What Students Think of Your Unpaid Internships

Internships are great avenues toward a career: they give you experience, training and an impressive block of text on your resume. But are all of these benefits really worth free labor?

In a debate that is sweeping the nation, students are speaking out: should internships be paid or unpaid?

(Photo by CollegeDegrees360 on flickr.com)

The internship environment

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), there are six different circumstances under which individuals who participate in “for-profit” private sector internships or training programs will not be compensated. These include whether or not the internship experience “is for the benefit of the intern” and if the internship “is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment.”

Unpaid internships are legal under these standards, but at least one group is working to fight this: The Fair Pay Campaign. Co-founded by Mikey Franklin, this organization is working for legislation that would require payment for internships.

I spoke with some college students around the nation to get their opinions about unpaid internships. Should all of the work they put in to their internships be compensated or are students okay with the experience over the money?

Unpaid internships are okay

Many of the students I spoke with had no problem with unpaid internships; they said that internships offer real-world experience and look nice on resumes. Here is what some of these advocates thought:

“Paid or unpaid, internships are an invaluable way to gain practical real-world experience. It gives a taste of corporate life in your field of study and can open up a world of connections and future career opportunities. Practical experience also looks great on a resume! Getting paid is ideal though because we are contributing to the company with ideas and services, and let’s face it—we are all broke college students!”

-Kyle Flenar, University of Cincinnati, third-year, aerospace engineering

“For me, unpaid internships are never a problem. Internships are there to help me learn about my field and gain experience. Also, most of the internships offered are unpaid (at least the internships I’ve come across) and there is no room to be picky. In order to look good on my vet school application, I have to take every opportunity I can to help me get to where I want to be! Of course it’s certainly nice getting paid for internships but it is definitely not a deal breaker!”

-Rebecca Courtney, Wright State University, second-year, biology

“I think that unpaid internships in laboratories or scientific fields are an excellent experience and shouldn’t be looked at as free labor. The experience gained is extremely marketable and will ultimately put you ahead in the long run.”

-Christina Suther, Findley University, fourth-year, forensic science and computer science

These students said they valued the educational experience that comes with internships, which makes up for the lack of compensation.

Great experience, but should be paid

Some students said that though internships give you great experience, internship sites should be required to pay students for their services.

“Unpaid internships are a good way to gain work experience and skills that you can use in the future; however, it may be hard to spend 40 hours a week at an unpaid internship when you have bills to pay. They look great on the resume but for some people who have to work, they just may be impossible to live off of.”

-Alycia Acquaviva, Ohio State University, fourth-year, biology pre-med

“I think it would be nicer if we can be paid for internships. But it is fine if we cannot get paid because it is just real life. You can’t realize all your expectations. I remember one episode in ‘2 Broke Girls’. Max felt really guilty of not paying people for their internship. It makes sense. If students can be paid, it will benefit both students and [companies]. We will be happy to have money and be more willing to work harder. And the company will take for granted to ask students to do more works.”

-Muyao Shen, Ohio State, second-year, journalism

These students said they valued the experience gained through internships, but they felt that students, who have bills to pay, should be getting compensated for their work.

Photo by 401(K)2013 on flickr.com

Interns should be paid

Other students felt that the amount of work required during internships is enough to demand payment.

“In my opinion, I feel that a student in an internship program may be allowed to be paid while working hard on it and should receive academic credit for it at the same time. It only seems fair since it is not just school, but work also.”

-Matt Ebersbach, Miami University, second-year, theatre

“I feel like when an internship is unpaid, the both parties easily lose motivation. For us, it is not benefiting us financially yet takes time and effort. For them, they really aren’t losing anything yet getting extra help. No incentives to actually teach us anything.”

-Jasmine Carson, Ohio State University, fourth-year, marketing

“The problem with unpaid internships is that having an internship, say during the summer, would likely prevent me from working a part time paid job that summer. And a lot of students (like me) depend on the money they make during the summer.”

-Mike Rosso, The University at Buffalo, fourth-year, environmental design

“I think unpaid internships are criminal; you still have to pay for everything while ‘gaining experience’.”

-Robby Breetz, The Ohio State University, fourth-year, electrical engineering

These students said they were not okay with unpaid internships, and all agreed that interns should be paid for their work.

What will happen next?

Student opinions vary as to whether internships should be paid or unpaid. Will legislation get passed, forcing internship sites to pay their interns? Or will students keep accepting unpaid internships to gain the experience?

What do you think–should you be paid for your internship?