I will start by saying that I really enjoyed my internship. I worked for about nine months at an outpatient clinic for adults and adolescents who were diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders. My supervisor was phenomenal, and I really learned a lot from him. He made sure to treat me like a colleague from the start, not like a typical intern who files papers all day and (possibly) does a coffee run. He challenged me every second I was at the agency and expected me to do my absolute best. I respected my supervisor and the rest of the counselors (who also treated me like I was one of their own).

I strived to learn and grow during my time running groups, writing clinical notes, participating in staff meetings, and observing individual sessions. My time at the agency will never be forgotten because I carry all of the experiences and advice with me as I work my way through this profession. I did not get paid actual currency, although you could say I got paid in guidance and knowledge (which I am so thankful for). Hands-on learning is absolutely essential to succeeding in your future career, but I still believe in getting paid for the time and energy someone puts into their profession. (regardless of whether or not you are an employee or an intern)

I knew the internship was unpaid before I even signed up for the program. I wanted to become more specialized within the human services field and spent one year getting an AAS in Chemical Dependency Counseling (a year after receiving my BA in Social Sciences). I specifically chose the Associate’s program because an internship was required. I wanted to get as much experience and knowledge as I could because I was unfamiliar with the social work/drug counseling world. Along with that decision, I also had the most understanding co-workers and boss at the local coffee shop I was working at. They would work around my class schedule and my intern schedule to the best of their ability.

Even though I was okay with working for free at the agency, I definitely felt the effects of taking on too much (I was busy with school, interning, and work seven days a week). I got a few less hours at the shop and was unable to help take extra shifts at times (which made me feel really guilty). I lived in an apartment with my boyfriend, who was super understanding that I had limited finances and offered to pay for a larger portion of the rent and other bills. I honestly got lucky with the people in my life that helped to motivate me, teach me, and support me during my education. However, many other student interns do not get that lucky or have that same experience.

My field professor (we had a separate class and professor in addition to the internship) explained to the class that we could encounter agencies that treated us like their personal assistants to do the jobs that no one else wanted to do.

Sometimes, agencies were called out for sticking interns with filing paperwork all day or making endless copies, which did not leave much room for actual in-the-field training. I have also heard horror stories (outside of the field) of interns working a ridiculous amount of hours because their supervisors were thrilled to have extra help she/he did not have to pay for.

The issue I have with unpaid internships is that many student interns sacrifice a lot in order to do free labor, and run the risk of getting used and treated with little respect at their site. They are taken advantage of and fed misinformation--that working without pay is going to benefit them in the long-term with promises of well-paying career positions.

However, if unpaid interns are hired (paid interns actually have better hire rates), than they are offered exponentially less money than someone coming from a paid internship.

The reasoning? Forbes mentioned, “Those with unpaid internships tended to take lower-paying jobs than those with no internship experience whatsoever ($35,721 and $37,087, respectively). Students with paid internships far outpaced their peers with an average $51,930 salary.”

Basically, unpaid interns only have a zero dollar income to compare any salary to.

So, not only are interns being taken advantage of in a variety of ways, but also in the end, the reward still sucks. I know I may sound like I am making many assumptions, and that other unpaid interns were treated well and benefited from the system.

On a more personal level, my long time best friend, Minnie*, is working on her last year of Pharmacy school. She has worked her ass off to get to where she is, and accomplish what she already has. Her last year of school is all in the field, doing rotations. She is required to go to work Monday through Friday, 8 hours a day. She learns everything she needs to in order to be a Pharmacist and, under supervision, performs every job that a Pharmacist does. Minnie will have a Doctorate by the time her last year is up. She also had to significantly cut down her hours at the pharmacy she already works at, so she can work at other pharmacies.

Now, please take this in for a second. This student has to get paid less money at her job in a pharmacy, to work longer hours at a different pharmacy, for free. Similar to my situation, Minnie knew what she would be getting into, but I believe she is suffering more because of the higher level of stress associated with a graduate program and less financial flexibility. Wouldn’t it be pretty nice if there were some sort of incentive that allowed her to save for things like: student loans, an apartment, gas money, groceries, or her sanity?

I don’t agree with the fact that twenty-somethings (who are already in massive debt) are essentially forced to prolong their financial strain because overpriced education systems want free labor. Our society feeds our heads with promises of a better life if we get an education and gain experience in the working world. (Except society also screws students, and graduates by throwing extra obstacles in our way, until we reach an early burnout.)

I understand that sometimes the pros outweigh the cons, and I am certainly not expecting to receive undeserved handouts or sympathy. This is why I still went ahead and pursued the career I wanted, and why Minnie still continues to work 2 jobs and only get paid for one. We chose our career paths and genuinely feel like these are the professions we belong in. We are still passionate and motivated to do whatever it takes to see the reward of our hard work, but that doesn’t mean we are comfortable with possibly gambling thousands of dollars on an education that cannot promise financial stability after graduation.

We can look at the school-reported statistics of those hired after graduating and certainly we can become one of those success stories. Or, we could wind up in a hole full of worry, wondering how to get the job we studied for to start our future and pay off the debt we accrued.

We need a break from constant stress. We need to feel like something good will come from the time and energy we put into building our resumes, and gaining experience. Saying we get paid in references and knowledge is an excuse to avoid the real issue: students are struggling and stressing through school just to please the outdated idea that we should work for free and not question why payment isn’t an option.

At the very least the universities could knock off a bit of the cost of tuition, or do something that feels like there is a comforting light at the end of the long, dark tunnel of debt we recent graduates feel so lost in.

*Name has been changed for privacy and protection.