What it does: Intel is an American multinational technology corporation that manufactures computer microprocessors, motherboards, graphic chips, and other computer-related microchip technologies.
Mission: We engineer solutions for our customers’ greatest challenges with reliable, cloud-to-edge computing, inspired by Moore’s Law.
Best known for: Intel processors.
Size & presence: 121,100 employees working in 46 countries.
The good bits: Intel is one of the biggest computer chip manufacturers (and has been so for quite some time), making it one of the best places to start a career for recent university graduates—and has been rated so by several employer's reviews sites such as Glassdoor.
The not-so-good bits: Despite being a tech company, Intel moves slowly when it comes to making decisions and changing things up—mostly due to its large scale of operations.
Intel was founded in July 1968, by semiconductor pioneers Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce. The company’s name came from the amalgamation of integrated electronics.
Although Intel created the world's first commercial microprocessor chip, it took a while until business really took off. And that happened when the popularity of personal computers (PC) started rising and in the present day, has become a ubiquitous entity found nearly everywhere.
Working at Intel means getting to work on leading-edge technology projects that would transform computing in an impactful manner. Intel also gives employees opportunities to try new things, work on different projects, or even work in different countries.
Past employees also comment that Intel has a good work-life balance, despite being a tech company. One of the things that many of its current and past employees seem to echo is that Intel truly takes care of one of its own from day one, and in return, many of its employees stay in the company for quite some time—much longer than newer tech companies like Google and Meta.
Intel boasts a large number of internship openings available each year in almost all of its departments. Thousands of interns have walked through their doors, according to Intel’s own account. When you do an internship at Intel, you can expect to get real-world experience with leading-edge technologies and handle important projects from day one. Plus, if you do really well in your internship, it’s possible that Intel would consider you for a full-time position after you graduate!
There’s one caveat though. Perhaps because Intel’s internship positions are very competitive, it isn’t rare to see its openings asking for a few months of experience in the skills needed to do the job.
Now, if you’re interested in getting into a full-time program for recent university graduates, you’d be happy to know that Intel has a program intended for you: The DRIVE Program. College graduates go through three (seven-month) rotation assignments before their final placement with the company.
The recruitment process at Intel typically goes like this. You submit an application to their website, and will immediately be asked several prescreening questions related to the role. Then, an Intel recruiter might reach out to conduct an interview using both behavioral-based and technical interviews. In some cases, you might be asked to do a panel interview as well.
Intel offers some of the most competitive compensation among other tech companies. For example, an intern at Intel can expect to make between $70,000 to $110,000 per year.
In other roles, the pay can differ depending on the positions and years of experience needed. A technician might make around $70,000-$80,000 per year, while a senior engineer can make more than $200,000 per year.
Intel also gives out bonuses, paid time off, paid sabbaticals, stock options, and other perks such as on-site fitness centers, private transportation, and continuous learning opportunities.
Many of Intel’s environmental, social, and governmental (ESG) contributions relate to those of the environment, mainly due to its manufacturing practices. Some of the philanthropic initiatives that it has recently engaged in include investing in conservation projects and evolving pandemic response technology initiative (PRTI).