Coffee Talk: Are Unpaid Internships Necessary Stepping Stones or Free Labor?

Nov 9, 2012

Coffee Talk: Are Unpaid Internships Necessary Stepping Stones or Free Labor?

TheEverygirl_CoffeeTalk_UnpaidInternships

In the realm of career advice there’s a phrase that gets dished out time and time again—it’s all about internships. Almost any young professional will cite internships as the best means to get ahead—not to mention a killer resume builder. However, with so many eager applicants and limited company budgets, interns often work unpaid in exchange for the experience and industry connections. With unpaid internships a growing trend, we’re dying to know where you stand on the issue. Did you intern without pay before landing a job? And, are unpaid internships a fair means of paying your dues, or free labor in disguise?

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Stephanie Weers

Liza

I did several unpaid internships, but they all had to be near where I lived because I paid for my own education and my parents didn’t have the means to fund three months for me in NYC. Unpaid internships are garbage. Conde Nast can’t afford to pay its interns? BS. The best internships go to the students with the wealthiest families and the best connections. End of story.

Alyssa

I agree with you Liza. I think a lot of companies can afford to pay interns, but they choose not to because that is the accepted norm for interns. I also agree with your last statement. It is not always the case, but many times, it is.

http://twitter.com/GabiValladares Gabi Valladares

I feel like unpaid internships can be a double-edged sword. While I do believe that they can be a beneficial way for students to get their foot in the door in their industry, sometimes those internships can weed out really qualified and ambitious students who might not be able to afford working for free and still manage to pay for college on their own. Personally, I know I’ve run into this issue more than a handful of times.

With that said, I think it can really depend on the internship. For instance, if college credit is offered, students can lighten their class load and tack on a few hours of work to their schedule without spreading themselves too thin. I suppose it all depends on the position being offered.

Ann

I agree with you entirely – that was my issue…when I was in design school for my undergrad, those that got the “best experience” in unpaid internships were qualified, sure – but there were also a LOT of MORE talented, more qualified, harder working people that HAD to forego the best unpaid jobs for something that paid them. It’s one way in which I feel the people that have parents with money can get ahead in the world quicker and easier than those without. It gives those coming from upper-middle class backgrounds (or better) a distinct advantage over those that aren’t, to the disadvantage of the companies that are missing a whole swath of the population that can’t work for free.

Margaret

Unpaid internships can be beneficial to a young professional’s career, however, not all internships are created equal.

Some end up being more like a personal assistant, grabbing coffee for the morning meeting or ordering lunch for that lunch meeting on Friday.

Others offer a wealth of information to the intern, which can only come from real-time experience in the field of their choice.

It’s a sticky slope but I think the “good ones” are out there.

Xx, Margaret @ thegildedpeach.blogspot.com
Beedy

I don’t think anyone should have to do an unpaid internship unless they are receiving school credit. It is good for learning not for making a living. Only those fortunate to have a trust fund have the luxury of working for free.
Madison

While unpaid internships may be beneficial areas, they can certainly be pains in other areas. For instance, I am paying my own way through school, working full time while taking 19 credit hours. Last semester, I landed a killer internship and couldn’t pass it up. It required 20 hours a week; that was 20 hour I was missing from my paying job. In addition to that, my school requires us to pay for the “credit” we recieve for the internship (about $1000). Paying to take time off from work to work somewhere else for free … doesn’t make much sense to me. But hey, my resume looks spectacular.
http://twitter.com/jfrancesdesign Jillian Frances

I made a career transition from engineering to interior design through first working in three design related paid positions and then through a graduate degree program for professionals without bachelor degrees in design that I funded entirely through student loans and working. The undergraduates with whom I attend class are required to do internships, which do not pay, but for which they do receive credit. It was nearly impossible, over the past three years, to find a part time design position to further my experience because no one expects to pay interior design students, and as a 33 year old adult without parents to fund my existence, I can’t afford to work for free.

