Imagine you are a college student looking to break into an industry. A company in this industry is offering a fancy internship in a large metropolitan area that would give you the credentials to land a full-time offer. The only drawback? It’s unpaid.
Maybe you didn’t need to imagine that. Maybe you are a part of the sizable subset of interns working at a for-profit company that only pays in “valuable experience” or school credit. And I get it: Internships are considered the “holy grail” of summer activities. The best way to guarantee a job postgraduation is to get an internship at the company you want to work at full-time, and the trade-off for working an unpaid summer may be worth it in the long run. But, simply put, companies are benefiting from exploiting your labor, and they will continue to get away with it if the system doesn’t change.
One of the biggest reasons why unpaid internships shouldn’t exist is because they’re exclusive by nature. “Experience” doesn’t pay the bills, so students who need money to support themselves or their families are automatically shut out. This leaves only well-off students able to work these jobs and have the potential of full-time offers. But even then, a return offer isn’t guaranteed; companies are benefiting from our unpaid labor, and we may not get anything in return.
In an increasingly competitive white-collar job market, connections are some of the best ways for new postgrads to get their foot in the door. These unpaid internships allow networking to happen that those applying for the same jobs without prior experience don’t have. However, people who completed paid internships have, on average, secured more jobs than those who completed unpaid internships. On the other hand, those with unpaid internships are only 5% more likely to get an internship than a person who never had an internship.
Of course, it’s important to mention that not all industries are created equally. Nonprofit organizations, government organizations, the arts sector, the media sector and the environment sector, to name a few, are more likely to have unpaid internships. A major reason for this is due to their limited funds. Conversely, the technology sector and finance sector have some of the highest paying internships and also the highest demand for internships. If these non-profit industries want to attract and retain more talent, another viable alternative for unpaid internships must be found.
Another reason why unpaid internships still exist is because interns are more costly in comparison to full-time employees. Employers are aware that they are underappreciating their interns. Interns are more likely to make mistakes that would require company coverage, so it’s cheaper for employers to not pay them. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the government doesn’t recognize all for-profit interns as “employees” of an organization. There are certain standard qualifications that determine if an intern can be considered an employee, including if the intern is receiving academic credit. Lots of American universities, including the University of Michigan School of Information, offer class credit for unpaid internships. But many students would far prefer actual compensation and resent how employers use credit as a way to get out of paying their interns.
My words alone won’t single-handedly stop unpaid internships from happening. People will still apply, accept and work for companies that don’t compensate. Many think it’s a worthwhile trade because, as previously mentioned, this is the one way that they can break into their dream industries. A more feasible solution would be to cap unpaid internship hours. If companies are only allowed 12 hours of unpaid work a week, this would make these internships more accessible to those who also need another part-time job.
Universities should also step up and offer compensation for unpaid internships, especially because these internships are taken up majorly by college students. It’s not enough to simply hand out class credit, especially because we pay tuition for these classes. The LSA Opportunity Hub offers funding, including the LSA Internship Scholarship, national scholarship support and department-specific grants.
Universities can also offer paid internship programs that help to fully cover the costs and remove financial barriers for underrepresented students pursuing unpaid internships and research positions.
The University can look at Pace University’s Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship if they want a successful internship funding model. The Wilson Center connects students to various New York City nonprofits and pays them $16 per hour. Other liberal arts colleges, like Macalester College and Amherst College, also subsidize their student’s internship costs, allowing them to work on projects that could help change lives.
So, while you get ready to embark on your next internship, remind yourself that your labor deserves to be compensated. You are actively contributing to the success of a company and adding value to company shareholders. Just because you aren’t a full-time employee doesn’t mean you deserve to be exploited.
Liv Frey is an Opinion Columnist writing about any and all kinds of relationships one can encounter in college. For questions, comments, concerns, inquiries or theories please reach out at livfrey@umich.edu.