Google’s internship program is one of the most sought-after and widely discussed in the United States, so it’s no wonder that Hollywood deemed the experience worthy of an overblown film adaptation. Although the interns admit that their internships weren’t quite as eventful as Owen Wilson’s time with Google in the movie, they have shared their experiences on Quora, discussing everything from the hefty paychecks to the internal structure of the search giant.
Business Insider has picked through the thread to share the most interesting tidbits. One of the key components to an internship with Apple is the secrecy, but at Google, things are a little different.
“The open office also mirrors how open the company is internally,” said former intern Molly Long. “There are quite literally, no secrets. There’s TGIF/TGIT every Thursday where Larry and Sergey, the founders, answer company-wide questions, broadcasted to the entire company. They present the new Google technologies so they can get feedback on it from everyone. For example, Google Glass, was presented at TGIF, several months before it was announced [to the] public.”
Google has high hopes for everyone that works at its offices, and the company expects the interns to make themselves heard. When you start your internship with Google, you are assigned to a product area and a team within that area. If it doesn’t suit you, you can decline the offer and have the opportunity to work with another team instead.
Working with the most talked-about company around the globe is a reward of its own, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of perks to go along with a Google internship.
“One thing that makes Google internships special is the perks you get just as any other Google employee,” said Paul Baltescu, an intern from 2010-2011. “[There’s] free food & refreshments, free gym membership, laundry, dancing lessons, etc. Intern events are also loads of fun: you may go to paintball, laser tag, watch a SF Giants game and all summer interns go on a luxury boat trip on the San Francisco Bay.”
Designing the most widely used applications and services in the world is certainly a Herculean task, but between the trust, the perks, and, oh yeah, the “average wage of $6,700 per month,” you can’t go wrong with an internship at Google.
