Internships in college are a must. You need them in order to build up your resume, connect with professionals in your field, and to make sure what you are going to school for is a correct career path for you. For some majors, like accounting or supply chain, people are able to find internships that are paid pretty easily (Bless you). For many, however, people fall into a mindset that their first few internships have to be unpaid. I mean, an unpaid internship is still an internship, right? Here are some reasons why that is not always the case.
1. You Have No Means To Support Yourself.
If your unpaid internship is full time and you are still a full time student, you have no time to work an actual, paying job. For some people with actual, big kid bills, this is a no go.
2. Unpaid Internships Are Pretty Elitist.
Not only are many students expected to pay huge prices for college, but they are also expected to work for free. Many of the already low-income population are cut out of something seemingly required because of finances, says The Atlantic. Only those with parents or other benefactors willing to support them while they work hours for free are given the privilege of getting ahead and doing something anyone that has the qualifications should be allowed to have.
3. Some Unpaid Internship Do Not Even Lead To A Real Job.
Unlike paid internships, many full time, unpaid internships do not always lead to an actual job after you graduate. Actually, according to Fortune, people that did not have any internships at all had a 3% higher chance of getting a job offer than someone that had taken an unpaid internship at local state and government agencies. There has to be some good to them, right?
4. It Is Pretty Bad For The Economy Overall.
So far, no. As found on The Street, with no means to provide for themselves or the loans that they have taken out to actually attend college, the debt of college graduates are steadily increasing. So with all of recent grads' money going to their student loans, they are less likely to buy a house, a car, or start businesses, which essentially drives the economy.
For me, I was blessed with parents willing and able to provide for me completely while I work full time without pay, and I fell into the trap of an unpaid internship. Whether it be good or bad, only time can tell. However, a lot of students are not given that privilege. Many students do not have that same support and are forced to go to school and work full time. They do not have the capability or time to take on an unpaid internship as well, and, therefore, are less decorated than those with the advantage of not having to pay for bills and living. Along with that, many companies in many fields do not offer paid internships, potentially damaging recent grads' future careers, while simultaneously using our free labor to their advantage.
