3 ms·

In the US context, I'm strongly opposed to unpaid internships [at least in tech] (because I believe that paid internships are inherently more equitable and unpa

In the US context, I'm strongly opposed to unpaid internships [at least in tech] (because I believe that paid internships are inherently more equitable and unpaid internships have a bunch of moral hazards for bad employers to exploit that even a local minimum wage internship does not have). Paid internships are great and whenever we're expecting to have open entry-level positions the following year, we run a paid internship program. It's an excellent source of future talent for us and (IMO) is good training/experience for the interns. I think it would be illegal to have an unpaid internship program in many states unless the intern was doing the internship as part of a degree-granting [or at least academic credit earning] program. (That's at least a close summary of the law in MA where I am.) And in tech, I can't think of much reason to have an unpaid internship program, even if legal. If I can afford the staff time to direct and supervise the interns, I can afford the $15/hour minimum wage* and that aligns everyone's incentives better. * We pay substantially more than this to interns, but even paying the legal minimum wage aligns incentives.

7speter 3y ago
I’d gladly take an internship that paid minimum wage or at least had a meal and transportation stipend.
- ghaff 3y ago
  The argument is that unpaid or minimally paid internships--especially if they're pervasive for specific types of roles--are basically not viable for a lot of people. There are counter-arguments. You're getting free on the job training even though you're barely worth it even working for free. And lots of jobs like acting and writing, can involve years of trying (often unsuccessfully) to land something that pays.
  - 7speter 3y ago
    Yes, and the person I'm responsing to is advocating for people getting paid. I added on by saying I'd be happy being paid minimum wage, or just having someone pay for lunch and transit, which adds up to probably 30-40 dollars a day now with the inflation. If someone isn't worth that much, why even bother entertaining working for you and your friends? Not like you won't throw my resume in the trash anyways. I'm working on starting my own thing, so don't feel bad you fell for someone telling you "you're barely worth anything."

7speter 3y ago

I’d gladly take an internship that paid minimum wage or at least had a meal and transportation stipend.

ghaff 3y ago
The argument is that unpaid or minimally paid internships--especially if they're pervasive for specific types of roles--are basically not viable for a lot of people. There are counter-arguments. You're getting free on the job training even though you're barely worth it even working for free. And lots of jobs like acting and writing, can involve years of trying (often unsuccessfully) to land something that pays.
- 7speter 3y ago
  Yes, and the person I'm responsing to is advocating for people getting paid. I added on by saying I'd be happy being paid minimum wage, or just having someone pay for lunch and transit, which adds up to probably 30-40 dollars a day now with the inflation. If someone isn't worth that much, why even bother entertaining working for you and your friends? Not like you won't throw my resume in the trash anyways. I'm working on starting my own thing, so don't feel bad you fell for someone telling you "you're barely worth anything."