The Intern’s Dilemma: Unpaid vs. Paid Internships
The Big Question
During the course of high school and college, at one time or another students have been told- either from friends, professors, or parents- that internships are so important. Internships are supposed to be a major stepping stone to getting ahead in the post-college, job searching game.
One question that comes up while searching for internships is this- paid or unpaid? More importantly: are unpaid internships worth applying for?
The Debate
There is no denying that internships can help in the future when looking for jobs. However, during the course of college, and even high school, completing an unpaid internship can have its drawbacks.
For one, as a student, working part-time can become overwhelmingly stressful. Prioritizing and scheduling your internship around your class schedule is difficult in itself. Taking five or six classes while maintaining a part-time job or internship can take up a lot of the free time that is needed to relax and step away from stress.
Secondly, an unpaid internship means that no source of income is there to help take care of daily responsibilities. Bills, transportation, and housing add up pretty quickly. There is also the fact that some students are not eligible for financial aid or only have partial financial aid. This means that students are responsible for paying their own tuition, which puts a hefty hole in their pockets.
It is fair to point out that some internships do compensate students through stipends and/or some payment for transportation (ie. Metrocard). Both forms of compensation do help in some way to make things a little easier for students, but it sometimes is not enough to sustain one’s living costs.
As a student living in New York, it is difficult enough to find a good, paid internship. Internships can be very competitive, which means there are only a few select spots to be filled. There are a lot more unpaid internships to go around than paid internships.
In my search for internships through sites like LinkedIn and BookJob.com, I had difficulty finding a paid internship that provided financial stability. In fact, there appeared to be more unpaid internships than paid internships.
Some of the companies I wanted to apply for only offered college credit, a Metrocard (for those who live in New York), a stipend, or a combination of these. While these options are not unreasonable, they are lacking in supporting a full-time student’s college needs. College students and high school students need some source of income to sustain and support themselves.
Also, some of the companies wanted their interns to work for 30-40 hours a week. These kinds of hours are not feasible for a full-time student and puts more stress on the student.
All in all, finding an internship that offered financial support and reasonable hours was exhausting and stressful. It is important that companies and businesses, big or small, make sure that their internships offer opportunities for students to apply.
Research
In fact, studies conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) show that almost 64% of graduating students completed an internship or co-op experience while completing their bachelor’s degree program.
The results of students who received a full-time job offer after graduating were intriguing:
According to the results, the probability of getting a full-time job was significantly higher for those who completed paid internships versus those who did not. The study even found that salaries were higher for those who completed paid internships during college.
Final Thoughts
Students should be able to have a source of income while they are getting the credentials they need to one day be able to get a paying job and financial stability. Unpaid internships can be economically limiting. It is difficult for students to get their education while also being financially independent.