Aside from the financial burden, I find this practice highly disrespectful. Interns are usually approaching their senior year. While they may lack real world experience, some of them have technical skills that their employers don’t. There are many things they can bring to a firm aside from menial labor, and I think they deserve to be paid for that. I don’t understand why creative industries continue to perpetuate this cycle. As one of the other commenters noted, all it does is shut out potential talent based on their economic status.

One of my professional goals is to be able to hire a paid intern every year so I can help others reach their goals the same way my former employer helped me. If she hadn’t offered me a paid position even though I had no experience, this new life would still be a pipe dream.
http://twitter.com/catfishcaviar Drew Elizabeth

This is a tough question! While I feel like they usually turn out to be more of a free-labor thing I think that if you actually score an internship where you learn the ins and outs of the company then working for free is ok. BUT only for a summer or a few months, when it turns into a year or two I think you should get compensated for your hard work.
http://twitter.com/fetebysteph Stephanie Marie

I’m old school I guess, but unpaid internships are so important, especially in creative fields. So maybe you have to live at home for a summer or take on a part time job to pay the bills– but I did it and it was hugely beneficial. But, then again, I started interning my very first year of college (I knew exactly what I wanted to do), so I wasn’t “approaching the real world” and I had a cushion of time where taking on unpaid work was okay. I feel like a lot of people expect jobs and experience to be handed to them– you need to pay your dues, LEARN, and work your way up!

instantphoebe

I 100% agree. I think that unpaid internships should be tackled while the people are still in school. The internship should also be providing a hands-on learning experience, not just a job that makes you get coffee, copy papers, etc. Yes, that can be part of it, but it should be balanced with some real learning opportunities, provided the intern has demonstrated that they are a valuable member of the team (trust me, this is not always the case with the interns we’ve had at my office in the past).

I think internships are a great way to get your foot in the door and show people that you are worth hiring or creating a position for! I had both paid and unpaid internships in my past, and I was hired on by one of the companies to work full-time.

Erin

I believe in paid internships and the idea of being an apprentice to a company. I believe that unpaid internships are taking advantage of young people. I actually wrote a blog post on my thoughts on the matter here: http://www.erindepew.com/blog/2012/09/23/two-cent-thoughts-unpaid-internships/
Meg

When I was in school, I had five unpaid internships in two years. It was grueling, and I had to get another part-time job on top of it, but it was definitely worth it. I had a job within three weeks of graduation, and it was a really great job to boot. I couldn’t recommend internships, unpaid or paid, enough.
Sarah Pickell

I am currently in an internship now, where I receive so little compensation it might as well be unpaid. I definitely feel taken advantage of doing this internship. I am a college graduate, and the only position I can get right now is an internship because the field I am in wants multiple internships before they hire you. It is frustrating because I have to have 2 side jobs, just to pay my bills. I want to move forward in my career, and it seems I have to have an internship in order to do so. I don’t really feel like I am learning too much though as I am a little over qualified for the position. What to do, what to do?
http://twitter.com/livesimply Annie

My feelings about unpaid internships are extremely strong. I’m not quite sure when it became acceptable for companies to hire perfectly capable people under the guise that “experience” is an adequate stand-in for monetary compensation, suffice it to say, I believe it isn’t. Any company that requires the work of an additional employee should be paying them in my mind. I suppose receiving school credit is one thing, but for those people who are post-graduation, unpaid internships seem nothing short of insulting.

http://www.milk-shed.com/ Stef

I totally agree. Plus, the Department of Labor has become increasingly strict on what criteria is acceptable as an internship. If it’s not attached to a school program, for credit, and for the *training benefit of the employee*, it would likely be disallowed under the DOL. I’m wildly opposed to this trend of getting interns in place of regular, full-time, paid employees. I watched some friends head to companies with robust internship programs where the intern is rotated through different departments for THEIR benefit, but that seems rare these days. Instead, companies seem to be hiring “interns” to take the place of previously full-time employees that were let go during “right-sizing” campaigns. The intern is expected to do standard day-to-day work while not being paid and it’s absurd.

