When I was trying to figure out which internship to take over the summer, I had three offers to consider. They were all kind of similar in the type of work I would be doing, but the pay and growth opportunities were different. I was looking for a company that I would be happy to join after I graduated and I was using the internship as a trial run. One of the offers with Sierra Construction stood out to me because it paid more than the others and they also made it clear that if I did well, I would have a good chance at moving up quickly. Obviously not during the short internship, but after I graduated. The combination of pay and position is what affected my decision. It made me feel like the company actually valued the people working there and wanted to reward performance, not just time on the job. I didn’t want to be stuck in a place where the pay was low and there wasn’t a clear future. So even though the highest paying internship seemed to be the most demanding in the long run, I still chose it because the compensation felt worth it. I think what motivated me wasn’t just the money itself, but the long term potential it represented, like the chance to grow in the company, take on bigger roles, and eventually earn way more in the future. It reminded me of what I learned in the lecture about pay being both extrinsic and intrinsic. The actual dollar amount was extrinsic, but knowing that the company believed in rewarding hard work and providing a path forward felt more personal. It also ties into the idea of equity because I wanted to feel like I was getting a fair deal compared to what other people with similar experience are earning.
