A Final Note…

For a student, having an internship means finally getting the chance to test out the waters of the real world and be exposed to different opportunities before making your final career decision. Having a paid internship makes this experience even more invaluable. There is no grey area where we stand on the issue of unpaid internships; we absolutely hate them and think that they should be done away with. Many agree with our stance, but many others do not. We believe that all interns should be compensated for their work either monetarily or with academic credits because a majority of interns are completing salary-level work for little to no compensation.

 Supporters of this argument cite the Fair Labor Standards Act, where the person (or company) giving the internship is not to gain any “immediate advantage” from the intern. The internship also has to be “similar to training which would be given in an educational environment.” In a fair, and in this case, legal sense, an employer gaining any sort of advantage should be responsible to pay the interns in question. Most interns do give their employers an advantage because the majority of their tasks benefit the better of the company. Moreover, paid interns on average are motivated, enthusiastic about their job, and more likely to be hired.

 Many more companies and agencies are jumping on the bandwagon that compensated internships should be the norm. In the United Kingdom, the HM Revenues and Customs Department has tasked employees to keep track of companies that recently advertised internships to make sure that they are paying at least minimum wage. This is an initiative that the United States can take a cue from because it would regulate internships in a more efficient way that would actually benefit the interns.

Caricature of Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour, depicted as a harsh and unforgiving boss.

 Dissenters of this argument say that being exposed to a company’s day to day business and being trained by professionals is rich in experience enough that they should not be paid on top of that. This is the reason that many companies such as Bad Boy Entertainment, Conde Nast, and Donna Karen International gave before recently shutting down their internship programs. However, shutting down internship programs does not solve the problem for anyone, it just creates a larger one. Now, interns will not have the opportunity to get their foot in the door at these companies or learn invaluable, hands-on experience that they do not receive in the classroom.

 An article in the New York Times this past week expressed our same feelings that taking away internship programs is not beneficial to the potential interns. The author further explains that cutting internship programs actually hinders the quality of the company and their product because there is no room for diversity in “class, region, race and generations.” This is why he commends the fellowship program—a year-long program built upon “meaningful tasks, an educational component, a living wage attached and health insurance.” Even though this is a term we have not stated before, the principles such as a living wage, meaningful tasks, and an educational component are what we strive for all internships to embody in the future.

“Please Don’t Feed the Interns”

This short documentary displays the implications of the rise of the intern culture in North America; particularly in Ontario, Canada.

“No One Should Have to Work for Free” : An Affirmative View

According to a recent NBC news article, this blog surely isn’t the only way in which people are trying to put an end to the practice of unpaid internships.  It starts off by introducing 24 year old, Mikey Franklin, who at one time did partake in an unpaid internship.  The problem now, however, is that Franklin is now married and cannot settle for an unpaid job and the only thing he could find in terms of work demand were unpaid internships.  From the perspective of employers the idea makes plenty of sense, feed off the desperation of people trying to get their foot in the door by making them work for free in hopes of future gains.  While that does save companies some money now, this is the real world and people have families, needs, wants, and aspirations; making unpaid work extremely undesirable.  Trying to spearhead this issue and make changes, Franklin Co-founded The Fair Pay Campaign, to try to eliminate unpaid internships for good.  The campaign’s slogan could double as the motto for this blog, “No one should have t work for free to get ahead”.

Gilles Mingasson / Getty Images for NBC News
Chloe Diaz, a student who has an unpaid internship as an assistant stage manager in a Los Angeles theater, helps an actress with a costume change.

This campaign, as well as the growing number of unhappy people in the workforce who cannot afford to work for free is gaining more traction than ever and it is being brought to the attention of our nation’s legal system.  Various lawsuits are being filed by interns who feel they have been exploited, and should rightfully be compensated.  As of September when the article was written, over 20 of these suits have been filed, many of which were against major companies, including NBC who have since ended unpaid internships.  These people are most certainly onto something with the suits.  Based on the Fair Labor Standards Act, the person (or company) giving the internship is not to gain any “immediate advantage” from the intern.  In a fair, and in this case, legal sense, an employer gaining any sort of advantage should be responsible to pay the interns in question.