http://twitter.com/cmroman Cristina Roman

I think Gabi said it best with the term “double edged sword.” I think they are both necessary stepping stones AND free labor. I attribute several of my unpaid internships to gaining critical work skills and helping me land a paid job, but it’s an unreality unfortunate that many students don’t have the luxury to take on an unpaid internship.
In my senior year, I was lucky enough to get a paid internship at LivingSocial, which turned into a paid job after graduation!
http://twitter.com/zoe_rooney Zoe

As a new employer, I’m very strongly in favor of paying people who work for me. I think pay scale should relate to experience and skills, but I don’t work for free and I don’t expect others to. Also, I have high expectations and I feel like I can expect and ask more of someone I’m paying.
Amber

I don’t think I would have interned had I not gotten paid. I worked the same paid internship 2 years in a row and it has lead to a full time position. I understand not everyone is this lucky, but as a student who supports herself, there is no way I could have worked 40 hours a week with no pay.
http://elembee.com/ Lisa // Elembee

I have mixed feelings. I think there’s room for either party to be taken advantage of. I don’t think it’s right for a large company that obviously has the money to pay for part-time help to give grunt work to an unpaid intern under the guise of giving them experience. But at the same time, it’s a huge risk for a smaller company to hire on someone with no real world experience who will only be there for a few months. It’s just not as easy to get a full picture of what their work ethic is like, and I’ve seen a lot of students with a sense of entitlement.

I think it really depends on a case by case basis. Personally, when I’m ready to work with interns, I will probably wait until I know I can afford part-time help, but start with a one-semester credit only intern to make sure they are the right fit. I personally did a one-semester for credit internship and felt that it was good compensation — I was able to take a lighter course load that semester and treated my internship as another class. They even hired me to do some part time work outside of my internship when they needed extra help with stuffing envelopes for a patron campaign.
Jazmine

I’m torn on this one too. While I agree internships in general are necessary, I do feel that unpaid internships sit funny with me. While in college I saw many brilliant classmates have to turn down unpaid internships because they needed an income to make it through school. These people were extremely bright and those companies definitely missed out.

I was fortunate enough to find three internships – two paid and one for credit and STILL had to work a part-time job to buy my books and keep from starving. I honestly wouldn’t have the awesome job I have now if it weren’t for the internships I had and I feel sorry for people who aren’t able to move to across the country or even stay in town for an unpaid internship.
http://twitter.com/chefjamielevine Jamie Levine

It seems like the consensus here is that people shouldn’t be working for free and I have to agree. I think that even if someone is only there for a few months they should be compensated.
Michaela

I think internships are so, so vital to shaping your character and knowledge in your field. Whether paid or unpaid, the experience is priceless in my opinion! I’ve worked for one of the sweetest, most talented designers in my area (who I met through blogging!) for the last two summers as her unpaid intern, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world…the experience and wisdom I gained in the interior design field is invaluable to me and I’m so grateful I was able to work with her!
Jessica

I was incredibly fortunate to be able to do several unpaid internships in college as my parents paid for my education + living expenses and I did not have to support myself. It worked out for me — one of the places where I interned hired me — but I completely admit that I was insanely privileged to be in such a position. Many of my peers were unable to intern, or found it very difficult, because in my field (journalism), interns are rarely paid and they had to devote most of their time to work. I do think interns should be paid, but with so many willing to do the work for free, it’s doubtful that companies will change their policies on this.
Jackiesegedin

Internships are crucial and super beneficial. Yes, you are working for “free” yet that should give you the confidence and freedom to risk it all to be YOU and to be DIFFERENT-even if that means you might make mistakes- because it an internship. Your mistakes are what will make you grow rapidly. If you hold back any thoughts or ideas, in fear that you are going to make a mistake, it will keep you stagnant. I don’t know- I think that getting paid could possibly deter the learning process. Because maybe that might make you feel like you can’t mess up.? Maybe that’s just me.

