Interns

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  • ldent42
    ldent42 NYC Posts: 7,859
    dankind wrote:
    duska3419 wrote:
    Unfortunately an internship in a related field is a requirement for the program I'm in. I've tried everything I can think of to get out of it. No dice. So I will be looking for a paid internship for the fall semester. The fucked up thing is that despite the requirement, they don't have an arrangement with any organizations or even like a bulletin board type thing with listings. The conversation I had with the co-ordinator went like this:
    'nah you gotta find one yourself.'
    'doesn't the college have a department for job search assistance? would there be an internship co-ordinator of some kind there?'
    'Yea there's the career services office, but i wouldn't know about them or what they do - i've never heard of them finding internships for our students'
    'oh. ok'

    :fp:

    Of course all the places i'd like to work at don't do paid internships. And I just can't do an unpaid internship. How will I pay for PJ tickets and related expenses this fall? Priorities, man! :D

    One of the protesters in the OWS movement (remember that thing) had a sign that said "Fuck Your Unpaid Internship!"

    I'd be lying if I said my choice had nothing to do with principle, but for certain organization I would still consider it. The problem is mostly timing. I just can't do a full course load + unpaid internship + job + home life. There just aren't enough hours.
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  • mookeywrench
    mookeywrench Posts: 6,081
    peacefrompaul wrote:
    shep wrote:
    the thing I don't understand about interns is why they're unpaid... seems like a real crapshoot to me..

    while I was in engineering school I did about 1.5 years worth of coop internships, all of which were paid internships... of course some were better than others, but I don't understand why anyone would be willing to work for free... (well, apart from volunteering... and isn't that what an unpaid internship really is?).

    They look phenomenal on your resume

    So does having work experience where people actually wanted to pay you for your skills.

    The going away advice from my marketing prof was to never cut yourself short. Rarely are there circumstances where you should take an unpaid internship.
  • rival.
    rival. Chicago Posts: 7,775
    mookeywrench wrote:
    peacefrompaul wrote:
    shep wrote:
    the thing I don't understand about interns is why they're unpaid... seems like a real crapshoot to me..

    while I was in engineering school I did about 1.5 years worth of coop internships, all of which were paid internships... of course some were better than others, but I don't understand why anyone would be willing to work for free... (well, apart from volunteering... and isn't that what an unpaid internship really is?).

    They look phenomenal on your resume

    So does having work experience where people actually wanted to pay you for your skills.

    The going away advice from my marketing prof was to never cut yourself short. Rarely are there circumstances where you should take an unpaid internship.

    accounting major that held jobs waiting on tables and bartending while going to school doesn't scream hire me for that accounting/finance position you worked all college towards. the internship is a nice little boost and proven exposure that would get you hired over another college grad who doesn't have that internship on their resume.
  • peacefrompaul
    peacefrompaul Posts: 25,293
    mookeywrench wrote:
    peacefrompaul wrote:
    shep wrote:
    the thing I don't understand about interns is why they're unpaid... seems like a real crapshoot to me..

    while I was in engineering school I did about 1.5 years worth of coop internships, all of which were paid internships... of course some were better than others, but I don't understand why anyone would be willing to work for free... (well, apart from volunteering... and isn't that what an unpaid internship really is?).

    They look phenomenal on your resume

    So does having work experience where people actually wanted to pay you for your skills.

    The going away advice from my marketing prof was to never cut yourself short. Rarely are there circumstances where you should take an unpaid internship.

    I will take an unpaid internship in a congressional office before I take a paid one with Menards, if you know what I'm saying.
  • BinauralJam
    BinauralJam Posts: 14,158
    Their Useless
  • mookeywrench
    mookeywrench Posts: 6,081
    peacefrompaul wrote:

    I will take an unpaid internship in a congressional office before I take a paid one with Menards, if you know what I'm saying.


    Well duh, but why would you take an unpaid internship in lieu of a paid internship? What I'm saying is there's plenty of paid internships available to the point that it would be foolish to take an unpaid one.
  • mookeywrench
    mookeywrench Posts: 6,081
    rival. wrote:

    accounting major that held jobs waiting on tables and bartending while going to school doesn't scream hire me for that accounting/finance position you worked all college towards. the internship is a nice little boost and proven exposure that would get you hired over another college grad who doesn't have that internship on their resume.

    I was hired on my accounting firm over other applicants because I had customer service skills from those sorts of jobs...you never know what they're looking for.
  • peacefrompaul
    peacefrompaul Posts: 25,293
    mookeywrench wrote:
    peacefrompaul wrote:

    I will take an unpaid internship in a congressional office before I take a paid one with Menards, if you know what I'm saying.


    Well duh, but why would you take an unpaid internship in lieu of a paid internship? What I'm saying is there's plenty of paid internships available to the point that it would be foolish to take an unpaid one.

    Because the unpaid one may be better than the paid one, as was implied in my previous post.
  • LloydXmas
    LloydXmas Posts: 7,539
    My company pays the summer interns. A couple of postings say 18-24 an hour. Not too bad
  • Leezestarr313
    Leezestarr313 Temple of the cat Posts: 14,451
    I've been one several times (it was required for university). The last one was unpaid for six months after I graduated, and a longtime job that defined what I do now came out of it. I was happy with how it worked out, but would never do such a long one unpaid again. They gave me a gratification afterwards because they liked what I did.
    In the course of that job, I've trained several interns too, and they were getting paid on our request. It can be a cool experience if they want it.
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  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    Not sure if it's been said, but the experience itself can be invaluable - beyond a monetary figure.

    I've worked with some interns over the years, ranging from high-school to early college age. Really good kids (except for that one), and I've given references to several of them.

    If one can get paid while doing so? Great! But there's also much to be said for just getting in there, maybe paying a few dues on the way up, just for the sake of it. They're good lessons.

    If you're worth your salt, have integrity and use your noggin, in the end (and along the way), you'll make a fine living...or at least live a fine life.

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