Internships: The Only Way In?

A recent college graduate is considering whether to accept a summer internship. It’s a ten-week job, in New York City, with a small stipend—she’ll need to dig into her savings to cover rent, and will be living across the country from her boyfriend and family. The company running the internship program only hired a third of last summer’s participants. Is it worth it?

This year, most interns, perhaps with no other choices, are saying yes. The good news is that firms are planning to bring in 3.9% more interns this year. The bad news is that companies will hire 3.1% fewer interns into entry-level jobs, according to figures from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. In other words: more interns, fewer jobs. “Fewer opportunities means even fewer chances of young people getting into that pipeline,” says engagement expert Mark Royal, senior client partner at Korn Ferry.

For college students, graduates, and college employment offices alike, this is evolving into a job crisis. The underemployment rate for recent college graduates is 42.5%, the highest since the pandemic, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Post-graduate placement in corporate jobs is a selling point for many universities. “If you’re the head of placement at a university, 3% is going to feel like 30%—any decrease is pretty horrifying,” says David Vied, global sector leader for medical devices and diagnostics at Korn Ferry.

Amidst the turmoil, the concept of who internships are for is shifting. Once an optional summer activity for college students, who could depend on eventually finding their way to a corporate job, internships are now available to high-school students (firms view them as a fresh batch of potential talent to screen and imbue with brand awareness), as well as to recent college graduates and even grad students, both of whom may now see the unpaid gigs as their only entrée into jobs. “Internships are really picking up speed and becoming how young people build a portfolio of experience,” says HR expert Ron Porter, senior partner at Korn Ferry.

The culprit is AI, which which researchers from Harvard University warn is “eroding the bottom rungs of career ladders.” At companies that have integrated AI into their operations, junior positions have been shrinking. Globally, entry-level job postings fell by 29% from January 2024 to September 2025, according to figures from Randstad. In software, 60% of entry-level jobs require more than three years of experience, according to one analysis.

For both applicants and firms, the situation is difficult: There are far fewer entry-level spots than there are interns. Candidates must decide whether it’s worth relocating, often on a limited budget, for an experience that may well lead to naught. Meanwhile, internship managers have to look at dozens of eager faces, knowing that most will be sent home at the end of the season. And the scramble—even for openings—continues. “It’s a buyer’s market,” says Vied.

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