If you believe the highest-paid interns are on Wall Street, you're wrong.
They're mostly in social media and technology, according to a recent Glassdoor.com survey. The site, which touts itself as a jobs and career community, found that the top four companies pay interns more than $6,000 a month.
VMware, a leading technology firm, ranks No. 1 in internship salaries, at $6,704. Rounding out the top five: eBay ($6,500), ExxonMobil ($6,268), Facebook ($6,084) and Google (5,891).
In fact, Wall Street firms didn't even crack the top 10.
The highest-paid financial services internships are Deutsche Bank ($4,943), Capital One ($4,930) and BlackRock ($4,698).
Goldman Sachs, long considered the quintessential Wall Street firm, failed to make the top 25. It pays interns an average of $3,319 a month — $590 a month less than two years ago.
Glassdoor.com's report validates the decision by Alex Barth, a 22-year-old senior at Seton Hall University, not to pursue a Wall Street internship, though his twin brother had one last summer. Barth now interns at a multinational corporation that makes electronic products; he's paid $18 an hour.
"I understand the prestige of having a Wall Street firm on your résumé," Barth said. "But between my lack of interest in the industry, commute and long hours, it never really made sense for me to pursue a Wall Street internship."
Interning on Wall Street apparently isn't a prerequisite for securing a position in financial services after graduation, either: Barth will start a job as an operations associate in the sector this summer.