In addition, when you are young and in the beginning of figuring out the career path that’s BEST for you, I think working for free, and still loving it through the ups and downs will be the best lesson in disguise. [Definitely pay attention to this. While you are in the internship phase, usually while you are in school, you still have time to change your path!!] So, if you are still passionate about it at the end of it and the sacrifice was worth it (all the things you sacrificed), then it is probably what you are meant to do, it is probably something that will always make you happy.

An internship is a place where you apply what you are learning in school into real life career scenarios. I think it’s worth a summer working for free. Think of it as achieving a strong foundation-if you have a strong foundation, you are probably going to have a strong and sturdy house!

So, remember, take it for what it is. If you can get paid, great, if you can get school credit (I would say fight for that) then awesome! You are learning, you are growing in the direction that will make you happy at the end of the day and that’s really all that matters. You will be ahead of the ballgame post graduation and if you do it right, will probably learn a job in the field you want to pursue! And that in itself, if worth a summer, of working two jobs.

Work for free once, take all you can out of it, advance and excel, build a great network while you are busting your butt and you will never have to work for free again.

“The more you learn the more you earn.”
*Also, intern the summers you are in school, don’t wait to intern post graduation!!!
http://www.facebook.com/alexandrabgill Alexandra Gill

I did an unpaid internship for a whole year when I was in college. While it was free labor, for the field I want to go into, employers won’t take you unless you have internships under your belt. The more the better. I’m trying to get another internship now… fingers crossed it’s paid!
AEGL

Terrible. No. Friends don’t let friends take unpaid internships.
http://twitter.com/AnnaLynnDTR Anna Lynn Doster

I have to agree with Liza that interns from families with means have an advantage. However, there is also something to be said for designing your own opportunities while living at home. While living at home during a semester off from college, I contacted a nearby lumber exportation company and offered my services as a free intern for international marketing consulting. While there I had the amazing experience of crafting their now permanent internship program. All in all, a great story for my resume!
JV

I disagree with the commenters here who say that only students from wealthy and/or well-connected families get the best internships. I am from a middle class family and my parents have no connections at all, yet I was fortunate enough to earn two very prestigious federal government internships in a major (read: expensive) city when I was in college. Most of the other students that I interned with were from similar backgrounds. Those internships later led to my first job out of college, and were the reason I was able to find a job in the bad economy when many of my fellow graduates were still looking for a job a year later. They were unpaid, so I interned full-time Tuesday through Friday and then worked full days Saturday-Monday at Banana Republic and as a waitress. Not all internships are unpaid. Some of the interns I worked with were paid, and I had many friends who were able to find paid internships in all different industries. Besides, when a potential employer evaluates a resume (as I do now), it’s less about WHERE you intern and much more about 1) whether or not you have any professional work experience; and 2) whether previous employers give a good reference.
JV

I’ll add that anyone reading this who is currently interning or considering an internship not wanting to do ‘grunt work’ is not a good reason not to seek an internship, paid or not. Now that I have interns in my office, I so wish that more of them realized that what may seem like grunt work may actually be really important to the functioning of the office. If they aren’t there to do that work, someone else has to pick up the slack, which means we can’t get everything done that we need to do, and the office runs less efficiently. Each and every job is equally important to the functioning of the organization as a whole. In my experience, a good attitude is so rare among young workers these days. Everyone wants to get to the top right away without paying their dues and getting the experience they need to actually do the job when they get to the top. I worked hard, looked for the learning opportunity in every situation (even the stupid/boring ones), jumped at the chance to do anything that was asked of me (including running errands, filing, etc.), and it’s paid off.

