I remember some years ago when I was looking for an internship to fill my credits quota, I got called for an interview and they said it was an ad honorem internship, I was like "Wait seriously? No way!" and hung up immediately. Fuck that shit lol, I ain't working for free.
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Unpaid internships should be illegal
- Thread starter BAD
- Start date
Back when I was in undergraduate my self-confidence was pretty low and I ended up settling for an unpaid internship in my second year (even though now I realise I could have gotten something paid quite easily had I really tried). I actually ended up enjoying the work (fixing machines in a factory) quite a bit, but yeah, in hindsight not getting paid for >400 hours of work was a big mistake.
Unpaid internships can often land a person a job when they graduate. People on this same forum complain about a job requiring experience as entry but don't like the idea of being given opportunities to learn and get experience? Simply stated, take unpaid internships away and expect a lot less job opportunities for people actively in college.
I don't necessarily disagree with unpaid internships as long as they are advertised as such. It's hard to get experience and fill in your CV so if people go into it with the understanding then I think that's fine.
Where's the money coming from to feed and house this unpaid intern? Parents?
Parents, student loans, spouse... Most unpaid internships in the companies I've worked with aren't full time (10-20hrs wk) and they even allow students to use work-related projects for school papers and projects. Having a part-time job on top of the internships isn't unheard of.
I'll go a step further and say that internships that pay minimum wage or a few dollars an hour over are trash. For one they don't let you negotiate pay and two they almost always bait you into doing some big important project that the higher ups don't want to pay professionals to do. Like fuck multinationals that don't pay their interns well.
What if you got this internship but still got paid for the work that you did? Pretty awesome getting paid for work that is being done!
I find it weird that some people are saying it is like unpaid training and is fine - when in the real world, if a company is using trainees, they have to pay them. I don't see why intern work should be unpaid while they're already paying a school. Companies aren't doing it to be sweet and kind, they are doing it because they get cheap training of potential employees and good PR in the student pool they need to recruit from at starter salaries. Only in an internship have I been asked to be "trained" In a job I'm doing for them for no money and my expenses.
If that logic held, nobody would pay interns and nobody would be bothered by it. But that's not reality, and there's massive inequality in internships due to expectations they have without pay.
If that logic held, nobody would pay interns and nobody would be bothered by it. But that's not reality, and there's massive inequality in internships due to expectations they have without pay.
Legally, unpaid interns aren't allowed to do anything but unproductive work, though, like getting coffee. They cannot do anything that paid employees do for that employer. If they do then they have to get paid.
If course this is usually only followed never.
Edit: I shouldn't say that so matter-of-factly, but that's my recollection from previous information. I'm sure it varies by state as well.
Edit the second: Here's what the department of labor says:
- The internship is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment.
- The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern.
- The intern doesn't displace regular employees and works under close supervision of existing staff.
- The employer doesn't gain an immediate advantage from the intern's activities—and on occasion the employer's operations may be impeded by the intern's activities.
- The intern isn't guaranteed a job at the end of the program.
- The employer and the intern each understand that the internship is unpaid.
I work for a company in the DC area that does paid internships. Many of our full time employees previously came from the intern program so it only makes sense to pay them for their work. If you contribute to the company you should get paid, simple as that. With that being said, there are still tons of politically motivated companies in DC that view internships as some sort of charity work towards their party goals.
This
Universities here in France are so bad with this.
I had to do 3 and 4 month internships each year, no one from the uni cared if it was paied or not, and if you didn't do them you couldn't pass.
I once asked about an internship at double fine while i was in uni, i lost my damn mind when they said okay but then it sank when they said it was unpaid.
How on earth is a working class kid supposed to get across the atlantic and survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world on 0 money.
Nothing against double fine, i wouldve loved to have done it but it did break my heart knowing i couldnt get the same opportunities as richer kids.
They're incredibly restrictive against poorer people from poor families, they shouldnt be allowed in my opinion but i am pretty biased.
How on earth is a working class kid supposed to get across the atlantic and survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world on 0 money.
