<p>When my daughter was a senior in high school she had an unpaid internship with a major casting director. She learned a lot but the biggest thing she learned in my opinion is that all the other interns were college grads working daytime for no hours while working nighttime for money at survival jobs. As a potential theatre major she got a glimpse of her future and she was amazed. It was a good reality check for her.</p>
<p>My husband’s firm has one of the best paying and most desired summer internship programs for college students. It’s how they find some of their best employees. Some are hired through connections but the majority find it on their own. It is illegal to have unpaid internships but there are ways around it; college credit, calling it volunteer work, etc.</p>
<p>Every company is different and so are their intership programs. Can’t make generalizations based on size of company.</p>
<p>I’d argue that’s a function of how the internships are structured rather than the capability of the interns. There is plenty of entry-level work that can be done by interns, who cost less than the equivalent entry-level full-time employee.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is a huge plus for students from wealthy families who can afford unpaid internships. Students from non-wealthy families now face tougher competition in the entry-level college graduate job market, since whatever jobs they had to take for pay* may not look as interesting as the unpaid internships that those from wealthy families could choose from.</p>
<p>*Of course, there are some paid internships that are good for experience as well. But the students from wealthy families can still compete for them and take them if the internship is a better fit for their eventual goals.</p>
<p>Internships, paid or unpaid, are not the problem and socioeconomic status is not the problem.</p>
<p>A good internship offers experience and skills and networking opportunities that can help lift ones socioeconomic status. The problem is having to work to earn enough money to sit in a classroom at an overpriced institution of higher education.</p>
<p>Not all internships are created equal but the value of 2-3 good internships on a resume for an entry level job is a bigger boost to ones long term economic potential than paying the $20-$50 thousand a year for the 4 year degree. Kids with no intern experience are likely to end up at Walmart or Starbucks at graduation and living at home.</p>
<p>A bunch of As and Bs in a classroom are no longer enough to convince employers that you have the skills, work ethic and attitude to be worth hiring. Low SES kids have to consider what’s important - a summer job to pay for college or an unpaid internship to pay for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>Violating labor laws starts with whether it takes a paying job (or hours) from an adult. You can read the legal perspective, including how mentoring is supposed to take place. I believe Oldfort’s D’s being “looked after” qualifies-- you have to pull up the documents. Things are different if the college offers credit. And, yes, many colleges will financially support this- young friend was given a significant stipend by the college, for her summer freebie work. It depends.</p>
<p>One of the ideas behind even small duties is you show you can successfully fit into that adult environment. You also show the vision and energy to have pursued this, in the first place. You have a line entry on your early resume. Some internships will be more productive than others, sure. For some, you can also describe it in ways that highlight the contribution you did make. Or, the processes and procedures you were exposed to.</p>
<p>As for the wealthy, many of these i-ships can take place during the semester, a few hours at a time. If you are worried about the gap between the wealthy and not so wealthy…by all means, do what you can to make yourself hireable. Don’t wait for them to “find” you. Doesn’t work that way.</p>
<p>I thought I’d weigh in as my DD, a college junior, is currently doing an unpaid internship during winter break (early December - end of January). It is at a non-profit organization in NYC that is in the area of her minor. So she is very interested. Although there is no money offered, they promise excellent recommendations. If she pursues a job in the same area of interest, this will be especially valuable. This is DD’s first work experience in the city in an office. She’s doing low-level (entry type) work, but it’s her first foray into this and she is definitely getting good experience. She’s helped at some great events already in the one month since she started. And I must say that commuting to NYC has curtailed her nightlife (and I am getting more sleep!).</p>
<p>I don’t know what she would do if she didn’t have this internship. Freshman year, the long break was a novelty. Sophomore year, she spent a month in a study abroad program. The deal was that junior year, she would get an internship. As noted by others on this thread, she needs a paying job in the summer to cover her school year expenses and is waiting to get her camp job back (also related to her minor in college). In addition, many of her home friends left this week for semester-long study abroad programs, so she really would be doing nothing.</p>
<p>I think that you can’t generalize about unpaid internships. In our case, we are happy with it.</p>
<p>My daughter starts her third internship next week. This one, like the one she worked this summer, pays a stipend. The internship she worked during the fall semester paid nothing, but, the company’s “employee discount” was extended to her (she was working for a major retailer) during the time she was there. And she definitely took advantage of that discount. </p>
<p>D wants to work in PR/Marketing and because of these internships, she already knows (as a freshman in college) how to use PR-related software, how to process press samples, how to organize a fashion closet, how to plan and run promotional events, how to pitch story ideas (which she has done) and so much more. </p>
<p>Gaining practical experience (at least in the industry she is interested in) seems to be key. And it also seems like (again, only speaking about her field of interest) many companies prefer interns who have already received training. As a matter of fact, daughter had to decline interviews for two other internships this week. I am not suggesting that my d’s experience will mirror anyone else’s, but based on what has happened for her, I am in favor of quality internships–paid or unpaid. Though, I think it needs to be a quality internship. Because I do believe that some companies will (and do) take advantage of this set up. </p>
