Internships are regarded as a reliable way to gain experience and make connections in a professional field while boosting a resume. But the institution of unpaid internships is innately unfair, tipping the scales of opportunity in favor of those who are already privileged while leaving all others behind.
Unpaid internships not only provide no income; they often come with a price tag. For the majority of interns, commuting, albeit it by car or public transportation, is an unavoidable expense, and frequently internships require housing and the rent that follows. More often than not, an unpaid intern finishes the summer with less money than with which he had started. Professionals, parents and students alike argue that this cost is validated because the gained experience and contacts are worth more than these expenses.
But not everyone can pay the price of such experience. Ending the summer in a financial deficit is a privilege not everyone can afford. For students who pay part or all of their rent, education or even just smaller living expenses such as food and transportation, ending the pay period in the red is not a possibility that can be entertained. And for those who help support their families financially, the likelihood of accepting a position without pay diminishes further.
Instead, it is the privileged demographic that is able to accept such internships. Time and time again, research has shown that there are strong positive correlations between socio-economic status and financial and career success, and unpaid internships only serve to continue this cycle of inequality. Families that can afford to finance their children's unpaid positions often do so, and this financial ability and support results in a child better-positioned for future professional opportunity and success.
Unpaid internships undoubtedly increase one’s chances of future employment; getting one’s foot in the door of almost any career field is not only difficult but also extremely helpful in establishing experience and contacts within said career path. Furthermore, unpaid internship experience is often strongly favored as a prerequisite of landing a paid internship, so those who cannot afford an unpaid position are even less likely of being offered a paid one in the future. So for those who need to keep their financials in the green, a job at a local convenience store paying minimum wage trumps an unpaid position at a technology firm. Students who can’t afford a summer of unpaid work are much more likely to end up in a dead-end job or a position irrelevant to their intended career before graduation, while those who can afford such positions advance their standing in their fields.
This vicious cycle clearly serves to perpetrate career and income inequality. Lacking relevant work experience places students at a huge disadvantage compared to their peers in the same field who have and can afford unpaid experience. This work experience often also comes with the added benefit of contacts, which have immeasurable value at the start of one’s career; networking is an inevitable influence in today’s job market, and having connections in one’s field proves to be extremely advantageous when looking for not only future internships but also full-time employment opportunities. This stark divide only grows deeper as time goes on, widening the already-broad gap between levels of socio-economic status.
Professional exclusivity starting at such a young age undercuts the conventional, revered American value of equal opportunity and serves to ground the professional elite in a cycle of privilege while preventing any and all others from breaking into this circle of success.
