In Troy Mcgee’s blog he wrote about the positive effects that are developed through unpaid internships. Networking, and work experience are valuable for any student trying to enter the workforce. However is the opportunity cost of working a full summer unpaid worth it. Although Troy brought up many positive points, I believe there are other factors that need to be addressed. Are unpaid internships just for the wealthy? Are internships even useful.
Troy brought up the positive effects that an unpaid internship can have. Yes, internships may develop valuable work experience, but is the wage that is forgone worth the time. During an average summer internship students work for four months during the summer, five days a week, with no compensation other than experience. Sarah Stone, a speech language pathology student claims that her internship was useless,”I made no connections. I decided that I didn’t want to be apart of an unpaid internship and do not see the experience helping in the future”. Although the theory of work experience is good, the students are forgoing over $8000 that could be made if they worked minimum wage, 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. This raises the question as to just how useful are summer internships. In 2013 the National Association of Colleges and Employers said, “only 37% of students who worked unpaid internships received jobs within a year of graduation, only 1.8% above students who had no internship at all”. Students are forgoing over $8000 just to have a 1.8% better chance at being hired, meanwhile the money they could have earned could have helped cover their student loans. Indeed, although student loans are available, it doesn’t mean they should work for free and pay them off further in the future. Through working summers unpaid students accumulate longterm debt for minimal returns.
Although there is still debate whether unpaid internships really generate valuable experience I still believe that labour laws need to be put into place requiring companies to pay any intern for there compensation. This will allow all students to take part in work experience, not just those who can afford to work without being paid.
Sources
http://iamthepdxsx.com/2014/05/01/unpaid-internships-galore/
http://arbiteronline.com/2014/11/06/unpaid-interships-provide-misleading-opportunities/