Today, Vault released its annual ranking of the 50 Most Prestigious Internships. This year, the ranking was based on a survey of more than 11,000 interns and former interns at more than 100 firms. Our survey asked interns to rate the prestige of other employers in order to determine which internships are the most desirable.
During our survey, respondents were presented with a list of top companies and asked to rate each on how prestigious its internship is on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest ("It's a dream job") and 1 being the lowest ("No one wants to work there"). Interns were asked to rate only those companies that they were familiar with. Vault averaged the rating for each employer, then ranked the companies in order from No. 1 down to No. 50.
In addition, our survey asked interns to rate and review their own internship experiences. From these ratings, we compiled our 2017 Best Internships Rankings, as well as our annual internship rankings in various industries, including consulting, accounting, investment banking, tech & engineering, energy, media & telecom, healthcare, retail & consumer products, and financial services.
What follows are this year's big winners: the top 25 firms of the 50 Most Prestigious Internships for 2017. All of our new internship rankings can be found here.
According to current and former interns who took our survey, Coca-Cola is a "cool," "global brand that everyone knows." The consumer products firm "cares about its employees" and offers its interns a "fun culture," "high pay," and "amazing benefits." An internship with Coca-Cola is a "good resume builder," and the firm is especially "strong in marketing."
Interns call the Big 4 firm KPMG "an awesome place to work." It has an "amazing culture," "awesome people," a "good reputation," and is "family-oriented" and "dedicated to its employees." An internship with KPMG, which is "great in both accounting and consulting," offers "excellent pay" and "looks impressive on a resume."
Interns say Bloomberg is a "cool company" with a "cool culture." It's a "news leader" and a "solid name in business" that offers "good experience" for interns. Our survey takers also call the firm's founder, Michael Bloomberg, "cool," and call his eponymous multi-business-line company a "top tech firm," "top media firm," and "top finance firm."
This "legendary" German automaker manufactures "amazing cars" and is a "flashy name" with a "cool culture." Mercedes-Benz is "good for product development and IT" internships, and is "very innovative" and "forward thinking." And "if you're actually sent to Germany, it's pretty much as good as it gets" when it comes to internships.
The "impressive" Big 4 firm EY (formerly known as Ernst & Young) has a "strong reputation," and interns say it's a "great place to start your career" and "great place to learn." If you land an internship with EY, you'll receive "high pay" and "excellent experience" and get to work with "awesome people."
Interns say Intel is a "big name in tech" and is an "established," "cutting edge," "top tech firm" that offers "good pay" and makes "great products." Internships with this "well known," "well respected," "Silicon Valley Legend" are especially "great for electrical engineers."
According to interns, BCG is an "elite," "prestigious," "extremely well known and successful" consulting firm. It offers "one of the best consulting internships," is the "best strategy consulting firm," and offers the "best work-life balance of the big three consultants." "People think very highly of the brand" and its "very intelligent," "cool" employees.
Interning for McKinsey, the "best consulting company in world," is a "dream job" and "the most desirable job in consulting." "Only the smartest and most charismatic people" work for "the gold standard for consulting." Indeed, McKinsey is "extremely prestigious," and interns call it the "best of the best."
Run by the "brilliant" Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway is "among the most successful firms ever." It's on the "cutting edge of finance," is an "extremely well known company," and an internship with the firm is considered to be a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. "Warren Buffet's company next to your name means you will for sure be hired" by other firms.
An internship with this "top accounting firm" and "solid consulting firm" looks "amazing on a resume." Deloitte offers its interns "good pay," a "good culture," and "great perks and benefits." Working at Deloitte is a "great career start," and an internship with the firm is "prestigious if you want to be an accountant or work in consulting."
Interning at this "top entertainment company" is "every guy's dream" and an "awesome resume booster." ESPN offers the "best sports journalism" internship, and interning there looks "impressive if you're interested in media." Interns also say ESPN is a "cool company" with an "exciting, fun environment," and has a "great product" and a "great reputation."
This "pioneering," "impressive," "innovative," "top tech firm" has the "biggest name in computing." IBM "does so many things in the tech field" and has "brand power." "There are few companies better than IBM" to intern for.
