Paid Internships and Early Career Fit Using National Postsecondary Data

Session Abstract: Career outcomes are a key accountability metric and a frequent question from campus leaders. Using NCES Baccalaureate and Beyond data (B&B 2016/17), we examine whether undergraduate internships, paid or unpaid, are associated with early career fit within 12 months of bachelor’s degree completion: (1) employment in a job that requires a degree and (2) employment in a field related to the graduate’s degree. We use survey-weighted logistic regression in NCES PowerStats and address its paid/unpaid “no-combine” constraint by estimating four parallel models: paid only, unpaid only, both, and neither. Paid internships show the strongest relationship with early career fit, with the largest benefits for STEM graduates and smaller effects for business graduates. When internships are absent, GPA becomes a stronger signal of early outcomes. Attendees will leave with a replicable PowerStats workflow, practical data visualization ideas, and implications for advising and experiential learning.

Keywords: Paid internships, early career outcomes, job alignment, B&B 2016/17, logistic regression