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<p>I’ve seen internships where the kids and parents pay for the experience. We didn’t take them up on the offer.</p>
<p>I have nothing against any internship that teaches kids the skills they will need to perform their future occupation. It is true that many kids lack the experience needed right after school, but many have unparalleled drive and brilliance and some company might just be lucky enough to find the next Steve Jobs in their next internship (ok,maybe an exaggeration). The point I am trying to make is that internships are fine as long as they serve their purpose. Interns should not have to make coffee (as someone mention) or have to run all the undesirable errants of the office. At the same time they should not substitute the trained professionals. A graduated professional should not be called an intern (even a recent graduate). Interns should be paid unless the intern is not performing any work and is just observing or doing volunteering work at a non-profit.</p>
<p>The employers can either create internships that actually teach something, or they can pay minimum wage. It’s pretty simple, really.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how this works with non profits? Our shelter wouldn’t have most of its services without interns, both undergrad and grad.</p>
<p>As a film student, I would like to point out that the film industry, and indeed many of the creative industries, have a culture of “paying your dues.” The idea is that because there are so many aspirants to these industries, one should be willing to prove how much they want to be a part of it. In the film industry this takes the form of a carousel of production assistants working on a carousel of productions. </p>
<p>I have mixed feelings about this, leaning towards against unpaid internships. On the one hand, I have met people - not in film school, but elsewhere - who don’t realise the level of commitment and professionalism that goes into making a film or mounting a production - they only see the end result. So I do see that aspect of it, the film industry’s equivalent of weeder classes (although, it has to be pointed out, the same effect can be had with paid internships). Some genuinely good projects also simply do not have the budget to pay everyone, and the opportunity to work on them can be its own reward. Both Darren Aronofsky’s and Pedro Almod</p>
<p>Internships, whether paid or not, should provide a valuable learning experience. The employer who uses students simply for a coffee run is wasting her own time and that of the student.</p>
<p>Yes, some professions are notorious for exploiting the unpaid labor of neophytes. Besides the multimedia industry, the kitchen operation (not the wait staff) at restaurants comes to mind. I’ve known aspiring young would-be chefs whom are worked nearly to death for little or no wages. That’s simply unjust.</p>
<p>As for STEM students, internships and co-ops seem to be a good deal for both parties. My underclassman Lake Jr. is in the middle of a paid summer internship in engineering and is having a ball, despite being the low man on the totem pole because each of his fellow interns is a senior. Sure, as the greenhorn he does get asked to run errands for the lab, but there’s learning even in that task and he’s eager for it. In my opinion the pay is reasonable.</p>
<p>romanigypsyeyes, nonprofits and government agencies can have unpaid employees. This ruling applies to for-profit companies.</p>
<p>Thanks, Hanna. My opinion above applies only to non profits and government agencies. I’m not sure how I feel about unpaid internships at for profit companies.</p>
<p>This law has been wildly abused lately in the legal field, and while lawyers (of all people) ought to obey the law, it’s not a matter of good versus evil. In a field where thousands of unemployed young lawyers are desperate to gain experience, and law firms are struggling to stay afloat in a slow market, I recognize the temptation to view unpaid labor as a win-win solution.</p>
<p>Literally ten minutes ago I asked a co-worker who the heck the surly, unpleasant young man is who just moved into a cubby around the corner from me. Yep. An “intern.” The son of a major client. DoeHe won’t actually do anything and is completely lacking in social skills, but he will get a blurb for his resume. How fun for all of us this summer.</p>
<p>My daughter (we live in NJ) was offered an unpaid internship with a government agency for this summer where she goes to school (in Boston). She did not do it because it made no sense paying her living expenses to work for nothing.</p>
<p>When you do unpaid work for a non-profit - it is called volunteering or community service and many colleges require these hours for scholarships and promote that aspect of the school being involved in the community.</p>
<p>That is completely different from a company that makes money exploiting kids by having them work for nothing. There is sometimes the catch-22 mentioned above - which is they give you college credit and then the college charges you for these credits so not only do you work for nothing you pay for the privilege!</p>
<p>I personally would like to see the rules changed so that no for-profit can have unpaid internships - pay them minimum wage!</p>
<p>I feel for you Zooser.</p>
<p>I guess it’s not only true in halls of wealth and power in Manhattan, but it does seem that the children of the influential get their foot in the door first in New York (no revelation there, LOL).</p>
<p>Remember the lawsuit against the New York City Parks Commissioner years ago? Hourly Parks Dept. administrative employees complained that well-heeled interns were getting priceless experience and a leg up on permanent employment over regular employees. And I think a casual review by the NY Times at about the same time found that the sons and daughters of wealthy and well-connected New Yorkers seemed to be first in line when relatively prestigious summer internships got handed out at municipal agencies.</p>
<p>One problem I have with the internships for college credit is that not all colleges and universities allow for that possibility. Neither my S’s alma mater or D’s school does. Thus they could not apply for any unpaid internships even if they were willing and able to work for free, since the company was obligated to give them a value for their work in the form of college credit. This internship-for-credit system seems more common in pre-professional majors. My kids would have had far more internship options as accounting majors, for example, than as the economics majors they were/are.</p>
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<p>A simple explanation from basic economics is that the market clearing pay rate for entry level jobs in this industry is zero. This should be a warning to anyone considering that career direction – one likely has to be elite in the field (and perhaps also lucky and well funded parentally in order to take zero pay internships as entry level jobs before moving up to paid jobs) in order to make it.</p>
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<p>Not sure that this is true, at least in California. Nonprofits can have plenty of volunteers, but unpaid employees??</p>
<p>“I guess it’s not only true in halls of wealth and power in Manhattan, but it does seem that the children of the influential get their foot in the door first in New York.”</p>
<p>It was true in my dad’s piddling law firm in Chicago, too. (No, not me – but other partners’ kids.) In fact, my experience is, the smaller the market, the bigger deal connections are. Any guy from Arkansas or Somalia can make it in New York with a great work ethic and the right education. But if you want to practice in Bumblebee, Alabama, you better be planning to take over your daddy’s firm. It’s ALL about old friends in Bumblebee.</p>
<p>I am not a believer of non-paid internship. D2 was offered one this summer at some online shopping company in NYC. Even though we lived in NY, I told her to take the babysitting gig which pays 15-20/hr plus the metro card. I am sorry, I didn’t pay for your college so I could subsidize someone else’s venture.</p>
<p>D has an internship with a stipend. It’s not an hourly rate or salary as much as money to defray her expenses for commuting and food. I have a friend who has an internship with a stipend. Does this new ruling include stipends as meeting the requirement?</p>
<p>How would a stipend be different from pay?</p>
<p>Unpaid internships are and could continue to be extremely valuable as long as the current abusive practices are completely eradicated. As it stands today, the unpaid internships have become a COMMON source of cheap (or free labor) if not a source of income (as some plum internships require a donation.) The abuses should come with the risk of extensive fines.</p>
<p>The internships should be entirely for the benefit of the intern. When it turns out to be for the entire benefit of the companies or organizations, it should be classified as paid labor, and subject to all the laws of the city, state, and government.</p>
<p>PS I agree with Oldfort! That is the common sense of looking at what students are offered today. For many, the internships has become a necessary rite of passage, and it … should not be an added expense.</p>
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<p>Could not agree more with Hunt’s simple conclusion.</p>