Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for program development interns in the United States
Are program development internship jobs in demand?
Program development internship job and salary trends over time
Program development internship jobs over time
Program development internship job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 371 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 373 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 377 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 4,057 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 4,360 | 0.00% |
Average program development internship salary over time
Program development internship salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $33,686 | $16.19 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | $32,576 | $15.66 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $31,838 | $15.31 | +2.5% |
| 2022 | $31,068 | $14.94 | +3.0% |
| 2021 | $30,161 | $14.50 | +0.4% |
Program development internship jobs by state
Most common states for program development interns
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 357 | 47% |
| 2 | Vermont | 623,657 | 294 | 47% |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 565 | 42% |
| 4 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 342 | 39% |
| 5 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 223 | 38% |
| 6 | Delaware | 961,939 | 341 | 35% |
| 7 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 587 | 31% |
| 8 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,670 | 30% |
| 9 | Alaska | 739,795 | 224 | 30% |
| 10 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 210 | 30% |
| 11 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 310 | 29% |
| 12 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 295 | 28% |
| 13 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 563 | 27% |
| 14 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 341 | 26% |
| 15 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 740 | 25% |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,364 | 24% |
| 17 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 770 | 24% |
| 18 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 417 | 24% |
| 19 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 811 | 23% |
| 20 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 638 | 22% |
Most common cities for program development interns
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annapolis | 3 | 8% | $35,140 |
| 2 | Wilmington | 4 | 6% | $30,493 |
| 3 | Lansing | 5 | 4% | $34,642 |
| 4 | Des Moines | 6 | 3% | $32,977 |
| 5 | Hartford | 4 | 3% | $35,438 |
| 6 | Atlanta | 8 | 2% | $30,384 |
| 7 | Saint Petersburg | 5 | 2% | $29,730 |
| 8 | Tallahassee | 4 | 2% | $29,815 |
| 9 | San Diego | 8 | 1% | $37,347 |
| 10 | Boston | 7 | 1% | $36,908 |
| 11 | Washington | 7 | 1% | $31,834 |
| 12 | Denver | 4 | 1% | $35,244 |
| 13 | Chicago | 9 | 0% | $31,845 |
| 14 | Los Angeles | 6 | 0% | $38,086 |
| 15 | Phoenix | 6 | 0% | $33,674 |
| 16 | Indianapolis | 4 | 0% | $29,272 |
| 17 | San Jose | 4 | 0% | $39,708 |
Program Development Internship job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of program development internship experts
Grambling State University
University of North Carolina Greensboro
University of Oregon
.JPG)
Cleveland State University
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University at Albany - SUNY
Utah Valley University
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Siena College
Northern Kentucky University
University of Notre Dame
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Wisconsin School of Business
Dordt University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bethel University
Yenumula Reddy
IEEE Senior Member, ACM Senior Member, IARIA FellowGrambling State University
College of Arts and Sciences
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Program Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Yenumula Reddy: The biggest trend - students do not have enough hands-on, means they get but not enough.. F2F training helps a lot. During the COVID, F2F is very difficult even though we try to provide facilities. Internships became limited and work from home and students have limited experience with industry and work with mentors and other group students in the projects as they do F2F. Sharing their information with other students is limited during COVID.
Apoorva Patipati Ramesh
Lecturer & Director - Graduate ProgramsUniversity of North Carolina Greensboro
Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Program Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Apoorva Patipati Ramesh: - Shift towards jobs in the IT industry.
- More IT professionals coming back to attain higher education.
- Organizations more comfortable with hiring interns.
How have salaries changed over time for Program Development Interns?
Apoorva Patipati Ramesh: Per 2020 data, STEM occupations - the ones our students typically land after completing the MS degree - have a median annual wage that is more than double that of the non-STEM jobs. This gap has been and is only widening with time. A graduate from an MS program is typically being offered anywhere between $60,000 and $120,000 in wages depending on the years of work experience they possess.
Hayden Harker
Senior Instructor, Head Undergraduate AdvisorUniversity of Oregon
Department of Mathematics
What soft skills should all Program Development Interns possess?
Hayden Harker: For math majors, there are many jobs that specifically use mathematical techniques learned in a specific course and you don't prove theorems in jobs. However, these students need to be flexible and willing to solve many different problems even if they don't necessarily feel like a math calculation. Solid problem solving skills and logical thought process are some of the greatest assets for math majors.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Program Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Hayden Harker: Students should consider remote jobs if not going to graduate school. I suspect many businesses will keep some positions as remote ones.
Sathish Kumar Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Computer ScienceCleveland State University
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Program Development Interns?
Sathish Kumar Ph.D.: I can speak of from computer science/ information systems/information technology perspective, which are my areas of expertise. Due to the steady growth in cloud computing and remote workcertifications/licenses/courses related to cloud technology will have great impact as well as the certifications/licenses/courses in the Machine Learning/Data Science and Cybersecurity due to the growth in that space.
Dr. Patrick Madsen
Executive DirectorUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
University Career Center
What will help Program Development Interns increase their earning potential?
