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ABSTRACT
This paper reports the results of an empirical study examining the relationship between participation in an accounting internship and increased job opportunities. Most prior studies have examined the benefits of internship programs while in school or the benefits of internships on professional learning, socialization, and personal characteristics in preparing students for entry into the profession. There has been a paucity of empirical studies examining the relationship between internships and job opportunities, which is a primary reason why students enter internship programs, schools establish them, and employers hire interns. We surveyed professional employees below the manager level among three Big 4 firms and a large regional CPA firm, and found that the effect of internship experience on job opportunities depends upon the circumstances. The results indicate that employing firms highly value internship experience and that internship experience is useful for students in getting job opportunities whether or not they stay with the internship firm.
Keywords: Internships; Job Opportunities
INTRODUCTION
Over 94% of colleges of business offer some type of internship to their students (Weible, 2010), and the rate of utilization has increased significantly for accounting majors, from 39% in 1995 to 60 percent in 2006 (Nelson, Vendrzyk, Quirin & Allen, 2002; Nelson, Vendrzyk, Quirin & Kovar, 2008). Internships are expected to benefit students in many ways. One of the most important expected outcomes and benefits of an internship experience for students and schools is improvement in the opportunity for permanent job offers (Beard, 1998; Knouse, Tanner & Harris, 1999). Few studies, however, have examined the benefits of an internship on the job (e.g., Henry, 1979; Siegel & Rigsby, 1988; Gault, Redington & Schlager, 2000) and fewer still whether the internship experience results in increased job opportunities for students.
Most studies, instead, have examined the usefulness of internship experience for students when they return to the classroom or the usefulness of internship experience in helping some aspect of students' development preparing them to enter the profession. Among these studies, a number have evaluated the benefit of internship experience to grade point average (GPA) when students return to the class (Koehler, 1974; Knechel & Snowball, 1987; Giacomino, 1990; English & Koeppen, 1993; Myring, Bloom, & Shortridge, 2005). Other studies have examined the usefulness of an internship...