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Saturday, April 3, 2010

NYTimes talks about interns too

The New York Times had an article that isn't exactly new news. In fact, I have been concerned and outwardly talking about how I feel that interns are being taken advantage of and jobs are being lost due to these internships. But the Times article takes it one step further and states the actual laws these companies could potentially be braking and what plans to be done. The fact is there are too many small independent places to take care of this situation completely, but at least people are a little more aware.

Growth of Unpaid Internships May Be Illegal, Officials Say

2 comments:

Alanna Glicksman said...

Very interesting. Internships are integral vehicles for starting one's career, and sometimes employers do not realize this. If one is qualified for the position, they deserve to be paid. I'm not talking a full-out salary, but at least minimum wage should be provided to all qualified interns.

My post-grad PR program requires each student to complete an 8-week internship. Many of these positions are unpaid, some have small honorariums and others have decent salaries. If a firm is willing to take on a qualified individual to fulfill the internship position, they should be willing to provide a competitive salary.

I can understand not paying an unqualified individual, but isn't our time worth something? Internships are important - they teach us the basics of any job, but our hard work should be valued.

Right?

B said...

Alanna,
The other day on PRBreakfastClub I had mentioned a stipend at least was fair. $25 a day was better then nothing and really did help me slightly when I was interning. Considering my school required an internship, it was nicer then friends who were really stuck because they couldnt afford to talk an unpaid one. But thats a whole other issue.

What the real problem I have with this is when I lose a job due to a company hiring two interns instead of me at a junior or even senior level. Some argue that you get what you pay for and you wont be getting the most amazing press releases every time, you dont get the professionalism of a real worker, etc, but the fact that they are giving these interns these tasks is disturbing. It's almost knocking out that middle, junior level. As an actual intern, i'd be pumped at the opportunity to walk a celeb down a red carpet, or get on the phone to pitch, but in reality, its messed up on all levels.