,000 to $10,000 / Month

One of the highest paid internships in the petroleum sector, Petroleum Engineer Interns, collaborate with experienced mentors to identify investment and cost-saving opportunities. You are responsible for ideating and putting ideas into action.

Companies offering the highest pay for Petroleum Engineer internships
Apache

18. Legal

Highest Monthly salary: $8,000 to $9,000 / Month

Legal Interns interact with practicing lawyers as well as legal academics. As a Legal Intern, you are responsible for:

Conducting research on current issues of law and policy
Aiding legal teams in researching, writing, and drafting reports
Collaborating with teams on a dynamic mix of policy, regulatory, legal, and advocacy actions

Companies offering the highest pay for Legal internships
Microsoft

19. Data Scientist

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,000 to $9,000 / Month

Data Scientist Interns gain hands-on experience in both data and software development fields. A Data Scientist Intern is responsible for:

Analyzing data using software tools
Applying statistics and math to draw insights from data
Developing cutting edge apps to resolve complex and challenging issues in the big data space

Companies offering the highest pay for Data Scientist internships
Walmart

20. Graduate Research

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,000 / Month

A Graduate Research Intern is an active member of a company's engineering team. As an intern, you are responsible for:

Contributing to solving a range of technical problems across platforms using large data sets
Building solutions to challenging problems
Assisting the future development of existing software products in the company
Helping develop highly scalable apps using cutting-edge techniques in operations research, machine learning, and distributed computing
Collaborating with teams to build innovative algorithms to drive automated decisions within the company

Companies offering the highest pay for Graduate Research internships
Intel
Adobe
Microsoft

21. Financial Technology

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,406 / Month

Financial Technology Associate Interns have a range of responsibilities. As an associate, you collaborate with a team that analyzes basic data requirements. You are responsible for:

Assisting your team in defining project plans and schedules, and analyzing/estimating feasibility
Understanding the context in which data is used
Supporting technology teams in data analysis, with a focus on ensuring compliance
Developing and programming code
Conducting unit testing to check whether coding meets the requirements of the application system
Collaborating with team to analyze the impact of proposed solution on the organization
Addressing data quality issues and building understanding of data issues

Companies offering the highest pay for Financial Technology Associate internships
Citadel

22. Operations Manager

Highest Monthly Salary: $8,378 / Month

Working in operations is a challenge. Operations Manager Interns, work on a dynamic team and are responsible for making decisions to resolve challenges facing clients. An intern is expected to work on real projects across the company to address the strategic needs of clients. You will act as the primary information center for your team and maintain compliance while taking corrective action when appropriate.

Companies offering the highest pay for Operations Manager internships
Amazon

23. Summer Analyst

Highest Monthly Salary: $7,000 to $9,000/ Month

Summer Analyst Interns are responsible for collaborating and interacting with employees at all levels. You will also be expected to identify opportunities for improvement in key areas of business.

Companies offering the highest pay for Summer Analyst internships
AQR Capital Management

24. Business Development

Highest Monthly salary: $7,000 to $9,000 / Month

Business Development Interns are responsible for:

Identifying new business opportunities
Analyzing and optimizing data
Making data-driven decisions
Keeping track of routine tasks on a given project
Collaborating with team managers on different aspects to boost growth

Companies offering the highest pay for Business Development internships
Yahoo!

25. Consulting

Highest Monthly Salary: $5,000 to $11,000 / Month

Consulting Interns are expected to help clients solve business problems using their academic and work experience. As an intern, you are responsible for:

Working in client-facing roles under the supervision of Senior Consultants
Creating sections of client presentations and demonstrating leadership skills

Companies offering the highest pay for Consulting internships
PwC

These are the highest paying internship programs for graduate and undergraduate students looking for internships.

Think you're a good fit for one of them?

Be sure to check out my post on how to land one of this highly coveted internships and jobs.