Recently, there has been a decent amount of articles regarding the legality and ethical implications of companies providing unpaid internships - typically to college students. I figured, as a college student and an intern, this is a perfect opportunity for me to chime in.
First, I suggest you read this New York Times article about the controversy.
So there's so many different aspects/issues regarding this. I do believe in the concepts of internships. There needs to be some kind of a regulation/balance though. It shouldn't just be seen as free labor. An intern should be just as important and equal as everyone else.
I've had a few internships where I've sat there and done nothing - because they told me they had nothing for me to do. Or, my duties consisted of a lot of grunt work (I liked to call it the 3S syndrome - Staple, Stamp, Send - for all the envelopes I had to send out.) There was no career related work. I know that somebody has to do that grunt work. I'm totally fine with doing it based on the premise that I will be doing something a bit more sophisticated later on.
So when my bosses would tell me they have nothing for me to do, a few days later they would get mad at me for "not going the extra mile" What extra mile? They had nothing for me. And the bosses get mad when you keep badgering them for work, so there's no happy medium.
I actually ended up having a meeting directly with my bosses at this same firm, where I told them how this particular internship wasn't what I expected it to be, and they told me I'm a valuable asset of the firm. I didn't follow. I felt as though they were trying to suck up because they realized how frustrated I was. Following that meeting, NOTHING changed.
It is hard to be inspired in an environment that won't let you learn. And it snowballs very quickly if it happens too often. I'm giving up my free time to come in, contribute, and learn - but that doesn't mean that you can treat me like my time isn't valuable and that I'm incapable of contributing. Comments like "Oh, he's just an intern" really dehumanize the position, and can easily frustrate people. In situations like social media, I probably know just as much as the employees - or maybe more. Why not let me help?
I believe some incentive needs to be offered. And not just "valuable learning experience," because that's the typical, company policy line that isn't really cutting it. It's the same as "every day here is different." I think I've heard that from every place I've interviewed. I guess it comes with the territory. But, it doesn't do any good to lie if you don't actually follow through.
So by incentive - what does that mean? It's not directly cash. Obviously an easy incentive is college credit. At BU, I don't really get college credit outside of my one 4-credit internship that is required to graduate. I can't take another internship for credit, but I wanted to keep learning (pending the firm.)
So college credit is nice, but there's also other options. Obviously, the situation may vary by firm and intern, but something valuable. Some kind of one-on-one mentoring, "classes," maybe help land the intern an interview at another firm. Something more than just "a valuable learning experience." because that's so vague that it doesn't mean anything.
The thing to consider is that many people give up their free time/summer's to participate in these internships. They could be spending this time at a random job - waiter - and make money that they actually might DESPERATELY need, instead of slaving away at a firm that isn't paid and they may not have anything for the intern to do.
I know too many people who have had internships, and, when they aren't paid, they aren't doing anything. It's because the companies have NO reason to give them work - what difference is it to them? That's the attitude that annoys me the most. It generates this tension between the interns and the employees. The interns stay on because they want something on their resume. The company gets mad because the interns "aren't going the extra mile."
That's why I want some kind of incentive to ensure that an intern and the employer have a reason for us to work together. If the company says "he's on the payroll, we need to give him something to do," then that's far better than "who cares, we're not paying him." And that allows for firms to overload on interns because - who cares? It doesn't matter! At one firm, I was one of 14 interns in a 25-man agency. That's too many. Some days, I didn't have a desk or computer, which made my tasks even more "grunty" than ever. That's a situation where internships are unethical. Why have me if you can't facilitate me? Let me go somewhere else.
The reason I enjoy my (unpaid) internship now is because they get it. While they may not always have things to do, they don't mind if I do school work or other things - it's all normal. If I have to leave early for a team meeting, it's not the end of the world (as it was at another internship.) My bosses allow me to tag along to some events and meet people. Obviously one of the other benefits that I enjoy a lot is the ability to go to to some of the local sporting events for free. There's obviously still grunt work, but it's not only grunt work. It's a healthy balance.
To conclude, I believe that unpaid internships are unethical. I'm no lawyer, I couldn't tell you if it is illegal or not. Without some sort of incentive, it's basically companies taking advantage of young, hopeful, inspired college students. It doesn't need to be financial compensation, but something to actually help enhance and launch the career of the aspiring intern.
It's just too bad this issue is coming to light as I'm hoping to get a job in the coming months and will transfer over from the intern to job side of life. I hope for the best for future interns.
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