Gunt Worker

Yes grunt work is important work. This is why companies should hire people to do the work, preferably someone with clerical training/experience. (Lets be honest, grunt work is usually assumed to be clerical work like filing, answering phones, photocopying, and sometimes even bookkeeping.) An internship, paid or unpaid is suppose to be about gaining relevant experience and skills in the interns chosen field of study. Internships should not excuses for companies to skimp on administrative costs. It’s also illegal for companies to use unpaid interns to take the place of paid workers.

If your company has unpaid interns doing this work they are breaking the law, and could be setting themselves up for a law suit if any of those interns wise up and realize they were taken advantage of. Unless your company’s interns are training to become administrative professionals, they are being taken advantage of.

I’m disturbed at this current trend of Business babying. If a company must have unpaid interns doing their administrative work because they can’t afford/don’t want to pay trained professionals then they have no business being in business, period. If grunt work is so important to a well running business (it is) then businesses should pay the people who do this work.

Nobody, nobody has the right to free labor.

Bronwen136

Many companies may not realize it, but depending on the internship they may be breaking the law if they are not paying their interns. The New York Times wrote a piece about it which I included below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/business/03intern.html?pagewanted=all
Atgapske

I work in PR and for some reason paid communication internships are really hard to find. I was lucky enough to find one and learned a great wealth of information. I’ve learned more in my internship than I did in school.

That being said, I don’t think I could’ve done an unpaid internship. I’m paying for school and living on my own and working a job to pay for rent and school AND doing an unpaid internship would have been too much. I specifically only applied for internships that were paid, knowing that was my only opinion.

Honestly, sometimes I do think that unpaid internships are free labor, because even if you can get college credit for the internship, most universities require you pay for your credit. It just doesn’t make sense. Some interns do the same tasks that their advisers are doing, without the salary. I don’t think it’s right to think of it as “paying your dues”.

So many colleges and universities these days also require an internship. It’s a really tough position for a student to be in. Students need experience and money. They shouldn’t have to choose one.
AEGL

I see that “The Everygirl” has interns. I wonder if they are paid? Just curious.
Christie Carden

I recently transitioned from commercial real estate to an entirely new field in travel. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do when I quit my job, I just knew that I wanted my day-to-day to focus on my passion for international travel and I didn’t know where to begin. I came across a luxury travel agency and offered myself up as an unpaid intern. I explained that I could financially do this for a limited number of hours a week for a 2-3 month period, and my goal was to learn about the business and see if this is what I had been seeking. I worked really hard and brought what I could to the table (including filing) and I learned very quickly that this is what I want to do. Timing is everything, and after only a couple weeks we discussed my position and made me a formal job offer. If you’re thinking about a free internship I would advise you to target smaller companies (so you can be more involved in multiple aspects) and be up front as to your timing and end goal. And when you’re there–bring whatever you can to the table and talk to as many coworkers as possible to get their insights and advice.

http://www.thousandmilesfirststeps.com/ AdeOla

I totally agree. I am also transitioning from a public health into public relations/event planning. More like a reverse transition…my masters is in PH and my bachelors in PR. I contacted more than 10 companies and offered myself up as an intern or volunteer just to get a leg into the door. It worked…I am currently interning as a events intern at a national nonprofit while also acting as an event assistant for a an event production company. I am learning a lot because I focused on smaller organizations and business that had work and space to grow.

http://www.thousandmilesfirststeps.com/ AdeOla

Internship paid or unpaid are important. However, you have to have expectations and goals for what you want to learn in addition to what the company needs from you. It is essential to articulate that during the interview process.
Lauren

For my undergrad degree we are required to have at least one internship that is paid, with a minimum of 400 hours and has to have three rotations. My major is in the lodging and tourism field. It is extremely difficult to find a paid internship let alone have to rotate in three different postions.

