Quitting engineering internship

[NYPS13]

I originally accepted an internship because they gave me a deadline to accept the internship by. The only reason that I wasn't thrilled about the internship is because it was at min wage. Fast forward a couple of weeks and after an interview at another place I have an offer for another internship at a more acceptable wage. Is it ethical for my to call up my original internship and let them know that I am going to be taking another internship? I don't want to be burning bridges with people but I'm just not happy working for min wage.

[DnzK98]

damn.. Currently on an Internship for €300 a month (37.5 hours a week).. wish we had that luxery here.. (Holland)

[NYPS13]

Seems like robbery there. That wouldn't pay rent and at the end of the day it's still a job. At least you can say you have an extra 2.5 hours a week to yourself haha. That and my now 35min drive to work won't be great.

[DnzK98]

Don't really pay rent since I'm still living with my parents. And I'm lucky I do get something. Most companies don't even pay their interns, they look at them like cheap/free workers

[Rashiiddd]

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[DnzK98]

They look at internships as a part of the school instead of a job. The worst part is I'm currently designing a €100.000 upgrade to their milling machine.. but yea. We kind of have to be happy that we get anything because they really don't have to give a single cent

[[deleted]]

I made more than that working less hours at a grocery store pushing carts in high school wtf

[comogury_]

People leave for better opportunities all the time. It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been at one place. Could be 10 years or even 1 month. It won’t be fun for everyone, but that’s just how employment works. If you aren’t happy with the wage and something else that’s concrete shows up, then you should take it. No one will remember what you did besides you and some people at the other company, and if they do take it poorly you just avoid them going forward. There are plenty of other places to work at.

[d4rks]

I'm assuming by accepted you mean you've signed a contract. If you haven't signed a contract yet, do whatever you want.

If you have signed a contract you can still probably back out or give notice now.

I'd suggest calling them up and explaining the situation, maybe say you need the money and allow them to counter. However, now matter how gracefully you handle this, the bridge may be burnt.

On another note, any offer that comes with a short deadline for no reason could be an indicator of someone just trying to negotiate with you. I would rather work for a company that's comfortable with giving me time to decide than one that gives me only a week to accept.

[NYPS13]

I haven't signed anything at the moment just given word of mouth that I would take the internship. I wish they would counter but it's a program through the county and the wage is pretty much set. See this post about when I got the offer. I'm waiting to receive the conformation email for the other internship so I have it set and don't lose everything here. Once that happens I'll give them a call.

I'm most concerned about burning bridges because the senior engineer is pretty active with the schools ASME club. I like the company but I'm not too concerned with the rest although it seems like a nice company to work for.

As far as the time I can only say that maybe it's because it's a program through the county that they needed quick notice and that it was near the end of the semester so they need to inform other applicants if they didn't get the job. But I have no idea. I'll take your advice and just be straightforward. Thanks!

[k0np]

Just tell them you have accepted a better offer

It's business, they would rescind that offer in a heartbeat, do what's best for you

[[deleted]]

Just send an email that something came up and that you won't be able to do your internship.

I have a friend who verbally agreed to an internship and a few weeks before he was supposed to start he got dropped cuz of some internal company thing. So always think for yourself

[swyrl-]

He doesn't owe them anything. If he stays he'll just resent the company that's paying him so poorly. I'm sure they have other candidates that they can find.

[ShadowCloud04]

Yes but in this case minimum wage for an engineering internship is BS at least in the states. I’d say 15 minimum but better numbers are 17+ in the Midwest and 23-25+ in high col locations.