Nothing against double fine, i wouldve loved to have done it but it did break my heart knowing i couldnt get the same opportunities as richer kids.
They're incredibly restrictive against poorer people from poor families, they shouldnt be allowed in my opinion but i am pretty biased.
We've had both unpaid and paid internships in the past. The unpaid ones are for kids with basically zero skills, there's nothing to actually pay them for, they are providing negative value to the business. We spend some time giving them things to work on but it's all disposable stuff that's just so they get some experience working in an office.
If a kid's working on actual client work then sure, they get paid. There's room for both types.
If a kid's working on actual client work then sure, they get paid. There's room for both types.
I was desperate, so I took an unpaid internship right before my final semester of college. It was about 20 hours a week for 2.5-3 months over a summer and really wasn't that involved. I can sort of understand it being unpaid since it was easy and I was inexperienced, but I'll not say that unpaid internships should exist. It sucked. I was unemployed in college, and really needed money (my car died midway through). I only did it in hopes to use it as a means to embellish my resume for a real job. Fortunately it worked out.
Yep, it's fucking ridiculous especially when it's the government. Goddamn federal agencies had their good time paying me nothing during law school except a travel stipend for the metro.
Your argument is disingenuous because most students are not experienced enough to know what is best for them and are more prone to getting themselves in unfavorable situations. Also not all fields have tons of internship so some students will be forced to do unpaid work if they can't find any. And lets be completely honest and say that a lot of internships actually do require you to do real work. Work that people at that company actually get paid for. It's ridiculous that they are not paid for.
Nah 'paid' internships is the future
I regularly take vet tech intern during their schooling (they have to do a 5 week externship during their class). In the past I have taken veterinarian student too for one of their 3 week externship. I also take in high school student for their coop externship (they do that instead of going to classes).
All of those are unpaid. I do this to help their formation. It actually cost me money to host them. The school system pays me nothing to do their practical formation and I get no tax credit either. These are part of their teaching and they get school credit for it.
All of the thing you posted in regards to department of labor totally applies in these cases (though I am in Canada).
My business partner (and wife) would rather go without because it take a lot of resource of our business to teach those students.
All those students are very grateful of the mentoring I provide. They get are getting a lot of valuable practical experience. A lot of place they don't take them because they far from useful.
The only reason I do this is to hep out the veterinary community. This is purely volunteer work on my part.
I couldn't take them is I had to paid them and no one else would either. The money I lose doing it over the year can be measured in the TENs of thousands of dollars.
I totally agree some unpaid internship are pure bullshit but some are totally legitimate.
Most people regardless of age struggle to find situations that are "what's best for them". So that's not really what I'm factoring in.
Look, read my other comments in the thread, I've already agreed that internships should be more educational and not just using folks for free labor.
Like everything unpleasant in life that we do to get to the next level sometimes we gotta just get it done regardless. Should it be paid? Sure. And every Tuesday should be free ice cream day. But in the real world some are paid and most aren't. Ideally? They'd be unpaid, 100% educational and take real life workload into account.
Yes, companies definitely try to get over. Companies are NOT your friend. The best you can currently hope is to use them just like they use you. But In terms of how things should be with companies? If you're getting a degree to get a job you might as well rip that band aid off before graduation because oh boy do I got some bad news for you....
Right now unpaid internships go only to those who are already well-off and don't have to worry about their daily expenses, robbing the less privileged of opportunity and moving society ever further from a meritocracy. So yes they should absolutely disappear.
Uh. What? False. Is this anecdotal evidence? Receipts please.
It's logic. If you are a student who needs to work over the summer to pay for food and shelter, are you going to be able to instead spend that summer working for free? Or is the middle class kid whose parents pay for their upkeep going to take that internship? If you only provide unpaid internships, you are offering an opportunity only to those who can afford to give up their free time.
I'd start with BC Employment Standards and WorkBC. Fire them an email. BC has pretty strict rules, and can come down pretty hard on companies in violation.