Internships are stepping stones towards successful careers. Many post-secondary institutions highlight the importance of internships and set it as a requirement for graduation. While I wholeheartedly agree that an internship is a very valuable experience, an article that I read recently from CBC opened my eyes as to how interns are unethically exploited by many companies.
The article reveals that the majority of interns are expected by their superiors to work overtime. Students also can be denied graduation if employers suggest to the school that interns refused to work overtime or complained about wages. It is clear that the power structure is overwhelmingly tilted towards the employers.
I feel that companies can continue to exploit interns because they realize that the unemployment rate and the competition is so high right now that students are willing to work long hours without any compensation to “get their foot into the door” of an industry. Companies should treat student interns equally as employees and pay them the appropriate wages. We are going to be, or at one point before, an intern at a company and hopefully this article raises more awareness about the unethical practices that corporations do to exploit student interns.
Sources:
Sagan, Aleksandra. “Unpaid Intern Hell: Overtime, Tuition Fees.” CBCNews. CBC, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.