Dr. Patrick Madsen: What tends to help individuals do well in any field and increase their earning potential is to pay close attention to building a strong professional network, staying on top of the competencies/skills that the industry demands in candidates, and remembering to have a mindset of a "lifelong learner" - the future of work demands agile knowledge workers that are flexible to new situations and environments. The current pandemic is a perfect example of the need for an agile and flexible workforce.
How have salaries changed over time for Program Development Interns?
Charalampos Chelmis: Computer scientists and engineers have seen a steady growth in salaries up to the years before the pandemic. Although I don't anticipate this trend to slow down, entry-level positions and positions whose profiles include a significant portion of remote activities may incur reduced salary as compared to on site positions.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Program Development Interns?
Dr. Sayeed Sajal: Certifications/licenses/courses that can boost the skills to support the key areas which I mentioned above, will have the biggest impact on the job prospects during the COVID19 pandemic.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Program Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
John Talburt Ph.D.: I see demand for data skills rising significantly. Due to their training, most of our graduates are being hired for data roles including data governance, data quality, data analytics, master data management, and data science. From the supply side, the pandemic has significantly reduced the number of international students coming into our program. However, this has been more than compensated by the increase in domestic working professionals enrolling in our online graduate programs. It appears that data professionals working online from home see this as an opportunity to also enroll in online graduate programs to upgrade their degree credentials.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Program Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Jami Cotler Ph.D.: In the past I've known of tech shops offering work hour flexibility often with required face-to-face team meetings. I think the pandemic has shown across many industries that work can be distributed while maintaining a high level of efficiency and effectiveness. I think we will see more employees in the tech industry having more work from home options post pandemic.
I think the need for tech has also been both recognized and has increased as we have had to rely on it to track and report pandemic data. I think there has also been a great awareness of tech tools such as web conferencing tools such as zoom that have now become commonplace tools for everyone to use. Online delivery services have also experienced greater demand, which increases the demand for tech professionals to work in these areas as well. As I tell my students, it is a really good time to be in this industry.
Yaw Frimpong-Mansoh Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy and Acting ChairNorthern Kentucky University
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Philosophy
What technical skills for a Program Development Internship stand out to employers?
Yaw Frimpong-Mansoh Ph.D.: Here is a brief description of the top nine transferable skills that student graduates vitally need to succeed effectively and efficiently in this constantly changing world.
Analytical and Critical Thinking. Employees with these competencies recognize there may be more than one valid point of view or one way of doing things. They evaluate an issue or problem based on multiple perspectives, while accounting for personal biases. They are able to identify when information is missing or if there is a problem, prior to coming to conclusions and making decisions.
Applied Problem Solving. People with this skill recognize constraints and can generate a set of alternative courses of action. They are able to evaluate alternatives using a set of criteria in order to select and implement the most effective solution and monitor the actual outcomes of that solution. They are also able to recognize there may be more than one valid point of view or course of action.
Ethical Reasoning and Decision Making. Workers trained with these competencies can assess their own moral values and perspectives as well as those of others. They are able to integrate those values and perspectives into an ethical framework for decision making. They consider intentions and anticipate the consequences of actions, both at the personal and social levels, and understand the ethical principles that apply to a situation before making decisions.
Innovation and Creativity. People with these competencies challenge existing paradigms and propose alternatives without being constrained by established approaches or anticipated responses of others. They bring their knowledge, skills, abilities, and sense of originality to the work that they do. They are willing to take risks and overcome internal struggle to expose their creative self in order to bring forward new work or ideas.
Digital Literacy. People with this competency have expertise in evaluating sources of information for accuracy, relevance, purpose, and bias. They respond quickly and creatively to emerging communication technologies and to the changing uses of existing technologies. They recognize how the basics of effective communication persist as the technological landscape evolves and changes while also recognizing the opportunities created for new and innovative approaches to get a message across.
Engaging Diversity. This competency makes employees understand that diversity provides a broader perspective, giving an organization a wider range of options toward resolving challenges. Such employees have the ability to see others points of view and recognize that only seeing things through one’s own culture and experiences is an impediment to achieving goals. They possess the cultural humility to acknowledge their own biases and to manage the conflicts that are inevitable in an increasingly diverse world.
Active Citizenship and Community Engagement. Employees with this competency understand that creating change and opening paths to new futures starts with the active participation of citizens in their local communities and even spans globally. They actively engage with their communities, because they know that their contributions impact the community and that their engagement with the community in turn shapes them. Through coursework, participation in service-learning projects, and volunteering, they have developed and fine-tuned their awareness of social and cultural differences, of the dynamics and needs of the local as well as global communities and are active citizens who engage with their communities to find new futures.
Teamwork and Leadership. Employees who possess this ability are able to both lead and be a part of a cohesive group. They understand their roles and responsibilities within a group, and how they may change in differing situations. They are able to influence others as leaders or as contributing members and have the willingness to take action. They leverage the strengths of the group to achieve a shared vision or objective. They effectively acknowledge and manage conflict toward solutions.
