Paid internships could better benefit students
Campus Times
February 28, 1997
by Kristen Dow
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Getting a decent job in today's society requires more than a bachelors
degree. Twenty years ago, the number of people who received college degrees
was significantly lower than it is today, and therefore it was easier for
college graduates to find good jobs. Today, because the number of people
who are in college is much greater and the field is more competitive. To
get a good job, one must not only have a college degree, but on-the-job
experience as well.
Many times, this much sought-after experience comes in the form of an
internship. Internships provide college students with valuable knowledge
in the field of work they wish to enter, and therefore better prepare them
for the professional world. Unfortunately, more often than not, these internships
are unpaid.
College is perhaps one of the busiest times in a person's life. For
example, a full load of classes at the University of La Verne consists of
12 to 17 units. In addition to full-time status at school, most students
have full- or part-time jobs while in college to make ends meet, not to
mention extra-curricular activities they may become involved in, such as
student government, clubs or athletics. To add an unpaid internship on top
of an already full schedule complicates students' lives further.
Money is an important factor in everyone's life, a necessity to survive.
Spending 15 to 20 hours per week working at an unpaid internship takes up
valuable time in a person's schedule, time that could be spent at a job
making at least $5 an hour, if not more.
It can be argued than although one does not receive money at an internship,
one gains valuable experience which will enable that person to obtain a
better job in the future. However, that does not change the fact that, perhaps
in spite of a meager travel stipend, interns receive nothing for the time
and contribution they give to the company for which they work.
Each semester and summer, students enthusiastically embark on their
adventures as unpaid interns, only to eventually discover they are no more
than gophers given menial tasks no one else wishes to do, such as photocopying,
returning telephone calls, stuffing envelopes or making coffee. Sometimes
they may actually be given responsibilities which will educate them in their
future field of work. But the bottom line of all of this is that they do
these things for free.
At ULV it is required by the Behavioral Science and Communications Departments
as well as the athletic training majors and business majors to complete
internships in order to graduate. For students who have full-time jobs,
this may be a difficult requirement to fulfill if the only internships readily
available in their fields are unpaid.
Once in a great while, one stumbles upon a paid internship. When this
occurs, one must grasp it with both hands and hold on for dear life because
it is a rarity. This is a chance when experience can be obtained as well
as a paycheck. Somehow, receiving money for work makes one feel more worthy
and less taken advantage of. Being paid encourages interns to push harder
and do better jobs because their opinions and work are valued enough to
receive monetary compensation.
It is an injustice and an insult to anyone's intelligence to work for
nothing, especially a college student, an obviously educated individual
who can contribute greatly to a company if only given the respect and opportunity
he or she deserves. This may sound like nothing more than another whining
complaint about how unfair life is to poor, starving college students, but
is a measly five bucks an hour too much to ask for an investment in the
generation that will be running this country in 10 years?
Kristen Dow, a junior English major, is arts and entertainment editor
of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at dowk@ulvacs.ulaverne.edu.