Remote tech internships: the advantages, the drawbacks and where to look

Picking up new skills in theory is an excellent first step towards becoming a tech specialist, but practice and the chance to apply what you know to real data matter enormously in any field — and particularly in tech, which is as applied as fields get and where practical skills weigh heavily when you are being hired. So how do you best meet that need? Internships, in person or remote, are the answer. In this article we go through the advantages and drawbacks of the remote format specifically, and where to look for them.

The advantages of remote tech internships

Why are remote internships so good? During the pandemic all our usual activities were forced online. Some people liked it, some did not, but a new era arrived and life without the format is now impossible to imagine. So here is why this option is worth choosing:

1. Accessibility. Any internship, particularly in the USA, means expense first of all, and for many candidates that is a serious barrier: a great deal of time and money. The online format is available to far more people — no money spent moving, no paperwork to arrange. There are also plenty of free internships and even paid ones, a pleasant bonus while you gain practical experience.
2. Flexibility. Unlike traditional office internships, remote programmes often let you choose your own hours. And let's be honest, that suits not only students combining study with the start of a career but people changing profession later in life, with financial commitments, a permanent job, a family and children. You choose when and how much time to give to the practice.
3. Experience at a leading company. The world's tech giants are based in the USA — Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Facebook — along with a great many startups, which opens boundless scope for specialists at any level.
4. Learning to work in a team. Remote internships let you work alongside the best professionals in each field. Most valuable of all, you get to start working within a team, learn the team roles and understand how work is delivered in tech.
5. Access to advanced technology. American companies work with advanced technology and methods such as Agile, DevOps, data science and AI. An internship in that environment helps you pick up modern tooling faster and makes you more competitive; you get to look behind the curtain and feel your own responsibility for building the software we all use daily.
6. Better self-organisation. Working remotely takes real discipline, the ability to plan your time and strict adherence to deadlines — valuable skills that will serve you throughout your career.

The difficulties and drawbacks

But there are two sides to every coin, and it would be dishonest to pass over the drawbacks. Only by looking at the field from every angle can you decide whether the format suits you. Here is where a remote internship can fall short of an in-person one:

1. Limited networking. Our students agree in interviews that a newcomer settles in more easily in an office, where questions can be asked and experienced colleagues give prompt help. Remotely, the learning can drag out, because answers come with a delay and studying material on your own takes more effort.
2. Time management. This can be an advantage or a drawback depending on how well you organise yourself at present. Working from home you meet a great many distractions, and without a firm timetable productivity can easily slip. Some people also find it hard to keep the boundary between work and life, which can lead to burnout.
3. Fewer paid remote internships. The chances of finding a paid internship are undoubtedly higher in person. And although many people starting out are willing to work unpaid for the experience alone, for some that is a serious obstacle. Do check the terms before applying, so as to avoid disappointment.
4. Stiff competition. Getting an internship at an American company is not easy: the requirements are often high and the competition so fierce that applying can be daunting. Needless to say, remote competition is fiercer still, since anyone anywhere can apply, not only people in the USA.

Where to find remote tech internships in the USA

Finding them is no longer a problem — there are plenty of resources offering options, and on forums people share their experience of finding and completing internships at companies and startups. For convenience, here are the main channels in one place:

Job and internship platforms:

• LinkedIn — one of the largest professional platforms, with internships at American tech companies
• Glassdoor — vacancies alongside employee reviews of companies
• Indeed — a job aggregator where remote positions come up often
• Handshake — a platform aimed at students and graduates, working with US universities

Company career pages. Many companies post internships on their own sites:

• Google Careers
• Microsoft Careers
• Amazon Jobs
• Apple Careers
• Meta Careers

Online hackathons and competitions. Some companies offer internships to the winners of hackathons or contests such as:

• Google Summer of Code — a paid programme for students
• Microsoft Imagine Cup — a competition for developers
• Meta hackathons — regular online events

Startups and outsourcing companies. Many American startups and outsourcing firms offer remote internships. You can find them on:

• AngelList — startup vacancies
• Y Combinator Jobs — postings from Y Combinator-backed startups
• Turing — a platform for remote work in international tech teams

University programmes. Some American universities offer online internships to students and recent graduates — Harvard's Online Internship Program and MIT Remote Internships, for instance.

From this short tour of remote tech internships we can conclude that they are genuinely an excellent way to gain your first experience in tech, or the experience you are still missing. For all the drawbacks, the advantages outweigh them: the format is convenient and flexible. And a reminder that PASV offers all our students internships on live tech projects with experts from Silicon Valley. You can choose from a range of directions and stay on the internship as long as you need. All of that will leave you confident in your first job and in your interviews.