What it's like to be a Marketing Intern

Internship jobs can be very different depending on the industry you enter. If you're an intern for a film director, your job is going to be very different than if you're an intern at an accounting firm. Internships jobs all have a few things in common–your job will be to do the things nobody else wants to do, and you'll most likely be getting someone's coffee as well. In the marketing industry, your job internship will be different due to the nature of the industry, but you'll probably still be getting someone's coffee.

Most summer internship jobs require you to do some basic work that’ll help you learn about the industry while providing some kind of service to the company. Since you don’t have a degree yet, they’ll most likely give you jobs that anyone can do. Just like most job internships, you’ll be getting someone’s coffee, cleaning and organizing files and doing whatever task everyone else refuses to do. In a marketing office, you’ll get to sit in on the meetings where decisions are made. You’ll get to see firsthand what goes into every marketing idea when a team gets together and puts together a presentation or pitch for one of their clients. When they need some supplies or food, you’ll be the one sent to retrieve it.

Internships usually require some schooling in the field you wish to work. If you want to be a marketing intern, you should be studying communications, marketing, advertising or some other related major. They won’t want to waste their time giving away an internship to someone who isn’t interested in working for them. They use their internship positions as training positions for future employees. Most internship requires a couple years of college first—they’re most often given to juniors or seniors in college. This is really the only requirement, other than applying yourself for the internship.



Salaries can range from nothing to $10/hr. You can’t really expect to be paid for an internship. Most companies see it as training and college credit. So you should expect to take on an internship for the learning experience rather than for the money. Some might pay you minimum wage and some might be so generous as to pay you a little more than minimum wage, but it’s not likely or common to see anything above minimum wage for an internship.

Even though you might be the guy sent out to pick up supplies, coffee, pizza or anything else the group needs, you’ll be allowed to sit in on all their meetings and see firsthand what it takes to be in the business. This will help you direct your studies the following year to better prepare yourself for the real thing. It’s a great way to see if it’s something you even want to pursue, and it’ll also get you in the door and help you land the entry level job once you graduate from college. You might be getting someone’s coffee, but you’ll be learning a lot as you go, and that’s why internships are very valuable.