Above The Noise | Is It Time To Abolish Unpaid Internships? @AboveTheNoise | Uploaded 3 years ago | Updated 14 minutes ago
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Unpaid internships can be a touchy subject for a lot of people. For some, it’s a temporary sacrifice to get one step closer to a paying job. For others, it’s just a tool companies can use to exploit people for free labor. So, the question for today is, should we abolish unpaid internships?
**How did unpaid internships ever become a thing in the first place?**
Back in the day, from the middle ages up through the 1800s, apprenticeships were THE way to get into the skilled trades. Want to get into a fabulous career-making glass? You didn’t go get a BA in glassblow-ology. You went and apprenticed for a master glassblower. The whole experience was kinda like a really long and well-structured internship before there were internships.
Today, one in three Americans 25 and older have a college degree. And these new grads don’t wanna be glassblowers. They’re competing for a limited number of entry-level jobs in fields like tech, finance, media, and fashion. So, you’ve got more people than ever before competing for a limited number of jobs. And that’s ushered in the rise of the internship. New grads now have to prove to companies that they’re worth hiring for entry-level jobs. And the bigger and fancier the company, the more people want to intern there, even if it’s unpaid.
**Why do some people take unpaid internships?**
Not all industries are the same when it comes to internships. If you’re into finance or tech or engineering, paid internships are generally the norm. Jobs in those fields pay well and are in demand, so those companies prioritize paying their interns. But that’s not the case when it comes to other industries like entertainment, publishing, fashion, the arts, or most do-good nonprofits. In those fields, unpaid internships are REALLY common, because the number of people who want them is greater than the actual number of internships available.
So if an unpaid internship is your best shot to do that, maybe you have to suck it up and do it. Because it’s not just what you do that’s important. It’s who you meet. It’s networking. It’s getting in front of important people -- the decision-makers -- and getting noticed.
**What are the cons of unpaid internships?**
There’s an unfair reality behind unpaid internships. They’re way easier for people who have some outside source of cash, so they tend to attract people who come from more privileged backgrounds. People who don’t come from money either have to work a paid gig on top of the unpaid internship or just flat out decide that it won’t work financially.
And unpaid internships don’t necessarily guarantee you a paying job in the future. A survey from 2015 found that 44 percent of unpaid interns got job offers with a median starting salary around $34,000. Paid interns generally fared better. They got job offers 72 percent of the time and made more money -- around $53,000.
SOURCES
Internship Fact Sheet (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/71-flsa-internships
Job Offer Rates for Interns (NACE)
naceweb.org/job-market/internships/paid-interns-co-ops-see-greater-offer-rates-and-salary-offers-than-their-unpaid-classmates
History of Interns (Time)
time.com/5342599/history-of-interns-internships
When Is It OK to Not Pay an Intern? (ProPublica)
propublica.org/article/when-interns-should-be-paid-explained
Paid Internships Lead To More Job Offers Than Unpaid Internships (Fast Company)
fastcompany.com/3061841/paid-internships-lead-to-more-job-offers-than-unpaid-internships
What happened to the intern revolution? (New Republic)
newrepublic.com/article/161040/happened-intern-revolution
About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services, and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source, leader, and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places, and ideas.
Funding for KQED’s education services is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Koret Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, the Crescent Porter Hale Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, Campaign 21 donors, and members of KQED.
#internships #unpaidinternships
Check out the newest episode of Animal IQ on @pbsterra!
youtu.be/yPrQ3Pl-iEM
SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a video!
And follow us on Instagram and Twitter!
instagram.com/abovethenoisepbs
twitter.com/ATN_PBS
Unpaid internships can be a touchy subject for a lot of people. For some, it’s a temporary sacrifice to get one step closer to a paying job. For others, it’s just a tool companies can use to exploit people for free labor. So, the question for today is, should we abolish unpaid internships?
**How did unpaid internships ever become a thing in the first place?**
Back in the day, from the middle ages up through the 1800s, apprenticeships were THE way to get into the skilled trades. Want to get into a fabulous career-making glass? You didn’t go get a BA in glassblow-ology. You went and apprenticed for a master glassblower. The whole experience was kinda like a really long and well-structured internship before there were internships.
Today, one in three Americans 25 and older have a college degree. And these new grads don’t wanna be glassblowers. They’re competing for a limited number of entry-level jobs in fields like tech, finance, media, and fashion. So, you’ve got more people than ever before competing for a limited number of jobs. And that’s ushered in the rise of the internship. New grads now have to prove to companies that they’re worth hiring for entry-level jobs. And the bigger and fancier the company, the more people want to intern there, even if it’s unpaid.
**Why do some people take unpaid internships?**
Not all industries are the same when it comes to internships. If you’re into finance or tech or engineering, paid internships are generally the norm. Jobs in those fields pay well and are in demand, so those companies prioritize paying their interns. But that’s not the case when it comes to other industries like entertainment, publishing, fashion, the arts, or most do-good nonprofits. In those fields, unpaid internships are REALLY common, because the number of people who want them is greater than the actual number of internships available.
So if an unpaid internship is your best shot to do that, maybe you have to suck it up and do it. Because it’s not just what you do that’s important. It’s who you meet. It’s networking. It’s getting in front of important people -- the decision-makers -- and getting noticed.
**What are the cons of unpaid internships?**
There’s an unfair reality behind unpaid internships. They’re way easier for people who have some outside source of cash, so they tend to attract people who come from more privileged backgrounds. People who don’t come from money either have to work a paid gig on top of the unpaid internship or just flat out decide that it won’t work financially.
And unpaid internships don’t necessarily guarantee you a paying job in the future. A survey from 2015 found that 44 percent of unpaid interns got job offers with a median starting salary around $34,000. Paid interns generally fared better. They got job offers 72 percent of the time and made more money -- around $53,000.
SOURCES
Internship Fact Sheet (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/71-flsa-internships
Job Offer Rates for Interns (NACE)
naceweb.org/job-market/internships/paid-interns-co-ops-see-greater-offer-rates-and-salary-offers-than-their-unpaid-classmates
History of Interns (Time)
time.com/5342599/history-of-interns-internships
When Is It OK to Not Pay an Intern? (ProPublica)
propublica.org/article/when-interns-should-be-paid-explained
Paid Internships Lead To More Job Offers Than Unpaid Internships (Fast Company)
fastcompany.com/3061841/paid-internships-lead-to-more-job-offers-than-unpaid-internships
What happened to the intern revolution? (New Republic)
newrepublic.com/article/161040/happened-intern-revolution
About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services, and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source, leader, and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places, and ideas.
Funding for KQED’s education services is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Koret Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, the Crescent Porter Hale Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, Campaign 21 donors, and members of KQED.
#internships #unpaidinternships
