Thinking of doing the Summer Internship

So I'm thinking of doing the summer internship this year. I just had my second interview on friday with a BM and AM. But immediately afterwards I found this site and I'm beginning to have second thoughts on ERAC. Everything I'm reading about from former employees seems to counter all the BS they told me in the interview. I really don't see myself doing rental cars for the rest of my life, especially since i'm graduating next year. Basically, I need some opinions on whether i should stick it out for the summer or completely avoid this situation altogether. I've read some really bad horror stories so far (some quite humorous) and I really don't want to be stuck in those situations. Thanks for the help!

The summer internship is a completely different situation. Your not forced to work 50+ hours a week. In fact, the interns that worked at my branch only worked 2-3 days a week and some of those days were half days. Also, I heard that the interns make almost the same amount of money hourly as the MTs. Plus, your not under the same pressures as the MTs, as in selling DUB and molding into the perfect rental monkey. The intern is really just a helper around the branch and they are a very appreciated help by the branch. Its a great experience for a college student and looks VERY GOOD on your resume when you start applying for a real job. However, do not let the ERAC managers get their claws into you and try to sucker you into ERAC after you graduate! Really look around and talk to the burned out MTs. It will clarify everything that is said on this website. Just do it for the summer, make some extra money, get some experience and WALK AWAY!

If you're a girl....be aware....there are wolves lerking around! Wolves that have been working long hours and have no time to date outside of work.If you have morals be aware of the "social aspects" of the job...there are plenty of posts about the hooking up that goes on, especially at happy hours etc. Just go in with your eyes open!

The idiot that told you to talk with the burned out MT's is the majority of people on this site. If someone can get burned out from renting cars then they are not very good at anything. The career path at ERAC is unmatched! It is the best career in the world. 8 years in and I made $225K last year. The 1st few years are a challenge and only the strong survive. If your are strong then do it, if you are week then head to desk job that will take you nowhere...

Originally Posted by makeityourown

The idiot that told you to talk with the burned out MT's is the majority of people on this site. If someone can get burned out from renting cars then they are not very good at anything. The career path at ERAC is unmatched! It is the best career in the world. 8 years in and I made $225K last year. The 1st few years are a challenge and only the strong survive. If your are strong then do it, if you are week then head to desk job that will take you nowhere...

Hahaha classic. Classic "by the book" quotes right there. If this guy/gal is making 225k/year, then I am sure they are the boss of a good amount of people. Ask yourself if you want to work for a company that would promote a person whose first response as to if you should take the internship is to refer to someone as an idiot. Pure class.

There was a recent thread on here with someone asking about the internship. There were some good responses in there you may want to check out. If you are only doing it as a summer thing, it isn't too bad. Experience-wise, it is better than working as a waiter, etc. But I would just make sure you get a confirmation as to exactly what hours you will be working and your duties there, etc. Depending on the manager and branch that you are working at, it could be a nice experience or a terrible one. When I was there we had a summer intern at a branch in our area who quit after 3 weeks because the manager had her washing cars 50% of the time.

Also, this quote by the above classy Enterprise boss, "If someone can get burned out from renting cars then they are not very good at anything," is another classic. Very mature and worthy of an Enterprise leader. Just another reason why if you take the internship, ONLY do it as an internship. MTs, Assistants, Managers will work upwards to 55-60 hours aweek, often times without lunch breaks. So yes, it is possible to get burned out. To claim that people who got burned out are not very good at anything is amazingly crass. Good luck and keep your eyes open for other possible opportunities.

On the contrary to this, "idiot". If you are looking for some quick $$ then don't do the internship. In fact go find a nice eatery and become a waiter or tend bar. More $$ and more ass. If you are looking for a head start on, quite possibly the best career in the world then take the internship. I come on this site to listen to all the,"idiots" rant about failing at this very simple task. Renting cars is not difficult, but that is not really what we will teach you. We will teach you about running your own business. We will teach you that hard work pays off. If you have what it takes to overcome the impossible then we would love to have you join our team. If you are looking for work experience then I suggest going elsewhere. Best of luck.

p.s. Remember, every negative remark on this site is coming from the mouth of a failure. Do you really want to take advice from that?

