Shortly after Christmas, my son applied for an internship at a financial services company. We haven’t heard anything yet, but it turns out that March is when ads for internships peak. After March, fewer and fewer companies positions are advertised.
At least, that’s according to the New York Times, which says, perhaps sounding a bit like your mother, “If you don’t have anything by May, you’re probably out of luck.â€
In the recent article, the Times also lists the top 20, in-demand skill areas employers want to fill, and “skill†includes experience in the classroom.
That said, here are the top 20 fields looking to fill internships and the required skills, as reported by the New York Times:
“1. BUSINESS OPERATIONS (Internship postings: 58,949)
Most in-demand skills: Project management, business administration, scheduling, customer service, and economics.
2. MARKETING (Internship postings: 35,498)
Most in-demand skills: Social media, marketing, Adobe Photoshop, Facebook, and market research.
3. ENGINEERING (Internship postings: 33,116)
Most in-demand skills: Electrical engineering, computer engineering, AutoCAD, mechanical engineering, and project management.
4. SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (Internship postings: 28,227)
Most in-demand skills: Sales, business development, marketing, customer service, and project management.
5. MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS, PUBLIC RELATIONS (Internship postings: 28,140)
Most in-demand skills: Social media, journalism, Adobe Photoshop, marketing, technical writing, and editing.
6. DATA ANALYTICS (Internship postings: 26,438)
Most in-demand skills: Data analysis, data collection, market research, mathematics, and project management.
7. FINANCE (Internship postings: 26,257)
Most in-demand skills: Budgeting, accounting, financial analysis, project management, and economics.
8. I.T. DEVELOPMENT (Internship postings: 26,227)
Most in-demand skills: Software development, Java, software engineering, C++, and computer engineering.
9. ARTS AND DESIGN (Internship postings: 20,275)
Most in-demand skills: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, graphic design, and Adobe Acrobat.
10. PROJECT AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT (Internship postings: 20,186)
Most in-demand skills: Project management, scheduling, AutoCAD, budgeting, and spreadsheets.
11. HUMAN RESOURCES (Internship postings: 18,783)
Most in-demand skills: Onboarding (orienting new employees), project management, scheduling, leadership development, and customer service.
12. SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT (Internship postings: 16,677)
Most in-demand skills: Chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, and experiments.
13. HEALTH CARE (Internship postings: 13,061)
Most in-demand skills: Patient care, physical work, customer service, public health and safety, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
14. EDUCATION AND HUMAN SERVICES (Internship postings: 10,768)
Most in-demand skills: Fundraising, social media, teaching, event planning, and physical work.
15. DATABASE ADMINISTRATION (Internship postings: 10,579)
Most in-demand skills: Data management, SQL, Java, database management, and Python.
16. I.T. SUPPORT (Internship postings: 7,712)
Most in-demand skills: Information security, computer engineering, Java, Linux, and project management.
17. ECONOMICS AND POLICY (Internship postings: 7,607)
Most in-demand skills: Economics, mathematics, business administration, data analysis, and project management.
18. LEGAL (Internship postings: 7,464)
Most in-demand skills: Legal compliance procedures, legal research, litigation, customer service, and budgeting.
19. RETAIL (Internship postings: 7,001)
Most in-demand skills: In-store work, merchandising, sales, store management, and fundraising.
20. EVENT PLANNING (Internship postings: 4,086)
Most in-demand skills: Event planning, social media, marketing, project management, and fundraising.”
For more information, check out the original Times article, Top 20 Fields for Internships: Get Your Skills On.
