The Struggle Behind Summer Internships in 2026

Written By Michael Stoll

The summers preceding junior and senior year of college are widely regarded as pivotal moments for securing internships. For many students, they represent a kind of rite of passage, an expectation often reinforced by parents, relatives, older siblings, and mentors who emphasize their importance early and often. These opportunities are designed to give students hands-on exposure to professional environments, without the full responsibilities and pressures of permanent employment.

For a lot of majors, including communication, internships are where everything you’ve been learning in class finally gets put into practice. It’s a chance to apply your skills learned over years of coursework, figure out what you’re good at, and get feedback from professionals in the field so you can keep refining and improving your skills.

But in 2026, it honestly feels like getting an internship has gotten way harder.

Personally, I’ve applied to around 60–70 internships for this upcoming summer and haven’t landed anything yet. And I know I’m not the only one in this situation.

Broader economic conditions may be contributing to this shift. With ongoing financial uncertainty, weakened consumer sentiment, and persistently high interest rates, some companies appear to be scaling back their internship programs. This can look like offering fewer positions, cutting programs altogether, while others are shifting toward unpaid internships, which adds another layer of difficulty for students who need to make money over the summer.

At the same time, entry-level jobs haven’t been easy to find either. From conversations with friends who’ve already graduated or are graduating soon, a lot of them are struggling to find jobs in their actual field. Because of that, more people are applying to internships too, which makes everything even more competitive. And as a rising junior, it can feel like you’re competing with people who already have more experience.

It creates a tough situation. On one hand, you want to gain experience in the field you’ve been working toward for years. On the other hand, you also need to figure out how to make money for the summer and next semester. It really can feel like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I don’t really have a perfect answer for how to fix that, because I’m still figuring it out myself. But one thing I’ve learned is that staying flexible is really important right now.

A few things that seem to help are:

● Keeping your schedules flexible in case internships have odd hours

● Applying to a lot more internships than you think you’ll need to

● Not limiting yourself to only “big name” companies, smaller places can be just as valuable

● Maintaining connections with previous employers and exploring return opportunities

This whole process has definitely been stressful, and I’m still in the middle of it. But I’m trying to stay optimistic and trust that something will eventually work out. As the weeks get closer to summer, the pressure definitely builds, but hopefully all the applications, interviews, and portfolio work pay off in the end.