for Students

What are the Benefits for Students?

S4S helps students address the following internship and career-related goals:

• Locate exciting and educational internships and full-time job opportunities
• Learn about the entrepreneurial aspects of building a company
• Find opportunities that are well suited for the students' career path
• Gain a broad exposure to different aspects of a company

Educating Students

One of S4S’s primary goals is to educate students on the value and benefits gained from working with and building local startup companies. S4S also aims to provide students with career avenues and opportunities of which the are not aware. Students working at startups tend to have a broader exposure to the business as a whole than their peers at much larger companies. The S4S team also wants to demonstrate to students the benefits and advantages of staying in Los Angeles, relative to other tech centers in the United States.

Getting Started

S4S has compiled the following information to help students get up to speed on the benefits of internship programs:

• Internships.com - internship marketplace and educational resource
• Internship King - internship reviews
• Internship Resources for College Students
• Intern Jobs - internship board
• Intern Inc. - internship board and network of organizations, mentors, and employers
• Intern Web - internship board
• Campus Career Center - internship board

Legal Issues

There are a number of issues that must be addressed in order to legally work as an intern (paid or unpaid). Students should be aware of their rights and the definition of an internship. The United States Department of Labor has specified that the following six criteria must be applied when determining if an internship can be unpaid:

1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;
3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

These are also good guidelines for paid internships.

Events and Networking

S4S enables participating interns to engage and interact with potential startups at several upcoming events. The opportunity to meet with startups ranges from the formal career fair to informal meetups both on- and off-campus.

Apply for an Internship

If you are interested in participating as a student in the Students for Startups program, please fill out the application in the right-hand column of this page. Please include your resume, a list of sample work, and any other relevant items (code examples for developers/programmers, for example).