10 Best-Paying Tech Internships Of 2023: Amazon, IBM, Intel

Here are the top 10 tech companies paying research interns at least $57 per hour in 2023, according to data from Dice.

Although many of the world’s leading tech companies are conducting layoffs in 2023, many of these IT superstars are paying top dollar for research internships this year.

Tech companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, Intel, Google, Nvidia, HP Inc. and Accenture are paying research interns well over $50 per hour, according to new data from career website Dice. All of the 10 IT companies on this list are looking for in-person research interns, meaning remote work is not available.

With aspiring technology professionals looking for internships this summer, CRN breaks down the top 10 best-paying tech internships you should know about.

Tech Layoffs 2023

Before jumping into the top paying internships of 2023, it should be noted that many of these 10 companies have recently conducted thousands of layoffs.

For example, global IT services star Accenture unveiled this week it will be laying off 19,000 employees, while social media giant Meta—owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatApp—will have laid off approximately 21,000 employees over the course of about six or seven months.

Three of the world’s most notable tech companies—Amazon, Google and Microsoft—have all cut tens-of-thousands of employees in 2023. In fact, these companies combined have terminated approximately 50,000 people this year alone.

However, these large layoff rounds stem from tech companies over-hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for IT solutions and services skyrocketed. As interest rates and inflation climbed, with a backdrop of fears over a potential recession this year, tech firms have been tightening their belts.

Although with tech companies paying upwards of $75 per hour for research interns, it may be a good sign of potential opportunities ahead in the IT market.

Here are the top 10 best-paying U.S.-based companies for tech internships in 2023.

No. 10: Accenture

Hourly Pay: $57.29

Accenture is a $62 billion IT services powerhouse with dozens of offices spread across the United States. The company is paying research interns on average around $57 per hour in 2023.

Although the company recently announced 19,000 layoffs, Accenture will have more than 710,000 employees on a global basis following the layoff round. In fact, Accenture’s headcount will still be larger in 2023 than it was in early 2022.

The Dublin-based IT giant serves customers in more than 120 countries, helping the world’s businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize operations, accelerate revenue, and boost scale.

No. 9: Allen Institute for AI

Hourly Pay: $57.69

Allen Institute for AI, known as AI2, is a non-profit research institute that conducts high-impact AI research and engineering. The Seattle-based company is paying research interns on average around $57 per hour in 2023.

Founded in 2014, the company has over 200 employees, including top-notch artificial intelligence engineers and researchers. AI2 is the brainchild of the late Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen.

AI2 takes a results-oriented approach to complex challenges across several vitally important areas of artificial intelligence.

No. 8: HP Inc.

Hourly Pay: $60

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett Packard is a worldwide leader in PCs, laptops and printers, including in 3D printing. The roughly $60 billion company is paying research interns on average around $60 per hour in 2023.

In late 2022, HP said it would be eliminating about 5,000 employees from its workforce by 2025. However, even after these layoffs are conducted, HP will still have more than 50,000 employees across the globe.

HP has a massive footprint, operating in more than 170 countries offering a wide range of innovative devices, services and subscriptions for PCs, printing, hybrid work, gaming and more.

No. 7: Facebook (Meta)

Hourly Pay: $62.31

Social media and tech giant Meta, parent company of Facebook, cracked into the top 10 highest-paying companies for tech interns. The $116 billion Redmond, Wash.-based company is paying research interns on average around $60 per hour in 2023.

Meta is the owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatApp, three of the most popular social media platforms in the world with hundreds of millions of users.

The company is laying off approximately 21,000 employees since late 2022. However, between March 2020 and September 2022, Meta nearly doubled its head count due to the COVID-19 pandemic creating high demand for digital services. Meta went from 48,000 employees in March 2020 to more than 87,000 in that time span, according to employee data from Meta.

The total number of layoffs means Meta’s headcount will likely be around 66,000 employees by this summer.

No. 6: Nvidia

Hourly Pay: $68.25

Nvidia is an innovative semiconductor maker that designs and sells GPUs for servers, gaming, robotics and other applications. The $27 billion company is paying research interns on average around $68 per hour in 2023.