The article went on to discuss that based on studies conducted, the vast majority of former students stated that they gained no leverage in finding work, nor gaining any sort of higher eventual salaries because of engaging in an unpaid internship while they were in school.  Based on what I got out of this article, I couldn’t agree more that unpaid internships need to end.  Interns end up being worked like dogs and in many cases not getting any of the alleged benefits that are involved with the stigma of being an intern.  Our society as a whole, places way too much importance on trying to obtain internships, specifically unpaid ones.  The goal after all is to end up with a well-paying job, preferably in an area you enjoy.  If students or prospective employees are to gain experience working with a company they might be interested in, they need to be fairly compensated.

The Internship Trailer

 

 

If the topic of internships wasn’t already extremely relevant in today’s society, there was recently a movie all about the intern experience. It’s called The Internship and stars Vince Vaughn & Owen Wilson, and deals with two friends who aren’t technologically advanced, trying to make it in the world of Google.

The movie premiered this summer, but is available on DVD October 22

Well, this is a rant that we are all for!

“The unpaid internship is here to stay, even if the economy rebounds.” Uhh… HECK NO!

In “America’s oldest college newspaper,” The Dartmouth, an article was published about why unpaid internships should remain unpaid. Of course topics like these straight up boil our blood, therefore; the Dartmouth better be ready for a little Interns Corner kung-fu refute action, powered by our wisdom!

It is no secret that college newspapers are read mostly by, well, college students. College students are the targeted population that commit to unpaid internships and do so ultimately for the experience (because they sure aren’t doing it for the money). A recent article in The Dartmouth goes against the lawfully ruled legislation concerning unpaid internships as seen and stated in this magnificent article on the Washington Post’s website, and states directly that unpaid internships are here to stay, as said by the Dartmouth’s Center for Professional Development Director, Roger Woolsey.

What is the reasoning for this unlawful and inconsiderate judgment you ask? Well, let’s break the article down for you. First of all, Center for Professional Development associate director Monica Wilson says “Companies have offered unpaid internships for decades.” Yes, slavery also existed for decades, but thankfully the U.S. put an end to that because innovation and education arose (just saying).

Secondly, Woolsey and Wilson said internships were “imperative” for job seekers, arguing that employers look for practical application of skills and “experiential learning,” therefore; it is okay for them to be unpaid because they open doors for students for future PAID jobs. Well, Woolsey and Wilson, internships entail job work just as much as “actual” jobs do. If employees get paid for their work, interns should too.

Thirdly, Wilsons states, “It’s a means to an ongoing process, where you learn more about what you like and don’t like in work, in a culture, an environment.” Yes, Wilson, this is very, very true, which only reinstates why internships NEED to be paid! Interns put so much work and effort into their jobs, and they are often treated as their fellow normal working employees that actually do get paid. This being said, although internships exist so students can potentially find their passion, they still work just as hard and contribute their own personal time to do so. Employees work for incentive, which in their case is money. What keeps them waking up at 6am and commuting to work? Money. Sorry to say it, but money is the work behind a lot of creative minds. Interns need more incentive than just “learning experiences.”

ALL of our previous posts justify how wrong unpaid internships are, and thankfully, our words and the unpaid interns words are not the only powerful element going against articles of that like the Dartmouths. Rather, the law is on our side! Check out the guidelines for paid or unpaid internships here and see what is considered legal and illegal!

Look at what the UK is doing…

The HM Revenues and Customs department in the UK  decided last week to target 200 companies who recently advertised internships to make sure they will be paying minimum wage. Now doesn’t this sound like an idea that would be beneficial to the United States intern force?

Visit BBC website to read the full article.

Interns need money to live too

A DC intern must ask for help to pay for her living expenses because giving up a once in a lifetime internship isn’t a possibility for her. There are many students out there that face the same dilemma in this hard-pressed internship driven society.