The Internship That Students Drool Over

selan writes "The Baltimore Sun has a feature on Microsoft's internship program and why it is so popular with college students. Not only are interns paid, but they also receive the same perks as other Microsoft employees. At the end of the summer they are treated to a catered barbecue at Bill Gates's house and have a good shot at a full time job after graduation. You do not know the power of the Dark Side."

Comments

The job

[obnoximoron]

> At the end of the summer they are treated to a catered barbecue at Bill Gates's house and have a good shot at a full time job after graduation

flipping burgers at the barbecue

M$ employment generally not "bashable"

[dcavanaugh]

I know of very few disgruntled M$ employees. If anything, M$ raises the bar for other employers, at least in the areas where M$ has a physical presence. In this day and age of HB1 sweatshops and the Dilbert Academy of Mangement, we could use a few more employers like this.

But... Their growth rate has always required a steady flow of interns and recruits who become regular employees. We'll see what happens then the growth curve flattens out and they don't need more people. And then we'll see what happens when M$ actually begins to shrink. When you want to attract more people, you give them nice benefits and competitive salaries. When you want to downsize without handing out pink slips, the process runs in reverse. Nowhere is this easier to see than in the dot-com boom and subsequent meltdown.

M$ has already indicated that it's prices will be reduced to compete with open source; that lost revenue has to come from somewhere. The interns will "get it" first, then consultants, then regular employees.