“We should get rid of unpaid internships. The children of the new upper class hardly ever get real jobs during summer vacation. It amounts to career assistance for rich, smart children. Those from the middle and working class, struggling to pay for college, can’t afford to work for free. Internships pave the way for children to move seamlessly from their privileged upbringings to privileged careers without ever holding a job that is boring or physically demanding.”
—GOOD does not pay its interns. It should!
Why it's better to be a paid intern than an unpaid intern
- 63% the percentage of paid internships that led to job offers for 2013 graduates, according to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). To compare, just 37 percent of unpaid internships led to full-time jobs. And those who received paid internships got paid more at their real jobs, too. “In each survey, paid interns exceeded their peers in job offers and starting salaries,” NACE’s executive director, Marilyn Mackes, said. source
“Sixty-one percent of paid interns working at for-profit companies received a job offer; only 38 percent of unpaid interns working at for-profit companies did. And paid interns netted higher starting salaries.”
—That’s Jean Chatzky, writing in Newsweek, on why students shouldn’t take unpaid internships.
Unpaid Internships: Bad for Students, Bad for Workers, Bad for Society
theatlantic.comThe economics of unpaid internships are obvious. Employers are desperate for cheap work, and “free” is pretty cheap. Workers are desperate for, well, anything, and students and recent grads are willing to negotiate their wages down to zero. But the ethics aren’t so clear-cut. If unpaid internships are the key to better jobs and bigger salaries, should we be concerned about the millions of lower-class students who can’t afford to work for free?
Yesterday, I asked you to tell me your experiences and opinions about unpaid internships. Hundreds of you responded.
What say you, Tumblr? Are unpaid internships unethical?
Unpaid internships and a culture of privilege are ruining journalism
guardian.co.ukMedia companies that rely on unpaid interns marginalize the voices of low-income communities and minorities
No fucking shit.
