“Generally speaking, internships are considered a great path to better career success”, say Rothschild and Rothschild (2020: 5). Internship participation appears to be escalating in importance among current students, with some 84% of students voiced the intention to intern before graduation. The merits and drawbacks of unpaid internships relative to paid internships were explored by Rothschild and Rothschild (2020), who report that in the United States an estimated 1.5 million internships occur annually, of which about half are unpaid, and 38% occur at for-profit companies. The number of unpaid internships fluctuates in relation to economic circumstances, with notable increases during downturns because recent graduates are hoping to either develop a connection with a potential employer, or to acquire employable experience. Some argue that unpaid internships are necessary to gain an advantage in the highly competitive job market. There appear to be a prevalence of participation in unpaid internships among students in the humanities and social sciences, and by women, compared to men and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students.
Documented research reflects a perception of lower levels of satisfaction by unpaid interns with their internship experience, who “feel they learned less than their paid counterparts” (Rothschild and Rothschild, 2020: 3). An explanation given is that “unpaid interns may spend a greater proportion of their time doing clerical work and less time on professional duties than paid interns. If it is true that unpaid interns carry out more menial tasks than paid interns, then they are not receiving the same benefits of experiential learning as those receiving compensation, an area of potential criticism for unpaid internships.” However, unpaid internships are defended with the argument that the value is derived from the skills acquired and the development, justifying the lack of financial compensation. However, this is refuted by a propensity towards routine and menial tasks, instead of developing professional skills through meaningful work.
Employers advocate the completion of an internship as one of the best for students to have on their resumes, because it tends to be an important consideration, if not the most, when making hiring decisions. Participation in an unpaid internship is especially significant, because of the positive impact, more so than volunteer work or employment in an unrelated field. Although employers generally reported not to observe a difference in performance of unpaid versus paid interns, but remark that those interns who get an academic credit for completion of an internship, appear to be more accountable and demonstrate more concern about their level of performance. “This substantiates the theory that unpaid internships are most beneficial for all parties involved if the intern at least receives academic credit for their work” say Rothschild and Rothschild (2020: 3).
Literature suggests, according to Rothschild and Rothschild (2020: 4), that participation in an unpaid internship may in the short term adversely impact students. Whereas paid interns are often offered employment prior to graduation, unpaid interns seldom do. Conversely, unpaid interns often appear to “take longer to find their first job following graduation than even those who do not participate in internships at all”. Furthermore, those “individuals who participate in unpaid internships are more likely to pursue post-graduate degrees than their counterparts receiving compensation” has been observed. A possible reason is the pedagogical conception that an unpaid internship may serve the purpose of “a stepping stone to additional career options”. More reassuring is that “the long-term career prospects for students who engage in unpaid internships are more promising”.
There are some significant drawbacks associated with unpaid internships, indicate Rothschild and Rothschild (2020: 5). One such is “that they effectively disbar and exclude low income individuals from participating” in that “unpaid interns often may not have the means to provide for themselves while working for free” and thereby broadens the ever-widening gap between the wealthy and the poor. Another potential drawback is the potential lack of employment related legal protection for unpaid interns.
Rothschild, P.C. & Rothschild, C.L. (2020). The Unpaid Internship: Benefits, Drawbacks, and Legal Issues. Administrative Issues Journal: Connecting Education, Practice, and Research, 10(2), 1-17. Electronically accessible from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1289868.pdf
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