Summer is the one time during the year that students are allowed to go off and experience the world in whatever way they deem necessary. Many students choose to either work, travel or get a summer internship. Now what you could be thinking is, ‘Why not do all three?’ Find an internship that pays, and in your free time, travel wherever you please. The answer is simple — you can’t! The majority of summer internships don’t pay, and the ones that do just give you a small stipend at the very end. The situation ultimately boils down to money or career because waiting tables has more value than it use to.

In today’s economy, most college students and recent graduates don’t have the luxury of finding an unpaid internship without worrying about bills or paying the tuition for an upcoming semester. Many students choose not to apply for internships because they need to make money. What this decision does is eliminate a potential pool of America’s brightest because they can’t afford to intern for nothing.

On the other hand, the majority of those who can afford to have an unpaid internship tend to already be in a higher social class. Their parents, guardians, or financial bearers have the ability to pay for whatever the student may need while they work for nothing. This issue further divides the middle and upper class because wealthier students are able to afford a summer without pay for the chance to hopefully get a job that could lead to a six-figure salary.

Another issue that becomes readily apparent in most internships is that the student’s grunt work has absolutely no educational purpose for his or her career path. Learning to get coffee or staple a pack of papers is not something that improves an intern’s abilities in the long run. It’s something that allows other employees to have an easier job because they don’t have to worry about standing at the copy machine for 30 minutes at a time.

Internships also displace potential employees. Jobs that could be paid positions are being called internships to get a little free labor. The Obama Administration realized this and recently cracked down on companies to pay interns. Some labor lawyers are even advising companies on reevaluating their internship programs altogether.

Kara Maciel, a labor lawyer at EpsteinBeckerGreen, was quoted saying, ‘If [interns] are performing administrative tasks, clerical tasks, answering phones, getting copies … the Department of Labor may find that to be more looking like an employee than an intern.’

Don’t get me wrong: Not all companies and creative studios are labor munchers. Some organizations and companies do value interns. They understand the educational purpose behind the position and work to ensure it is upheld. It’s just that these kinds of agencies are far and few between. A student should not have to forgo career experience because they can’t afford it. If companies were to give more perks like housing or a meal plan, then we’d be moving towards something valuable. Until that time comes, there needs to be a ban on unpaid internships.

John Sumpter is a senior international relations and Middle Eastern studies major. His column appears weekly, and he can be reached at jfsumpte@syr.edu.  

 

Published on August 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm