The rush to score an internship is a real thing. Internships offer valuable work experience that aids in the search for post-graduation jobs in a difficult job market. Not every internship should be treated equally, and working 20-plus hours for a company without the big benefit of being paid does not seem fair. However, students in the arts and humanities, as well as many in media and entertainment, are encouraged to take these opportunities.
According to the U.S. News, “Although it varies per company, unpaid internships commonly occur in the nonprofit sector and at the local and state government level. Unpaid opportunities are also typical in fields like teaching, media, entertainment and the arts, experts say.”
With a high threshold for entry into these competitive fields and the lack of money in industries outside business and STEM, students are put in a tough position: take the work experience or the money. Student loans and rent are expensive, and an unpaid internship won’t help with either.
There is a level of privilege that comes with the ability to work an unpaid internship. It requires one to have financial support to fund living expenses and school while being unpaid. Many students don’t have this support and are unable to take these meaningful, unpaid internships. With a huge financial barrier, these programs create an unfair system. You need money to enter into an unpaid internship, but you need an unpaid internship to be offered a full-time job. While watching students in other fields be handed high-paying internships, the unfairness of it all challenges students trying to enter the workforce.
Unpaid internships can be worth it. They offer an insightful experience and step into the work field that will likely be useful in the future. A common piece of advice given to students is to take every opportunity. Experience is everything, and unpaid internships definitely provide experience.
With that being said, unpaid internships don’t provide the compensation students deserve for quality work. Free labor only benefits the company, and students are left wondering if the experience they gained was worth the hours committed, hours that could have been spent at another job with less experience and more money. This makes one wonder if they should jump to saying yes or hesitate and consider the cost.
When I received an unpaid internship offer not too long ago, I took into consideration the advice of industry professionals and jumped at the opportunity. Understandably, I was disappointed that I was not going to receive pay for my work, but I figured it would count as valuable experience.
I quickly learned that when an opportunity presents itself, although it can be exciting, it’s important to assess the pros and cons of the situation before jumping in blind. I was told that any experience is valuable, so I looked past my frustrations and accepted the opportunity anyway. It wasn’t long before I felt frustrated by the fact that the quality of the work I was expected to put out came with no incentive.
Although it was a part-time position, my internship certainly didn’t feel like one. I was tasked with helping run the company’s various social media platforms, which abided by a strict posting schedule. I developed, produced, and scheduled content for multiple hours a day. I designed promotional materials and came up with unique advertising copy almost entirely on my own.
Like any hybrid position, the work didn’t end once I left the office. At home, I spent my time constantly making adjustments to the work I began in person and communicating with my superior about upcoming projects. I lived with the pressure of knowing that if I had not completed what was expected of me, I would have caused the company a noticeable setback.
Although I do recognize my own fault in accepting an unpaid internship in the first place, I also think that a certain responsibility falls on employers to compensate their employees fairly, even if they are interns. We no longer live in an era where interns are expected to fetch coffee or file paperwork. Today, interns play a crucial role in ensuring a company’s efficiency and productivity. In my experience, a great bulk of responsibility fell on me, and I was expected to balance it like any other employee. Why is it then, if I was being held to the same standard as my paid coworkers, should I not have been compensated as they were?
Internships are important, but being compensated is important, too. Life is too expensive to spend hours working for a company without receiving any pay. Even if the experience looks good on LinkedIn, be critical and advocate for yourself. Do you have the time to jump on board an unpaid ship? How important are the connections and experience? Evaluate the costs and understand the market before committing to your next unpaid internship.