<p>D works a part-time job while she is working at her internships, so she is also getting the benefit of working for a full wage. I have no idea how she does all of this and also takes a full course load. I worked part-time while I was in college and also held several staff positions at the campus radio station, but that was nothing close to what my kid is doing.</p>
<p>For low SES kids, the latter may not be a realistic choice (even if they are not attending an expensive college) when they need to have a paid job to buy food, housing, etc…</p>
<p>I was a low SES kid and it is a reality that its not easy. On the other hand, it really is a choice for some - more so in the new economy of high unemployment especially among the young, college degree or not, where unemployment is hovering around 12% as reported today - that a kid can make the short term choice to have money now and struggle later or struggle now and have money and a job later.</p>
<p>We may wish we lived in a perfect world but we don’t. Every choice has a consequence. Too many kids are getting no internships at all and finding out too late what a disadvantage they are at in the marketplace. We need more internships nationwide - it is a crisis. Kids have degrees they spent all their time in the halls do academe to obtain and zero real world knowledge and skills to go with it. As much as school costs, it’s a crying shame. I’m also for these really expensive schools paying the students a stipend while in internships or giving signicant credit toward graduation for doing internships(like replacing some classroom room courses with real world experience.)</p>
<p>Well I have to say, I have a lot of respect for the computer industry which every summer employed my son, giving him not only a very comfortable salary, but also covered housing costs. I don’t think he was useless my impression was they brought their interns up to speed pretty quickly. They definitely use the internships to decide who they want to hire permanently.</p>
<p>My son in his junior year was offered and accepted to an internship that would have been right up his alley; but… it was on the other side of the country in an expensive town and we could not afford to pay for a rental apt. for him for 3 months. He asked if there were someone in the area who could provide a room for low or no rent, but the director of the job said no, and that was that, my son missed the opportunity to gain experience. In the previous summer he worked in NYC for a big firm that paid well, and he saved money for the school year, even though half his earnings went to rent and food. Many of these unpaid internships are only possible if the parents can afford the room and board in a city or town not commuting distance from home. It is definately easier for more wealthy families.</p>
<p>I was more on the internship band wagon until my daughter actually graduated from college. By the time of graduation she had a very strong resume, and lots of connections in theatre/ marketing and pr due to these (mostly) unpaid internships.</p>
<p>Unfortuately, this past May, none of the companies she interned for were in a position to hire her. They were downsizing and were letting go of some of the people she reported to.</p>
<p>She did get paid work as an assistant for a film production company associated with one of her interships, but it was temporary. And her contacts did reach out to help her if they could, but when she went on actual interviews she found that while she was a top candidate based on her connections/recommendations, in the end entry level jobs were being offered to candidates with a year or two of post-college working experience. </p>
<p>So once again D accepted an unpaid internship, this time in casting. Seems the only way to gain employment in that industry is through internships and apprenticeships that offer a small stipend.</p>
<p>So here she was, 6 months post-graduation and still paying her dues.</p>
<p>Luckily, though, it has panned out and she is starting a talent management job next week that is paid just when her apprenticeship ends. She was recommended for the postition through her apprenticeship and probably would not have been considered without having completed an internship and apprenticeship. </p>
<p>So, happy as I am about the outcome, I still believe that internships are taking away entry level jobs in many fields and that the practice must be in violation of labor laws.</p>
<p>The only thing my daughter ever got out of internships in her major were other internships and great pats on the back for a job well done…all without pay. Personally , I think it is a way for employers to exploit the eager for slaves and then move on to more interns to willingly take their place. I think it should be illegal personally
Saw a piece on Today show about how adults re-entering the work force are now doing this…I call BS</p>
<p>@ uskoolfish , my daughter also worked for free ( intern ) in the entertainment industry and it yielded nothing. I really think that this is the new entry level job , and should not be legal any more so that hiring illegal immigrants is
Some of her former classmates are still working without pay after graduating from a top school …we are not wealthy and couldn’t support her any longer while she earned zero income</p>
<p>We did have a thread in which many saw internships as taking away entry level positions. Others said, how do you epect to qualify for an entry level job wth no experience? So, this works better in some fields than others.</p>
<p>My dd did 3 unpaid internships only one was for college credit. It was the best thing she ever did. At the end of her college career she was offered a full time/benefits job at the first and her favorite of the internships. </p>
<p>That being said only one of the internships was very valuable in what she learned. Most were just blah jobs doing nothing. The first internship that she was used to the best of her abilities was the most successful of all the internships.</p>
<p>Since interns on the technical side of a computer company can be and are productive in doing real work, it only make sense that internships in that sector are treated as actual paid short term jobs, rather than the type of unpaid internship that is theoretically more like shadowing and theoretically produces no real value to the company.</p>
<p>Obviously, it helps the CS majors that the technical side of the computer industry is in a generally favorable labor market for employees right now, but the fact that some other sectors have such employee-unfavorable labor markets that unpaid internships have become the new entry-level jobs is sign of imbalances in those labor markets.</p>
<p>As lotsofquests mentioned, student teaching is an unpaid internship. I student taught for a teacher who left me alone in the classroom more than she should’ve. When she called in sick, the principal asked me to “sub”. I was pretty sure that was illegal since I didn’t have a supervising teacher in the classroom and I wasn’t paid. To top it off, I had to leave a paying job to do this student teaching!</p>