I live in a college town living a few hours away from Chicago. I cannot afford to move to Chicago on an unpaid internship during the summer nor can I work during the year because of the distance. If I had a paid internship I could potentially live around the city in the summer and apply for internships within the city! While unpaid interns recieve knowledge, experience, and networking, the benefits of a paid internship are far greater and allows people to travel farther from home or dedicate all of their time to the internship!
Sarah

The only way I justified doing an unpaid internship was doing it for a non profit. They had no way to pay me. If a company has the funds, they should pay. If you need to boost your resume, do it for people who actually need your help.
Gina

I think unpaid internships are a great way of gaining experience, but depending on where you are in life. I had an unpaid internship last summer after my sophomore year of college. It was great because I transferred schools and hadn’t even started interior design classes yet, but I was still able to test the waters. My parents supported me financially and I worked a part time job to compensate for spending money.

I worked with several women in their late 20s who had already graduated from design school and I always found myself wondering “Ummm why are you here?” The job made sense for me, but if I were in their position, there is no way I would still be taking unpaid internships. In my mind they were way overqualified for that kind of work and they were the ones truly being taken advantage of.

With that being said, I enjoyed my experience, but I feel I have paid my dues and have no intentions of working unpaid again. No one should have to endure more than one unpaid internship.
Becca

I think it depends on the industry, as well as financial security. Coming from a family of five kids, three of whom were in college/grad school at the same time, unpaid internships were never an option for me. I managed to find three paid internships in the field I wanted to be in, while at the same time getting an offer to be an unpaid intern. That being said, if I was offered an unpaid internship with the company of my dreams, I would have made it work by getting a night/weekend side job, because when you want something that badly, you do what you can to make it work.

All in all, though, I think unpaid internships are free labor, especially if the company has the dough to at least shell out minimum wage. We’re in a recession and the majority of people (especially college students) cannot afford to work for free.
http://answertheunasked.blogspot.com/ J.Mill

Free labor. I’ve heard executives talking about closing out a budget for hiring because they know they can get a few interns in. Most internships I’d have been interested in post-college would have been out of reach because they don’t pay.
when we wander

It definitely depends on the situation and I think it’s certainly a great way to get your foot in the door in some cases, but free labor in others. For me personally, I had an internship after I graduated college and wished I had realized how imperative they were earlier on. I really liked the people and I learned a lot, but there also wasn’t any opportunity to move up and at some point, it felt like there wasn’t even anything more to learn. The company would’ve kept me working there as an intern for what seemed like forever, but eventually I had to cut my losses. Luckily, the same week I decided it was time to move forward, I found a paying job due to my internship credentials and connections!

http://www.whenwewander.blogspot.com
Aishley Hassell

Hello,

I personally never did an unpaid internship, but for certain industries it is the norm. Before one begins an unpaid internship they should have a candid conversation with the manager about skills, contacts and potential job opportunities one can expect to obtain at the end of the internship. Also, there should be a set period of time for the length of the internship as you don’t want to waste a year interning for free before you realize how much time you have invested with no return on the investment. For more career advice and counseling contact me at justaskaishley@gmail.com or check out my blog: http://aishleyscareeradvice.wordpress.com/
http://www.katiemccskronicles.blogspot.com/ Katie McC

All of my internships have been unpaid. From bring a writer for CollegeFashionista to a campus Rep for Rent the Runway. For those I didn’t mind not being paid because they were virtual and I could do most of the work from home or school. Currently I am interning at a magazine that is unpaid. The only problem I have with my internship now is that as an intern I drive around town a lot. I pick up items, return items, and distribute the magazines to local companies and businesses. This might not seem like much, but the driving around a capital city for hours each day eats up gas. I get .10 cents/mile but driving 4+ hours a day, and getting <$5 in return is not worth it. I wish there was at least compensation at the end. As an intern I do as much work or more than for my paying jobs. The experience has been amazing but I do wish there were more paid opportunities because it would allow more people to focus on just school and internships instead of school, internship, second and third jobs.