The second semester of your junior year of college sparks a lot of thoughts and questions about your future.
As advised by seemingly every person at this university, I have been toying with the idea of obtaining an internship.
Despite the resounding voices telling me, and other students in my position, that internships are something you must do in order to get the job you desire, I find myself questioning their real value.
I have searched the internet for possible internships and have been offered several good opportunities, but the vast majority have been unpaid.
That seems to be the trend. A lot of companies are struggling to adequately pay their employees, so that doesn’t leave much for their interns.
From an employer’s standpoint, it seems like a pretty good deal to me.
Hiring an eager, young person who is earning a college degree to work for you in exchange for a “good experience”? Great deal, actually.
I am not at all trying to undervalue the importance of getting experience in your desired career field, I am just not sure if an unpaid internship is fair.
After all, doing well in your classes, graduating from college, getting your first job and learning about that field while tackling your new position is experience too, right?
Perhaps equally as important, it will help you pay your bills and stay afloat after college (and pay back your student loans).
Unfortunately, it seems that today’s job market is requiring students to get experience in order to get more experience.
As I have mentioned in previous articles, with the help of various scholarships, grants and more loans than I ever wanted to take out, I am able to afford my college education…barely.
Because I recognize the high cost of the education I am getting, for both myself and my family, I try to pack as much into each semester as I can.
I tend to take a full course load with about fifteen or more credit hours per semester in addition to my job at the Xavierite and as a blogger for the school’s website.
Sometimes, I manage to slip a little fun in there somewhere.
So, any internship that I could get my hands on would have to take place during the summer months.
Even if I was sure that getting an internship was something I needed to do, I question whether or not it would even be possible.
I have had a summer job at the same business since I was a senior in high school and I have been lucky enough to rise up the ladder and obtain a supervisor position. It is a good job and I make decent money for a seasonal position.
But even more important than that, I rely on that money I make over the summer.
Agreeing to an unpaid summer internship would mean abandoning my personal spending money for the year (which includes my money for textbooks and other materials).
I am not sure that the “experience” would be worth it for me.
Yet still I wonder, as I put together a more complete resume, if I have enough to deem me as a knowledgeable and competent future employee in my field.
I have plenty of published materials, projects, general work and service experience but, does my lack of internship experience give me a better chance of being overlooked in the hiring process?
According to the Chicago Tribune, “To comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, internships need only provide college students with a valuable learning experience, equivalent to that which would be gained in a classroom setting. No pay is required.”
So I ask you, readers, what is a “valuable learning experience”? What makes it “equivalent to that which would be gained in a classroom setting”? Should I get an unpaid internship?
Bridget Goedke
Senior Viewpoints Editor