Internapalooza, the annual San Francisco gathering of thousands of tech industry interns, took place this Monday evening at AT&T Park.
Interns in tech are generally well-rewarded, of which this event is a microcosm of the greater industry. Just in terms of swag given out at Internapalooza, T-shirts, tote bags, water bottles, sunglasses, smartphone chargers, selfie sticks, flip flops, and throw pillows were prevalent.
Tech industry interns, unlike the stereotype of an intern, typically gain valuable work experience; avoiding secretarial work altogether, it is expected for them to learn incredibly useful skills related to business, along with computer science.
However, what comes as the biggest surprise to many outsiders is the fact that tech industry interns make huge salaries.
Snapchat interns make $9,000 a month, and also receive a $1,500 stipend for room and board. Going down the list, Pinterest interns make $9,000 a month, Twitter interns $8,400 a month, and Facebook interns $8,000 a month.
Google paying its summer interns $6,600 a month, along with numerous benefits, is almost considered to be on the lower spectrum of pay amongst large tech companies.
Companies with the largest presence at the event included Google and Dropbox.
Michael Callahan, the 30-something CEO of AfterSchool, a social network for teens, was a keynote speaker.
Callahan emphasized the hard work that it takes to get to the top in tech, pointing out that sacrifices need to be made.
His speech also helped highlight his definition of success: having high levels of money, reputation, and happiness.
Happiness, he noted, is the hardest to attain of the three.