The semiconductor specialist is based in Palo Alto, Calif., although Dice’s research indicates interns can make $68 per hour working inside its office located in Austin, Texas.

Nvidia has approximately 26,000 employees on a global basis. Founded in 1993, the company is a pioneer in accelerated computing, helping create the GPU and redefine computer graphics. Nvidia is now a full-stack computing company.

No. 5: Google

Hourly Pay: $64.40

Google is a search and cloud computing giant, thanks in part to its Google Cloud business, with approximately 175,000 employees worldwide. The $282 billion company is paying research interns on average around $64 per hour in 2023.

Google is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., which houses thousands of employees. The company is the owner of several businesses including YouTube, Waze and Google Maps.

This year, Google unveiled it would be laying off 12,000 employees, or about 6 percent of its global workforce of 187,000. It is key to note that Google went on a hiring spree, like most companies on this list, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Google’s headcount jumped from 150,000 in September 2021 to 187,000 employees by September 2022.

No. 4: Intel

Hourly Pay: $69.23

Intel has been the longtime dominant leader in chips that power servers and PCs. The $63 billion company is paying research interns on average $69 per hour in 2023.

Although based in Santa Clara, Calif., the company is paying a high hourly rate for interns inside its campus in San Diego, Calif. The chipmaker has over 110,000 employees on a worldwide basis.

Intel is in the midst of laying off thousands of working in a move to cut $3 billion in costs this year and as much as $10 billion in costs by 2025. The company has announced significant pay cuts for its leadership team, including CEO Pat Gelsinger. Intel is currently expanding its manufacturing operations by building new factories inside the U.S.

No. 3: IBM

Hourly Pay: $72

IBM has been one of the world’s largest IT companies for decades, generating $60 billion in revenue in 2022. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company is paying research interns on average around $72 per hour in 2023 inside its New York City offices.

This year, IBM announced it will lay off approximately 3,900 employees from its massive headcount of more than 280,000 employees. Although its key to note, IBM—like many other companies on this list—had been growing its headcount significantly in 2021 and 2022.

IBM is a global hybrid cloud, AI and consulting services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge.

No. 2: AWS

Hourly Pay: $75.03

Amazon Web Services is the worldwide market share leading in cloud computing. The Seattle, Wash.-based $85 billion cloud computing division of Amazon is paying research interns on average around $75 per hour in 2023 inside their AWS campus in Santa Clara, Calif.

In March, Amazon announced it would be laying off 9,000 employees, including inside its profit-driving business AWS. AWS does not provide data on how many employees its has and declined to say how many people will be laid off in 2023.

AWS owns roughly 33 percent share of the gigantic global cloud services market and is the world’s most broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS has been expanding its services to support virtually any workload, and it now has more than 200 services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning, AI, virtual and augmented reality, to name a few.

No. 1: Amazon

Hourly Pay: $75.03

With over 1.5 million employees worldwide, Amazon is one of the largest employers in the world with a slew of businesses including in e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming and AI.

The $356 billion Seattle-based company is paying research interns on average around $75 per hour in 2023 inside offices located in the Bay Area in California.

Amazon is conducting around 27,000 layoffs in 2023, although its headcount will still be north of 1.5 million following the cuts. Amazon is typically always hiring around software development or for its large fulfillment centers due to its global footprint.

Others Top Internships: Apple, Microsoft

Other top-paying tech research internships include Apple, which is paying $56 per hour for interns inside its Seattle offices, as well as Microsoft, which is offering $55.10 inside its Seattle campus.

Looking at some companies outside the traditional tech internships paying top dollar for research interns in 2023 are New York City financial giant’s JPMorgan Chase at $72 per hour, and Goldman Sachs with $70 per hour for interns.

Additionally, Capital One is paying $65 per hour for remote work, San Francisco-based Pinterest is paying interns more than $63 per hour, while Sunnyvale, Calif.-based LinkedIn—owned by Microsoft—is paying $60 per hour.