I'm currently an undergrad software engineering intern at Lockheed Martin, and I get paid a little more than $18 an hour... and the experience is invaluable - pretty much from day 1, I've been doing the work of a professional software engineer, never doing stereotypical "intern work" like getting coffee and donuts. Incidentally, if you're wondering how I got this job, my previous qualifications were a mediocre (3.3ish) GPA at a state university which has a good computer science and engineering program but is generally poorly regarded otherwise. I had a single brief interview over the phone which involved no technical questions. Smaller companies are more likely to want previous experience, since they can't afford to really train you on the job as well. I agree with Artraze entirely that you have to choose a position that's right for you. If you get an internship at a large company, and you are unsatisfied with your assignment, they can probably move you to another project - remember, it's not like school - they want you to succeed because they are trying to develop you as an asset to the company.