Because paid internships are hard to come by and people need the internship experience for resume building and networking.
Unpaid Internship Debate
- Thread starter Clonefan32
- Start date
Because paid internships are hard to come by and people need the internship experience for resume building and networking.
I'm surprised by this. I have worked with undergrad and grad students for over a decade. These are mostly engineering, but a few other fields too. I've never heard of any of these students even considering or being offered unpaid internships, and it's too many for me to count.
I suppose in some fields unpaid internships are more the norm, but my experience in engineering and supply chain/logistics is that they are almost exclusively paid internships.
I feel like hiring has become even more about "it's who you know" than it used to.
It has been as long I've been around and I'm late 40s. ALL my jobs have been through people I knew, not solely off what I knew. Just like anything, you have to have a culture that you feel works for your business, if you know the people you have an idea of their culture and styles. Less risk, upfront.
This is true. I had internships every summer of my undergrad career, all engineering, all paid. There didn't exist any unpaid engineering internships.
I think it's just very industry-specific. It may not be true to say across the board that it's hard to find a paid internship, but if you talk within a certain industry (such as any of the arts, entertainment, teaching, and maybe journalism), then it could be damn near impossible.
Somewhat related.....i appreciate genuine "who you know" types of relationships...but I HATE when people actively "network." Meaning, that's literally what they say "Hi, i'd like to meet...to expand my network" or crap like that. I'm of the school of "relationships happen genuinely" not from a arbitrary "networking" event or introduction.
I totally agree with you, although I understand why people do that when it's basically the way to get a job.
I am pretty similar. To me, my network is people, who when their name comes up, I know a personal interaction with them, not something over LinkedIn or social media. The so called, people you owe or they owe you favors type. Not, they are linked to me somehow.
My son is actively looking for a software engineering internship. He's a junior in college. Obviously he'd prefer to get paid, but I've suggested that he consider volunteering somewhere. He gets one college credit for completing a summer internship, so that alone would be worth it. Because as of now, there is a lot of competition for the paid internships that are out there.
Exactly...i love connecting my colleagues/friends to each other to help folks out....but HATE when someone's like "don't you know so and so" and that person asking has ZERO trust/relationship with me. It's an art, but i just value the authentic and, if i'm going to "vouch" for someone, i need to know it's real vs a one time connection.
BUT, if someone genuinely reaches out to me based on my role to ask questions, understand my profession, etc...i will always listen and engage and try to help them/guide them.