This "well known," "social media heavyweight" is "great for tech," "great for marketing," and "great for software developers and computer engineers." Interns at Twitter get "good pay and perks" and the "opportunity to be creative" and work "on the front lines of social media."
The top-ranked Big 4 firm in the rankings, PwC is "a great place to work" that has an "amazing internship program," an "amazing work environment," and an "awesome culture." It's the "best of the Big 4," "one of the top 10 employers in the country," and offers "high pay," "high quality" work, and the opportunity to work with "strong talent throughout the organization."
Up an impressive five spots in the rankings this year, this "super innovative," "dream company" has an "amazing business model" and "does everything the best." Amazon has a "top intern program," and its interns get to work on "cool projects" in "great locations" in a "fun atmosphere." In addition, the firm has a "cool CEO" and offers "high pay" and "one of the best internships in tech."
An internship with Morgan Stanley "looks very impressive on resume" and is a "great career builder." Morgan Stanley is a "solid financial firm" that's "always at the top of internship lists." It offers "high pay," has a "great culture," and is considered to be "among the best in trading and in investment banking."
The "best place for animation majors to work in the world," Disney offers its interns an "amazingly creative environment," a "fun atmosphere," and "great perks and benefits." The "magical" firm is "well established" and "always doing good things." Interning for the "best media and entertainment company" is a "childhood dream come true." "Disney owns ESPN and Star Wars, so you can't go wrong there."
A "world-famous," "influential consumer products company," Nike "does everything awesome." It has "awesome clothes," "awesome tech," and "awesome marketing." It also has "great consumer understanding" and "worldwide reach" and is the "best sportswear company." Nike interns get to work in a "cool culture," receive "high compensation," and get the opportunity to work for a "global leader."
This "nationally important bank" is a "business powerhouse" and an "extremely impressive and desirable" place to intern. J.P. Morgan has a "solid culture" and offers "good pay," and its internships are "prestigious for investment banking as well as wealth management." The bank has a "very strong reputation," which is why many students "would love to work there."
Up one spot in the rankings this year, this "darling of the green tech industry" is an "awesome brand." Tesla is "highly respected," "highly innovative," "very cool," "very sexy," "forward thinking," and "environmentally conscious." Tesla has the "biggest ideas in the market" and is "trying to save the world" and "people want to be a part of that movement." "Arguably the top tech company," Tesla offers "probably the most exciting internship," and its interns get "impressive experience" and "good pay."
This "iconic," "hardworking," "cool tech firm" is a "dominant force in its industry" and offers "awesome internships." Working for Microsoft is a "tech dream job," and the firm "treats its employees very well," offering "good pay," "tons of perks," and "a good work culture." Microsoft, whose "brand is back," also has a "very cool CEO" and is "the top software company" and a "top 5 tech firm."
The "biggest" and "most prestigious name on Wall Street," Goldman Sachs "does everything better." An internship with Goldman looks "incredible on a resume"; it's an "amazing internship if you're studying finance or accounting." This "highly ranked" firm offers its interns a "great culture" and "high pay."
The "future of marketing, social media, and connectivity," Facebook is trying to "change the world" and is a "leader in tech." It also has "arguably the best intern program." It offers its interns an "awesome," "young," "fantastic," "creative" work culture as well as "the best perks" and "good working hours." Facebook internships are a "big deal"; they're the "crème de la crème."
The "world's most valuable company" and "best tech firm in the world" offers the "coolest internships for tech and computer science people." Apple "rules everything around us," is the "best of the best in tech and design," and is "filled with brilliant people." The firm offers its interns "innovative work spaces," a "dream office culture," and "fantastic experience." An internship with the firm is "career gold."
A "tech giant you only say 'Yes' to," Google is "probably the best firm in the world in any industry." It has the "best tech minds" and "most creative thinkers," and an internship with the firm is "everyone's dream." Its internships "pay incredibly well," and interns get "amazing benefits" and the opportunity to work in "awesome offices" and a "friendly," "cool" company culture. Google has "the best tech internships," "best computer science internships," and "best working environment." It's also the "most innovative" company. When it comes to internships, "Google is the gold standard."