Ripple and Binance: The frontrunners in the crypto intern market
Students and otherwise inexperienced crypto enthusiasts will have been dismayed by the downturn in the job market over the last year.
Graduate schemes and internships in crypto are few and far between, but two major players are very bullish on crypto interns. Those two firms are Binance and Ripple.
Ripple's Internship Program
Blockchain payments fintech Ripple has been operating their early careers scheme for multiple years now, and a bear market doesn't seem to be stopping them.
A number of Ripple interns have gone on to hold full time positions in the company. These include senior engineer Amy Zou and full stack engineer Emily Hansen.
Ripple are currently hiring interns for 21 different positions across their different departments. 10 of those are in the engineering department, though there are other interesting opportunities outside of it, including for quant traders.
Specifics differ from one department to the next, but crypto internships generally last for 12 weeks with the option of extension. You will be given a mentor and an intern buddy, then work on dedicated products for you to show off at the end of the scheme.
Company reviews for Ripple on forum Blind in 2023 average out at a flat four stars. A key source of praise is their work-life balance, with one review calling it "a pretty chill place to work."
Binance Accellerator Programme
Binance went through a bit of a rough patch in December, suspending then unsuspending withdrawals and receiving great backlash because of it. Since then, things have been quieter. 🤞
The firm has 14 open internships, though the makeup of the roles differs significantly to Ripple.
There are of course a few engineering roles, four to be exact, but the intern space at Binance is dominated by product and marketing roles. Among them is a "creative program executive" with a focus on "swag" and merchandise.
Binance aren't as transparent as Ripple about what their scheme entails. They say it will be a three to six month placement with "a focus on networking and development." It's not clear whether it wants to hire interns upon completion of the scheme.
Blind reviews in 2023 for Binance average out at 2.9 stars. Common among the criticisms is the heavy workload. One review claims you need to work "minimum 50 hour weeks to be a top performer." 💪💪
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