We've heard the names and many of us secretly yearn for them on our resumes: Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, GE, Apple, Intel, Disney, etc. Summer internships at these household corporations can be very prestigious, serving as an added notch on the resume for the aspiring college student. And they are great - they provide first hand experience at some of the most successful companies in the world. That said, summer internships at the big corporation can be a hit or miss. In the best case you'll complete a project that has a substantial impact on a great product. But in the worse case, you might spend an entire summer making the three C's: coffee, copies, and calls.

Startups, on the other hand, are small shops with big dreams. Typically, they are a handful of really dedicate entrepreneurs who are working to make waves in history, people who are passionate about what they're building and are continually inspired by the people that surround them. Thus, spending a summer surrounded by these people can be life changing. There are hundreds of reasons why working at a startup is awesome, but I'll give you the top 5 here:

1. Your work will be valued: Resources in a startup are scarce, a few people doing a lot of work. These small companies are competing with major corporations who have tens of thousands of employees. You, as an added summer intern, are invaluable and will be used to do essential work to the success of the startup. 

2. Your work will make a big impact: In the early stages of a company and its product development, every project undertaken will inform and shift the product in a substantial way. As a summer intern, your projects will help a product gain market share, develop features or even change course. 

3. Your experience will be unparalleled: Working in a small , game changing startup, you'll likely have direct lines of communication to VPs, CEOs and even founders. You'll be working daily on something that is customer facing and changes that come from your work directly affect the product. The experience will be fast-paced as decisions and projects are executed every single day. These are not givens in the corporate experience.

4. You'll see how everything works: Each and every day you'll likely be sitting in voice range of product marketing, engineering, HR, finance, strategy, customer service, etc. You'll have the overhead view of how an entire company works and operates and likely, due to the needs of a startup, be able to interface or work with each of those groups. In the corporate atmosphere, very rarely do you get out of the specific business unit or team your placed in.

5. You're working with the future movers and shakers of the world: Entrepreneurs are people who have big dreams and drive to make them happen. They are the ones creating the new companies and projects that will change the world. These are the people you want to learn from.

Have you had a summer internship at a startup or corporation? How was your experience?

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