Spotlight for Career Services Professionals, May 25, 2011  

Students with paid internships spend a greater percentage of their time on professional tasks than their fellow students serving unpaid internships, according to results of the NACE 2011 Student Survey. 

Students with paid federal internships spent the most time (46 percent of their time) on professional—as opposed to clerical—work, followed by students with for-profit (43.5 percent), state/local government (40.7 percent), and nonprofit (39.6 percent) internships.  

Meanwhile, students with unpaid for-profit (33.4 percent), nonprofit (33.1 percent), and state/local government (30.7) internships spent less time on professional activities. And one group—students with unpaid federal internships—spent more time on clerical duties (33 percent) than on professional tasks (30.3 percent).  

Other student groups with the highest percentages of time spent on clerical duties are those with unpaid for-profit (30.7 percent), unpaid state/local government (29 percent), and paid federal government (28.8 percent) internships.

The 2011 Student Survey was conducted mid-February through April 30, 2011. More than 50,000 students nationwide, including nearly 20,000 graduating seniors, took part in this year’s survey. Information in this story is based on data gathered from graduating senior respondents.  

Ed Koc, NACE’s director of strategic and Foundation research, will present “Internships and Entry Into the Job Market” during the NACE 2011 Conference in Dallas. Based on data from the 2011 Student Survey, the presentation explores how the internship experience affects student perspectives, approaches, and outcomes.