Student interns at major tech firms in Ireland earn as much as workers on the average national wage, according to the Irish Independent.
Six-month internships at tech firms such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Microsoft can pay up to €3,000 a month, compared to the average national wage of €2,908 a month.
Interns are often offered generous incentives such as accommodation subsidies, a gym membership, private health insurance, high-end restaurant facilities and even dry-cleaning services.
Google is advertising intern positions in business and engineering that last between 10 weeks and six months and pay over €2,000 per month, with incentives such as free food, gym and relocation expenses.
Microsoft plans to recruit 65 interns in its Irish office this year. They will be paid “competitively” and will receive the same benefits as full-time employees. Facebook also offers competitive pay for interns at its rapidly-expanding Dublin office.
Even high-tech student interns outside of the top multinational firms can expect to earn between €1,500 and €2,250 per month. Students from countries in Europe where large firms do not pay interns as much are increasingly looking towards Ireland as a golden destination for internships.
Patrice Twomey, Careers Director at the University of Limerick, told the Irish Independent that tech is “Probably the best-paying sector for internships.
“They pay well because it is a great way of identifying future talent and it’s a very important investment for many of the tech companies. For them, it’s quite inexpensive compared to graduate programs, which can be expensive to run.”
There is a growing wage disparity between high-tech multinational companies and local firms, who often offer unpaid internship positions or utilise social welfare schemes such as JobBridge.
Interns employed through the JobBridge scheme receive just €50 on top of their weekly social welfare payments for the duration of their internship.
Stephen Keegan
Image: johnsiskandson.com
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