The Return of Summer Internships
The Return of Summer Internships
The summer of 2025 is on track to start with the largest young adult (ages 20-24) labor forces in the past decade. At the same time, young workers are facing the highest summer unemployment rate since the pandemic, making it more important than ever for young job seekers to gain experience and build skills before formally entering the workforce.
Fortunately, internships are making a strong comeback this year, with summer internships up 22% since the start of the pandemic, offering thousands of new openings to help young adults get their foot in the door. While internship roles spiked in 2021–2022 due to pandemic-era job growth, we are now seeing a “return to normal”—after dipping 8% from 2023-2024, summer internship postings have bounced back, up 13% year over year.
Advice from a Career Expert: How to Land an Internship
"Reach out to people who already believe in your abilities. Talk to your professors, mentors, and family members and ask about opportunities. Often, there are internships that aren't posted which are filled through networking like this. Another option is to pitch your own idea for an internship to a company you admire. Share your ideas and how you will make an impact on the organization via your unique superpowers. Choose a smaller organization and deliver a confident, succinct pitch."
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Sam DeMase, ZipRecruiter Career Expert |
Finding Internships
Industries
Business and technology continue to dominate the internship landscape, with certain areas seeing explosive growth—Data & Analytics internships are up 113%, and HR internships have grown by 74% year over year. At the same time, other industries are rapidly expanding. Opportunities in general construction and preschool education have more than doubled since last year, with positions like construction technician intern and early childhood education intern tripling in number.
Top 10 Industries for Interns
| Most Internships | Fastest Growing1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Marketing (+14%) | 1. | General Construction (+157%) |
| 2. | Engineering (-18%) | 2. | Preschool Education (+135%) |
| 3. | Sales (+62%) | 3. | Data and Analytics (+113%) |
| 4. | Human Resources (+74%) | 4. | Geology (+95%) |
| 5. | Information Technology (+15%) | 5. | Credit and Risk (+85%) |
| 6. | Business Education (+3%) | 6. | Human Resources (+74%) |
| 7. | Software (+60%) | 7. | Operations (+66%) |
| 8. | Operations (+66%) | 8. | Sales (+62%) |
| 9. | Data and Analytics (+113%) | 9. | Software (+60%) |
| 10. | Arts (-9%) | 10. | Architecture (+45%) |
1Rates represent year-over-year growth between 2024 and 2025
Advice from the Class of 2025: Career Fit
"Get more summer internships in the fields you are interested in. I learned during my internships that my chosen field was not for me. They can be useful as trial and error – sometimes you get lucky."
- Economics Graduate
Location
While it's no surprise that major metro areas like New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. still lead in the number of internships overall, their number of internship opportunities has dropped by 20%, 29%, and 42%, respectively. In contrast, smaller metros are emerging as hot spots, stepping up their internship levels over the past year to fill the gap. Cities like Bridgeport, CT (+87%), Tucson, AZ (+37%), and Lancaster, PA (+22%) are leading the way with the most significant increases in internship openings. These increasing levels are making smaller metros increasingly valuable as internship hubs and signaling a geographic shift in where young adults can gain valuable experience.
Top 10 Metros for Internships
| Population >1M | Population <1M | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | New York, NY | 1. | Bridgeport, CT |
| 2. | Chicago, IL | 2. | Durham, NC |
| 3. | Washington, DC | 3. | Des Moines, IA |
| 4. | Philadelphia, PA | 4. | Madison, WI |
| 5. | Los Angeles, CA | 5. | Columbia, SC |
| 6. | Boston, MA | 6. | Tucson, AZ |
| 7. | Pittsburgh PA | 7. | Lancaster, PA |
| 8. | Dallas, TX | 8. | Dayton, OH |
| 9. | Atlanta, GA | 9. | Toledo, OH |
| 10. | San Francisco, CA | 10. | Greensboro, NC |
Advice from the Class of 2025: Relocation
"Don’t just focus on one area when looking for jobs. Expand your job search area and consider relocating for the right opportunity."
- Finance Graduate
Internships and Pay
Understandably, pay is a major factor for young job seekers. ZipRecruiter’s 2025 Graduate Survey found that recent graduates who landed their jobs through internships were more likely to know what to expect in terms of salary—and were more likely to earn more than they anticipated.
Pay is far from static—and varies widely, depending on the role and employer. Software engineering internships, for instance, can differ significantly in pay based on location and company. In contrast, internships in roles like product marketing tend to have narrower pay ranges. Generally, the highest-paying internships require a solid technical foundation and are often concentrated in STEM fields.
Top 10 Highest Paying Internships
| Title | Hourly Pay Range | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Software Engineer Intern | $20.67 - $28.85 |
| 2. | Architecture Intern | $18.27 - $26.68 |
| 3. | Financial Advisor Intern | $18.27 - $26.20 |
| 4. | Process Engineering Intern | $18.27 - $25.96 |
| 5. | Actuarial Intern | $17.55 - $25.48 |
| 6. | Data Analysis Intern | $17.31 - $24.52 |
| 7. | Software Developer Intern | $18.51 - $24.28 |
| 8. | Mechanical Engineering Intern | $18.03 - $24.28 |
| 9. | Compliance Intern | $19.23 - $23.32 |
| 10. | Product Marketing Intern | $19.23 - $22.12 |
Advice from a Career Expert: How to Negotiate
"To effectively negotiate internship pay, be ready to articulate how your core skill sets will add immediate value to the internship. Be specific. If they can't bend on pay, ask for flexible/remote work."
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Sam DeMase, ZipRecruiter Career Expert |
Internships and the Job Search
Internships do more than improve future earnings—they help young adults find the right career path and can even make the job search process smoother. ZipRecruiter’s 2025 Graduate Survey found that internships provide valuable insight into a future profession. Recent graduates who secured their jobs through internships were less likely to regret their choice of major because they got real-world experience and put their majors to work.
Advice from a Career Expert: What Skills to Highlight
"AI fluency gives you a competitive edge in landing internships today. Highlight your abilities around AI prompt writing, ethical usage, and task automation."
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Sam DeMase, ZipRecruiter Career Expert |
Internships can also simplify the job search process. Recent graduates who received job offers through their internships were 10% more likely to secure an accepted offer before graduation. They typically submitted fewer applications before getting an offer—over 80% of interns received an offer after applying to fewer than 10 positions. Additionally, the interview experience was smoother for interns, with 4 out of 5 describing it as a positive experience, and 74% participating in three or fewer interviews before receiving an offer.
Advice from the Class of 2025: Early Experience
"Prioritize internships earlier to gain more practical experience. Internships help to build a strong resume and make you more competitive in the job market."
- Business Graduate
With internships rising across industries and locations, now is the time for young adults to explore careers, gain hands-on experience, and build networks. Whether they’re aiming for tech, education, or construction, internships can open doors—and make the leap into the workforce faster, smoother, and more rewarding.
Advice from a Career Expert: How to Add Value
"It’s key to add value. The intern who tangibly adds value is the one who gets the full-time job offer. The best way to add value is to understand the needs of the team and use your strengths accordingly. Be a go-to person, a solution-finder, a doer. Become indispensable."
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Sam DeMase, ZipRecruiter Career Expert |
