Virtual internships | Top 5 options for college students

Introduction to Virtual internships

With online classes gradually becoming the norm, you may wonder whether you can also do an internship from home. The good news is that it’s possible. Virtual internships have in fact become quite popular and are even being accepted by prominent employers as valid work experience. So what are these online internships? How can you apply for them? Which ones are the most credible? Keep reading to find answers to all these questions!

What is a virtual internship?

A virtual internship is a form of preliminary work experience that college and university students can take up without being physically present at the workplace.

Interns can interact with their superiors and colleagues through popular remote working tools, such as Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc. Some of these internships also introduce you to web-based workflow management platforms. This greatly adds to your digital competency.

Virtual internships are usually 4, 8, or 12-week long and can be completed entirely from home. They usually require students to put in about 20 to 30 hours of work every week, which is almost half the time dedicated by a full-time employee. Moreover, applying for these internships is quite simple.

How to apply for these internships?

1. The first thing you need to do is draft a resume.
2. After that comes research. Find a few companies that are offering virtual internships (the list below will help you get started).
3. Companies that offer unpaid or paid virtual internships usually advertise for them in the ‘Careers’ section of their websites.
4. You can apply by either filling out a form directly at the employer’s website or through online job search portals.
5. Subsequently, you can also look into online portals that cater to the employment needs of college and university students specifically.

Take a look at 5 of the best and most promising internship opportunities that you can avail online-

1. Abbott

Abbott, a leading health-tech multinational corporation, offers college and university students some of the best virtual internships. The company has its own mobile application known as Abbott InternLink, that interns can use to collaborate with full-time employees. They can even gain valuable guidance and direct mentorship from top-level executives of the company. 

• Responsibilities: The responsibilities of a virtual intern at Abbott depend upon the internship program that you are applying to. There is a wide range of departments that you can apply to at Abbott. For example, students studying MBA in marketing, Engineering, Environmental Health, Finance and accounting, Information technology, Manufacturing, Quality assurance, and even Sales can each have independent roles at the company.

• Scope: The wider scope of this internship program is that you get hands-on mentorship and experience in the health-tech industry. Apart from that, you will also be developing all the skills that you have learnt in college. This can help you choose a career path that aligns with your skillset.

• Stipend: The stipend for Abbott’s virtual internships for college students is not disclosed. However, you can be sure that with such an organization it will be highly competitive.  

2. Biztime

Biztime provides Information Technology (IT) control and support services. Their virtual internship program can help fresh IT graduates build several core professional competencies. So if you are inclined towards computer hardware, such as desktops, laptops, servers, and workstations, this is a great place to kick-start your career. 

• Responsibilities: An intern’s main responsibility is working collaboratively with the product development team. Students can get the opportunity to learn about the development and deployment of state-of-the-art business applications. Moreover, this internship can expose you to the cloud environment, which is supposedly the future of corporate data management. 

• Scope: To join this internship, you will need some basic knowledge of Java, Javascript, and Android development. And you will be able to nurture these skills at Biztime. With exceptional work, you may even get a job offer to join them as a full-time employee!

• Stipend: The stipend in this virtual internship program depends upon the region where you are applying from. However, you can expect a meager stipend of $106 per month.

3. Microsoft

During the pandemic, Microsoft started its online internship programs to help college students develop key technological competencies.

• Responsibilities: As a virtual intern at Microsoft, you can choose from a vast range of departments. Because the internship programs are as varied as the different services offered by this technological giant, the best part about this internship is that your responsibilities will also include 10% of learning through structured courses. 

• Scope: With Microsoft, you will be able to develop innovative digital skills and become an instant first-choice for tech companies. Especially the ones that implement end-to-end business-to-business (B2B) digital solutions. What’s more, upon completing the Microsoft virtual internship, you will receive a prized work experience certificate. This certificate is valuable internationally and accounts for your valuable industry experience.

• Stipend: The stipend for these internships has not been disclosed. However, by working with one of the largest tech companies in the world, you can expect to get paid well.

4. Gao Tek

Gao Tek is the leading supplier of test instruments and other industrial equipment in New York and Canada. They manufacture and supply products that are used by businesses for networking solutions as well as for industrial measurements. You can opt for the virtual human resources internship offered by Gao Tek and gain extensive experience in several core areas of Human Resource Management. 

• Responsibilities: As an intern at Gao Tek, you will need a basic understanding of the most important human resource processes. You will also need good analytical skills to fulfill the responsibilities of this role. These may include active involvement with recruitment, employee databases, as well as compensation and benefits planning.

• Scope: The scope of this internship includes gaining real-world experience from a prominent North American technological product manufacturer. Moreover, like most other online internships, you will receive a valuable work experience certificate at the end of this program. 

• Stipend: The stipend for this role has not been disclosed by the employer. But regardless of the monetary value, the experience that you will gain as an HR assistant here is quite valuable in realizing your long-term career goals.

5. Google

Concluding this list with one of the most popular and possibly the biggest tech companies in the world right now, Google offers virtual internships to students in several fields of information technology. Beginning with apprenticeships in infrastructure technology to software development, Google has it all. Moreover, registering for these internship programs is relatively easier than signing up to work at other big technology giants. 

• Responsibilities: The responsibilities of this role may differ greatly depending on the program you choose. Currently, all Google internships have been made virtual. You can choose from the huge list of virtual internship programs with different roles and responsibilities. For example, in the IT Intern role at Google, students need to provide technical user support. This includes front-line internal user support, participation in a corporate engineering project, as well as indulgence in skill-based training. 

• Scope: With work experience from Google, several professional avenues will open up for you. Moreover, with the unique work-study blend of internship programs at Google, you will not only develop your professional competencies but also gain additional knowledge of specialized subjects. 

• Stipend: Probably the best part about Google virtual internships is that the stipend is a generous one. Given the fact that Google cares for its employees like no other, the tech giant offers several other benefits as well.

Key takeaways

• Once you complete your internship program and receive some valuable work experience, you are ready to step into the job market!
• You can leverage all that you have learned to secure a well-paying job.
• Moreover, if you showcase exceptional skill and competence at these internships, you may even land a job with the aforementioned companies!

We hope you enjoyed reading this blog. In case of any queries, reach out to us or drop a comment below!

Liked this blog? Read next: Internships in College | How to search and apply for internships

FAQs

Q1.  Are virtual internships good?

Answer- Yes, due to the pandemic, most of the internships are available in the work-from-home virtual format. Therefore they are good enough to be added as valid work experience in your resume.

Q2.  How to find virtual internships?

Answer- There are several aggregators and job search portals where you can find highly accredited virtual internships. Some of these are Intern Abroad HQ, Asia Internship Program, The Intern Group, Meiji Internships, etc.

Q3.  Are virtual internships paid?

Answer- It depends on the employer. If the employer is a small or medium enterprise, the internship may not be a paid one. However, for multinational corporations, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, or Microsoft, all internships are paid.