The IT training industry grows every year for a reason. Training can bring participants valuable experience, give them something significant to add to their portfolio, and help them start a successful IT career. In addition, an internship may be a great introduction to a role you want to pursue.
Luckily, there are plenty of IT training providers all across the globe that offer specific internship programs related to software development, applications development, design, implementation, and management of cloud-based systems, data science, etc. They can be paid or unpaid, and their main goal is to allow participants to gain experience. The internship companies also vary in form — online or in-person courses, virtual labs, etc. And to help you find the company that fits your needs the most, we have narrowed down the choice to the top 10 options for developers.
Benefits of Internships
First, let's see the main benefits of internships since understanding their perks can help you decide whether this is the right thing for you.
Experience, experience, and experience
It's not a secret that recruiters in excellent companies often look for candidates with job experience (minimal, at least). However, if you are entering the workforce right after completing the course, you most likely do not yet have any experience. An internship is a great way to fill that gap.
Teamwork
While some internships include assigning a specific individual task to a student daily, others might allow you to work in various departments. For example, you may help senior developers, attend meetings, complete small tasks for projects, share your ideas with the team, or observe the daily functions of the company.
Important Connections
Working as an intern may help you meet a mentor that can not only guide you but also help you climb a career ladder faster (granted that you establish a good relationship). That is to say, professionals you will meet during an internship may be the most valuable contribution to your future job.
Testing your Skills
Naturally, an internship gives you a fantastic opportunity to test your skills. Also, it can reveal your strengths and help you decide if specific jobs fit you or not.
Creating a Competitive Resume
An internship will let you fill out your resume with specificity and a proven track of your experience. Also, you can add the duties and projects you performed to your CV. You'll be able to add the feedback from supervisors you met during your internship. The more hardworking you are, the more likely your mentors will recommend you for excipient positions.
Getting a Permanent Job
If your internship is a positive experience for you and the company you work for, chances are you will get a permanent position. Tip: startup companies usually look at interns as future employees.
Location: Multiple, Worldwide
Google needs no presentation. It's a software company everyone knows worldwide. Currently, over 2 million developers work for Google in all parts of the world.
Google offers fantastic internship programs that allow people to learn and make a name for themselves while earning money. The programs are open worldwide, and their duration may vary in different countries. Typically, Google's programs last 12 months to 4 years, and the field of work is vast.
Note: Candidates with university degrees are welcome, but diplomas are not essential.
Location: Multiple, Worldwide
It's another tech giant with apprenticeship programs across the USA, Europe, and the UK. Amazon is the world's #1 eCommerce company, with over 245,200 employees worldwide. It offers a wide range of internships in addition to full-time jobs (thousands of open positions are available right now). Interns can try themselves in the following fields: Reliability Maintenance Engineering, Information Technology, Software Development, Fashion, Marketing, or Operations. Each program combines theoretical learning with hands-on experience. All apprenticeships are paid.
Requirements: Both graduate and undergraduate students.
Location: Multiple, Worldwide
Microsoft is the leading company in the mobile-first and cloud-first world. Microsoft offers internship programs in many cities worldwide, and its Leap Program has been running since 2015. The program lasts 16 weeks and includes both classroom learning and working with real projects (like Azure, Xbox, and Office365). Participants can choose from a wide variety of different fields.
Location: USA & UK
Spotify's Tech Fellowship is running in New York City and London. The program is targeted toward entry-level developers with non-traditional backgrounds. In other words, you can be a bootcamp graduate, a self-taught geek, or a college graduate with an academic degree. Participants will work as a team within Spotify for 18 weeks. And if you meet the Spotify standards after this time, you will likely be offered a full-time job.
Location: Canada (open to international applicants as well)
Though it sounds pretty much like Spotify, it's an entirely different thing. The Shopify Dev Degree is a top-rated, experience-oriented degree program that attracts a lot of applicants. Shopify created it in collaboration with three Canadian universities. If you get into the program, Shopify will pay for your tuition at one of these universities and provide you with a scholarship to cover your living expenses.
Location: Worldwide
Oracle offers plenty of international career opportunities to students and early IT professionals. Oracle Cloud spans 39 interconnected geographic regions and covers diverse topics to meet almost any need.
Location: Multiple, USA
This one-year program aims to fix the lack of diversity in tech. It provides full-time employment benefits, yet participants should have at least two years of work experience (not necessarily technical) and proficiency in one programming language. Any background is welcome, including coding bootcamps, online courses, etc.
Location: Multiple, USA
Like Twitter, Lyft may help kickstart the career of people who have finished online courses or attended coding bootcamps. It offers several apprenticeships, yet all are held in its US offices. Participants collaborate with different teams across the company and get mentored by senior developers.
Location: Multiple, USA
This world's leading social media platform needs no introduction with 1.5 billion monthly users. It's a great place to build your resume as an intern. Facebook offices are located all over the USA and around the globe, with internships lasting 12 weeks. They focus on Product Management, Design, Monetization, Infrastructure, Marketing, IT & Security, Online Operations, User Experience, Data & Analytics, and Software Engineering. With that, Facebook pays amazingly well (up to $6,000 per month plus housing costs). Just like actual Facebook employees, interns access the same volumes of information. The requirements vary depending on the internship you want to apply for.
Location: Worldwide
As icing on the cake, we would like to end this list with Apple, the worldwide leader in digital media. The company has over 220,000 employees and many internship opportunities for developers (not only iOS and macOS but also Java).
At Apple, interns are treated like "full-scale" contributors, like other employees, meaning they work in a team with some of the best minds in the world. In addition, apple offers programs for those enrolled in a college, university, or graduate program (undergrads are acceptable).
Of course, these were just creme-de-la-creme internship companies for developers. To find out more about other companies that meet your geographical or skill requirements, you can visit the InternshipFinder website and examine its comprehensive guide on different programs.
How to Find an Internship that Meets Your Needs
Before looking for an IT internship, you should answer the question, "what do I want to get from an internship?". For instance, if you have little-to-no experience, then focusing on smaller companies that provide training and experience may be the best choice. On the other hand, if you already have a solid IT background and some projects behind your belt, you may focus on more popular companies.
Keep in mind that IT companies look for interns who have technical knowledge and are fond of their field. For example, if you like games, you may try to get in touch with a gaming company. Fond of creating Android apps? Go for it.
Is It Possible to Get an Internship with No Experience?
No denying that tech internships at large, well-established companies are highly competitive. Yet, tech internships at such companies don't necessarily mean that interns will be better qualified and prepared. In reality, startups' internships can be a better fit for fresh graduates since they often deliver better learning opportunities than extensive programs and are ready to hire developers without experience.
Conclusion
There are lots of great apprenticeship programs for our students to choose from. The significant benefit of an internship is that you'll get valuable experience and be ready to compete even with those candidates who have gained an academic degree. Yet, compared to them, you'll have essential connections and no debts at the start of your career. A win-win decision.
Luckily, there are plenty of IT training providers all across the globe that offer specific internship programs related to software development, applications development, design, implementation, and management of cloud-based systems, data science, etc. They can be paid or unpaid, and their main goal is to allow participants to gain experience. The internship companies also vary in form — online or in-person courses, virtual labs, etc. And to help you find the company that fits your needs the most, we have narrowed down the choice to the top 10 options for developers.
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