Internships. That middle ground between your career and a part-time job. Merriam-Webster defines an internship as “an advanced student or graduate usually in a professional field gaining supervised practical experience.”
Nowhere in the official definition are the words ‘paid’ or ‘unpaid’ yet it’s what we usually see when searching for an internship. As college students, we are always trying to make money while we work. So, why are unpaid internships more common than paid internships?
Who has time to work for free?
Handshake is Georgia State’s career network for current students and recent graduates. It is one of the best tools students can use to search for a job, internship or co-op opportunities. And I’m not just saying this because I work for the University Career Services Center, I’ve been using the tools Handshake provides long before then.
By logging into Handshake and keeping the search within Atlanta, I found 32 unpaid internships on the first 10 pages of the site. Within those same 10 pages, there were 95 paid internships.
Handshake is very open about disclosing whether internships are paid or unpaid, some companies even go the extra mile and tell you exactly how much your hourly pay would be.
As graduation looms closer and closer I have to put small part-time jobs aside and start putting myself out into the real world with more credible job experiences. That means for internships, however, I can’t just drop a well-paying job for exposure, I still have bills.
I know some of you are thinking that an unpaid internship is still an opportunity that could open doors and lead to an amazing job if I just put in the time and effort.
Yeah, I see where you might be coming from but, no.
Thinking that college students are complaining or are lazy when they don’t want unpaid internships comes from a place of ignorance and privilege. I can’t pay for tuition with exposure, I can’t write about my 10-week learning experiences in lieu of rent.
It’s a nice idea but it would have you out on the street, real quick.
The reality is that unpaid internships are a classist structure made for people who come from wealthy backgrounds. If you’re already financially secure then it’s no problem to take time off and work for free.
Not all the blame sits on students, there’s more than enough for employers too. Companies shouldn’t ask for work they can’t afford to pay a real person for. There’s no point in offering up experience when the only reward is a possibility of a paid position.
It’s a real controversial issue, yet unpaid internships aren’t going away. As long as there are college students there will always be unpaid internships seeking free labor.