Originally Posted by makeityourown

If someone can get burned out from renting cars then they are not very good at anything.

What a wonderful thing to say. I hope you are very proud of yourself. Do you honestly believe that the thousands and thousands of people that leave Enterprise each year, many of whom take jobs that provide them with more free time, are not very good at anything? What kind of culture are you instilling in your Group? I'm sure people have left under your watch, so why did you let these people get hired in the first place if they are not very good at anything?

I can think of plenty of people who left Enterprise because they were burned out and went onto be successes. It is easy to find examples because so many people leave. One former coworker is a very good investor, another is a very good teacher, another is a very good mother. The fact that you would chastise people who left to find a more fulfilling career/life with regular working hours is unbelievable.

It is nice that you like your job. But Enterprise is not for everyone and if people decide to leave because they get burned out, it baffles me as to why you would be so bitter towards them that you would assume they would not be very good at anything else. There are (*GASP!*) other companies out there. People are allowed to pursue other opportunities.

To the person thinking of the internship, it isn't the worst thing in the world (just make sure you aren't working in the Group of the person I quoted, because if you leave you will not be very good at anything!), but I would also look into any other companies that are closer to your area of study. Then compare what each company has to offer.

Originally Posted by makeityourown

The idiot that told you to talk with the burned out MT's is the majority of people on this site. If someone can get burned out from renting cars then they are not very good at anything. The career path at ERAC is unmatched! It is the best career in the world. 8 years in and I made $225K last year. The 1st few years are a challenge and only the strong survive. If your are strong then do it, if you are week then head to desk job that will take you nowhere...

Andy, are you posting again?

Originally Posted by winner

On the contrary to this, "idiot". If you are looking for some quick $$ then don't do the internship. In fact go find a nice eatery and become a waiter or tend bar. More $$ and more ass. If you are looking for a head start on, quite possibly the best career in the world then take the internship. I come on this site to listen to all the,"idiots" rant about failing at this very simple task. Renting cars is not difficult, but that is not really what we will teach you. We will teach you about running your own business. We will teach you that hard work pays off. If you have what it takes to overcome the impossible then we would love to have you join our team. If you are looking for work experience then I suggest going elsewhere. Best of luck.

p.s. Remember, every negative remark on this site is coming from the mouth of a failure. Do you really want to take advice from that?

i admit i failed at renting cars
i did not pimp a lotta dub or sell any cars.
i just never felt love for the job, or the company...running your own business in eracspeak is having your business micromanaged buy your ARM in every regard
as a manager i never really felt like i was running my own business...thankfully i was let go for "performance reasons"
the first job i had post erac i made more than the eracian that fired me
strangely ironic
but i think you need to come to terms with this...it is a large country with plenty of opportunity...erac does not have a monoply on success or wealth
don't sell yourself short

[bill_and_paystub]

I posted this on a similar thread earlier, it might be of help:


I think it depends on what line of work you want to get into once you graduate. Of course, a lot of people start at Enterprise because they don't really know what they want to do.

Your tasks will essentially be the same as an MT. I'd say it's unlike a typical office internship because you don't get all the bitch work thrown on you....but then again working at Enterprise is pretty much bitch work itself.

You'll make some money because you'll be working 50 hour weeks. On the plus side you'll generally get about one paid day off a week because you'll be going to training at the region headquarters. [This is the case in most areas.]

If you can get an internship with a "normal" company where you don't have to wash cars in 90 degree weather in a shirt and tie, then I'd say do that. While a lot of those companies (i.e. Merrill Lynch, etc.) don't pay their interns, it has value in its marketable experience. If you have an unpaid internship somewhere they will generally let your hours be flexible so that you can have a part time job to make money. That just depends on what your immediate money needs and spending habits are. Entry level recruiters value summer experience as one of the top criteria in candidates.

You will make some friends because everyone is so young and generally outoging, and Enterprise does set up a lot of events for its interns, largely to try to "hook you in" for the future. If you do get an internship with Enterprise, the experience will have value, but you must go in knowing that Enterprise is not the end-all, be-all of companies, despite what the higher-ups will tell you.