For Lower-Income Students, Big Tech Internships Can Be Hard to Get

By Natasha Singer

Natasha Singer, a technology reporter, covers tech companies and their societal impacts.

• April 5, 2023

Jalaun Ross, a computer science major at Central Connecticut State University, knew it would be difficult to land an internship at a prominent tech company this summer.

He had chosen to attend an affordable local public university, not a top computing school, and he did not know anyone in the industry who could put in a good word for him with tech recruiters.

Last summer, while interning at a financial services company, Mr. Ross spent several hours every evening preparing for the coding tests that tech firms use to weed out candidates. He ultimately applied to more than 200 internships, he said, but he did not receive a single offer from tech firms.

“College itself is a huge workload, especially for minorities and people of lower socioeconomic status,” Mr. Ross said. “How can people who go to average state schools compete?”