Oral and Written Communication. Employees with these vital skills have the ability to intentionally engage with various audiences to inform, persuade, and entertain. They are able to demonstrate their proficiency and expertise in various means of oral and written communication. They can create effective relationships with an audience as they keep in mind the needs, goals, and motivations of all involved. They are able to ensure that the communication they create is functional and clear to achieve a desired outcome.
Warren von Eschenbach Ph.D.
Associate Vice President and Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs (ND International) and Associate Teaching ProfessorUniversity of Notre Dame
ND International and Philosophy
What type of skills will young Program Development Interns need?
Warren von Eschenbach Ph.D.: Critical thinking and communication skills, information and quantitative literacy, teamwork and problem-solving abilities, ethical reasoning, and intercultural competency-all hallmarks of a liberal arts education-will continue to be essential skills for the future. But because of the rapid pace of technological, economic, and social change, graduates will need to possess an ability to continually learn anew, to be comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty, and to anticipate future trends or issues.
The pandemic has also shown that many of the big issues we are facing are complex, multi-faceted, and interdisciplinary in nature. Graduates who can integrate various paradigms into a larger framework will have a distinct advantage.
What experience really stands out on Program Development Internship resumes?
Warren von Eschenbach Ph.D.: We often talk about the desirability of gaining T-shaped skills-ones that are both broad and deep. The future will require a metaphor that is more dynamic and iterative to capture the realities of the job market. Experiences that demonstrate a purposive range of activities to expand one's knowledge and abilities, such as service-learning, a professional experience, or undergraduate research, will be key for building this dynamic skill set.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Program Development Interns to find work opportunities?
Julie Way: While there are job opportunities for STEM students almost anywhere in the country, certainly large metropolitan areas hire more prolifically than rural and geographically challenging. I found a USAToday article that lists the top 15 cities hiring high tech workers, however, these lists will change year to year.
What experience really stands out on Program Development Internship resumes?
Carl Barlett: While good GPAs and relevant majors are all well and good, students put too much focus on them in my experience. When I interviewed potential employees, what stood out for me on resumes was always something that made me want to ask them more questions. This might have been anything from in-depth projects or simulations they had participated in, case competitions they had voluntarily taken part in, or even unique hobbies they pursued in their free time. Anything that showed a spark of intellectual curiosity was paramount to me. In my experience, those with genuine interest and the desire to continue learning about what they do will always outlast those that approach their resume or professional skills as a checklist to complete.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Program Development Interns?
Dr. Timothy Soelen: While we are certainly going through something awful, there are are also some silverlinings. Education graduates are experiencing something unique, something so disruptive to the norm. They are experiencing life, and in some ways, life in the real world that has ups and downs, varying flow versus the slow, steady, somewhat static life of school. The pandemic has broke this imaginary but real boundary. Adapting to this disruption, finding alternative solutions to learning, should be an incredible value-add to their problem-solving skill set. I'm imagining a new curricular that taps the here and now for project-based and problem-based elarning. And assessments that move way beyond simple answers but ones that require an understanding of the complexity of the world we live in.
What type of skills will young Program Development Interns need?
Dr. Timothy Soelen: I was going to say flexibility but I'll choose elasticity instead. The abilty to change and adapt, be stretched and compressed. People capable of pivoting as quickly as our best educators did in March of 2020.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Program Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Aaron Ebata Ph.D.: I think schools, agencies, and companies have found that there are some advantages to employees working remotely, and that the future will include some aspect of that. But an increase in remote employment (whether forced or voluntary) creates other challenges to individuals and families. This also means that there may be new opportunities for goods and services that focus on meeting these new needs. For example, new models of shared childcare or home schooling focused on someone coming into a home (or "pod" of like-minded families).
Schools and not-for-profit social service agencies may be feeling a financial crunch and may not be hiring-but the pandemic may have also let to retirements or people quitting which may open up positions.
Students who are entrepreneurial will be at an advantage.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Program Development Internship job market given the pandemic?
Christopher Gehrz Ph.D.: I'm not sure a historian will be the best predictor of future trends. But I do think the pandemic's dislocation of the economy underscores how unlikely it is that new college graduates will spend their careers on a single track. When not just individual companies but whole sectors of the economy can be thrown into turmoil so quickly, it's important that college students use liberal arts studies to cultivate a breadth of knowledge and skills. Not only because that kind of learning transfers easily from one job to another, but because it prepares people well for the more advanced graduate and professional studies that will help them retool, adapt, and advance.
What general advice would you give to a Program Development Internship?
Christopher Gehrz Ph.D.: First, be sure to sustain the life of the mind. You're no longer a college student, but you're still a learner, so you need to keep exercising those muscles. And you won't have people like me giving lectures or assigning books anymore, so you need to find your own ways to nourish your interests, sustain your passions, challenge your assumptions, and enhance your understanding.
Second, keep in touch with your college professors. Not only might you need to ask people like me for recommendations at some point down the road, but in turn, you can provide something to your alma mater more immediately meaningful than donations: helping us answer questions like these from newer students wondering how they'll connect their studies with their careers. (For example, I keep a list of several dozen alumni in various fields who have told me they'd be willing to be interviewed by first-year students wondering what they can do with a History major.)