As a college student, the term unpaid internship is quite familiar. On the job search, many unpaid internships market themselves as excellent ways to gain experience in a field. But what do these internships actually do for the college student? Are the beneficial to securing employment and experience? Or are they a way for companies to acquire free labor? Below are five Pros and five Cons of working for an unpaid internship.
Pro #1: Almost All ‘Out of Classroom’ Experience is Valuable
Breanne Thomas, aspiring entrepreneur in Brooklyn, dreams of making a difference in the world and working at a large tech company such as Facebook or Twitter. However, she has found that in order to jump straight into the big leagues with larger companies like Facebook and Twitter all the real world experience you have in similar fields makes a difference. While college is great and extremely valuable, there are parts of jobs that cannot simply be taught in a classroom setting. Additionally, internships allow for an environment to apply the concepts and theories learned in the classroom to real life business. While unpaid internships are in fact, unpaid, the experience is crucial to a budding career and gives college students and graduates a practical understanding of the subject matter they have learned.
Pro #2: The Millennial’s Pursuit of Success, not Money
While college debt can take a toll, many millennials are in the pursuit of success and not money. According to Breanne Thomas, ‘success’ is not defined by the money. She says, “‘Success’ doesn’t always mean financial success, but doing something you’re passionate about.” Hoping to follow the path of Mark Zuckerberg, she continues, “It’s kind of my goal one day to have my own company, to be part of something that is going to do something great. That’s why I’m in tech.” Thomas truly enjoys her internships because, although she isn't getting paid, she believes that the experience is rewarding enough. As of right now, her goal is not money but rather the knowledge and skills to truly make a difference.
Pro #3: Testing the Waters
Another beneficial aspect of the unpaid internship is the opportunity they provide for testing the waters of particular fields. While a particular field of study could seem interesting in a classroom setting, it isn’t until you explore that field in the “real world” that your budding interest gets cemented. For example, medical internships could make or break the aspiring doctor. The long hours and tedious paper work, both of which are hard to teach in school, could make a student realize that the field is or isn’t for them.
Pro #4: The Résumé Builder
As mentioned above with the previous three pros, the unpaid internship does have advantages for future employment. Many employers offer paid positions to the interns because of the rapport developed with the intern, the specialized skill-set the intern already knows and, because time is money, the company won’t have to waste as much time training the previous intern as they would have to spend with someone who is entirely new to the workplace. Additionally, even if you chose not to stay with that particular company, the skills you learn could help build up your résumé and impress future employers who use similar databases and programs and require similar skills. Additionally, working without pay shows that you are dedicated to that field and have a strong interest in furthering your career.
Pro #5: Networking
There are many ways to network today. Even fraternities and sororities are becoming popular ways for connecting with people in similar fields. However—again, if you choose not to stay with the particular company you interned at or move to a different branch of the company—those who worked with you have first-hand knowledge of your skills and dedication amongst other positive attributes. These first hand references, while asked for on many applications, are incredibly valuable.
Now, while I may have convinced you of the advantages, there are plenty of disadvantages that come along with taking an unpaid internship.
Con #1: A “Never-Ending Intern Life”
As a college student I am coming to wonder whether internships are the best way to launch my career. According to a New York Times article, sometimes these internships are dead ends in a field despite their advertisement for a solid, brighter future with that company. Andrew Lang, a graduate of Penn State, went through four internships with no avail. Despite all of the experience he gained at each of the unpaid internships and his buffed up résumé and skill set, no one hired Lang. He says that he is beginning to feel as if he can’t break free of the intern cycle. How many internships are too many?
Con #2: Applying to Jobs vs. Internships
This con goes hand in hand with Con #1. Tenneh Ogbemudia, an aspiring record executive, has had four internships as well. According to her, in any given month she would apply to over “300 full-time jobs” and not get any calls back despite her plethora of experience. On the other hand, she says can apply to “one or two internships and get a call back from both”. This begs the question: what good is the experience if it only leads to more internships and not real, full-time jobs? Are Tenneh Ogbemudia, and other unpaid interns, getting used for their experience?
Con #3: The Financial Hurdle
Many graduates and college students can’t afford to spend hours each day working for free. At some point, money needs to be made to help pay for college, pay off student loans and pay for necessities such as food, transportation and school books and supplies. While experience in a field may eventually lead to financial success, there is a cost of living for students while college and especially for graduates. Additionally, this lack of income during the school months could result a paid job over the summer. If the internship is yearlong, then the cost of renting an apartment for the summer months (given that you attend college outside of your home state) must be added to the cost of living.
Con #4: Not as Beneficial as You May Think
In a recent study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the percentages of students who find jobs after college with our without internships was found to be roughly the same. While 37% found jobs with an internship, only two per cent less, 35%, found jobs without the experience of an internship. On top of this, those who chose to work an unpaid internship were often paid less than those who worked a paid internship or no internship at all. While the experience is great, what is experience without a follow through? To endure hours and hours of unpaid hard work without a benefit over those who do not endure the same and those who do not have the same skill set seems like a waste of time.
Con #5: Missed Experiences
While you are gaining work experience by taking an unpaid internship, you are also missing out on a lot of other worldly experiences. For example, many students chose to spend a semester or a year abroad gaining other types of experience. Work experience isn’t all that counts in the real world, although your résumé may beg to differ. There are cultural experiences, social experiences, mental experiences, physical experiences, emotional experiences and even religious experiences that are necessary to make the most out of life. The types of experiences you may acquire from working a paid internship may branch into these other categories but if you aren’t enjoying yourself, there are other activities you could be doing to gain valuable experiences. In the end, what goes on your résumé is not all that matters.
After researching both the positives and negatives to unpaid internships, I believe it boils down to one thing: How do you feel about your work? If you come home from your internship each day wishing you didn’t have to go back the next morning and feel as if you cannot quit because it is a “valuable experience”, I would say the internship is not for you. But on the other hand, if you come home each day loving your work, excited about each new day, then go for it! It boils down to your happiness. While work experience is great, the right job, or paid internship for that matter, should venture into several different realms of experience, make you happy and make you excited about the opportunities the future holds.
