The levels of unpaid internship in the U.S. is continuously raising, which also happens at the international level. A lot of debates are revolving around whether the unpaid internship is exploitation or an opportunity to gain valuable experience. While some are certain that this type of job presents financial challenges, others claim that internship is a direct pathway to success.
The most significantly, unpaid internship lacks monetary reward, which makes students lose the interest to work for experience or result. While most of American parents owe debts for college tuition, the necessary expenses for internship are also attributed including accommodation, food, and other supplies. In most of the companies, employers create a fake simulation for job environment and treat students in an inferior way by instructing them to do a menial job.
On the other hand, other employers are eager to share their knowledge and skills with students, who later maintain good working relations and develop their social network. Therefore, they can receive the valuable experience and apply the principles and concepts they learned at the classroom settings. Showing commitment and desire to learn can persuade the employer to offer a real job after internship or recommend the student to other organizations.
I would never do an internship for no monetary pay because it does not pay off financially, results in both mental and physical stress, takes substantial time, and does not provide substantial job experience. The difficulties of unpaid partnership involve the scope of debt for the internship with privilege and tuition fees for which parents or students pay for the study.
According to ‘Take This Internship And Shove It,” it states that “Lost wages and living expenses are significant considerations for the two-thirds of students who need loans to get through college,” (Kamenetz par. 5). From this we can understand that, most of the interns go through the large amount of debt, which is accumulated for years and increasing during the internship.
Furthermore, some of the courses costs a specific amount of money for accommodation when it is done overseas. In this way, a student should borrow more money to pay off the internship, which is just taken for granted. While some students still find a part-time job to survive and manage their financial problems, others hope that employers would offer a job directly after passing an internship. In fact, families with low income cannot sustain a living for their children so often students go directly to work after college and refuse from an opportunity to apply for the internship.