Most students pursuing an MBA in Houston already know that success comes from what happens both in and outside of a classroom. The value of networking, competitions and internships is almost immeasurable—but not quite.
In fact, in a study from the Graduate Management Admissions Council, it was found that roughly 76 percent of employers who hired MBA interns in 2013 ultimately hired at least one for a full-time role with the company. Additionally, survey respondents ranked past internship experience as one of the top factors to be considered when selecting candidates to interview for full-time positions.
Considering the type of internship opportunities available may even be a factor in selecting an MBA program. The kind of experience and value each internship can provide will most definitely differ between companies, so knowing where to find the most valuable experience can be crucial when mapping out your career. Also important to consider is compensation: nationwide, only about half of all student interns get paid for their work.
If you are earning or thinking about pursuing your MBA in Houston, Texas, you’re already in luck: a 2015 Time survey found Houston to be in the top five of cities most likely to offer paid internships, with roughly 69.1 percent of student interns getting compensated.
Whether or not compensation is important to you, it’s clear that Houston is a great city for earning your MBA and gaining experience with an internship. We’ve rounded up some of the top places to intern for MBAs in Houston:
Evercore
Founded in 1995, Evercore is an independent banking advisory firm based around the idea that clients are better served by an investment banking firm that is free of the concerns that come with multi-product financial institutions. Today, the company has a diverse set of clients and investors, boasting more than $2.0 trillion in investment banking advisory services transactions and more than $8 billion in investment management services assets.
Evercore offers intern, analyst and associate positions for business students to gain experience in a variety of fields, including recapitalizations, divestitures, joint ventures, private equity and acquisitions among others. Interns at Evercore will have the opportunity to work side-by-side, train and mentor with senior executives in their positions at Evercore’s Advisory, Institutional Equities or Private Funds Group businesses.
Hewlett-Packard
While the name may need no further explanation, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has grown from a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California to the multinational technology company it is today. Providing a wide variety of hardware and software services to enterprises both large and small, HP nets more than $100 billion per year in revenue and $22 billion in gross income.
HP offers students and graduates a number of internship opportunities in a variety of fields, ranging from computer science to supply chain to chemistry. HP has been rated as one of the top 25 best companies for internships and 99 percent of interns have said they loved their experience at the company. Given the compensation it should come as no surprise—some sources have reported that HP interns can earn up to $4,108 per month.
ExxonMobil
A direct descendant of J.D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, today ExxonMobil is a multinational oil and gas corporation based out of Irving, Texas. With a net income over $50 billion in 2015, ExxonMobil is the world’s largest publicly-traded oil and gas company by market value, and the 2nd largest by revenue according to the Fortune 500.
ExxonMobil offers students the opportunity to intern with the company in a number of fields, getting a unique “behind the scenes” look at the largest energy company in the world. According to one Exxon intern based in Houston: “I had the opportunity to really challenge myself, work on some weaknesses, present to executives, and get great exposure to a large energy firm.”
H3 Concepts
H3 Concepts, Inc. is a leading interactive marketing firm based in Houston, Texas, which are dedicated to helping brands to create and initiate powerful and memorable consumer interactions. By focusing on both the brand and the consumer experience, H3 Concepts helps to drive market takeovers which can create massive sales success.
Throughout the year, H3 Concepts offers a number of internships in fields like advertising and human relations. With a focus on innovation, H3 knows that forward movement can only come from successful teamwork, and therefore focuses on providing rewarding internship and career opportunities to committed individuals.