How do you guys view internships?

[dontwalkhand]

I am an IT consultant, and did work for a law firm here in Arizona. And they had me setup a station for the intern, which I did as I was told, etc.

Now this UNPAID intern was doing real work, for no money, but he is getting college credit I believe. I heard that once the intern is done, they will not have plans for him to stay on the firm as a paying employee, he will just be done, and sent packing. Instead, I believe they will just pick up another unpaid intern and continue this sad trend.

Now, there was a point in time when getting an internship would eventually land you a job, but now it seems like in 2011, it is just a way for companies to get free labor...with no plans of even fully hiring the intern. This kind of behavior disgusts me, and makes people not even want to bother with internships.

It used to be that 75% of unpaid interns get hired, and now it seems that the number keeps dwindling and dwindling.

 

[mobilehaathi]

it is just a way for companies to get free labor...with no plans of even fully hiring the intern.

Unfortunately, this seems like it is becoming more and more common. That and internships where the intern has to pay!

Of course, there are still "real" internships out there, but it seems the noise to signal ratio is growing...

 

[r.j.s]

I think they are a good way for the intern to get experience. As long as the company doesn't lead the intern into thinking they will definitely get a job at the end, then there is nothing wrong.

 

[peapody]

Unfortunately, having just the word 'internship' on the resume is worth it being unpaid sometimes. I know some pharmacy students got summer internships at a top medical facility for no pay but simply having that household name on the curriculum vitae helps in securing jobs down the line.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Indeed, the experience itself can be quite valuable too.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Indeed, the experience itself can be quite valuable too.

I believe there is nothing wrong with internships themselves, it is the fact that these companies, like this small time law-firm seems to abuse the ability to hire an intern..and what really pissed me more off is that they replaced a paying position with the unpaid intern in hopes of saving money...This is not what internships are for.

 

[fireshot91]

I got an internship over last summer. I got paid for it, though.


And then once school started, they wanted me to stay on part time, working from home.

 

[RITZFit]

An internship is a chance to get experience and network with people in your industry. The pay definitely makes getting up earlier in the morning a little easier, but if unpaid is the ONLY option then it may still be worth it. In some fields, employers won't look at you if you haven't had some sort of previous work experience.

I was fortunate to have had a paid internship in school, but at a much lower pay rate than many of my friends doing the same sort of intern work. My supervisor explained that he used to give higher pay rates but found that most students easily became complacent and forgot that they were really there to learn.

 

[thekev]

Unfortunately, having just the word 'internship' on the resume is worth it being unpaid sometimes. I know some pharmacy students got summer internships at a top medical facility for no pay but simply having that household name on the curriculum vitae helps in securing jobs down the line.

Indeed, the experience itself can be quite valuable too.

These are mildly clueless responses. In this case the internship takes place at a type of business that is completely unrelated in focus to the area of study. A small law firm has very little to teach about IT. They are not managing large data centers, or testing security systems. They are looking for someone to do a job that cannot be delegated to anyone currently on their staff, so they look for an intern. Students need a place they can learn, which means a business or large department focused on their field. IT services are a service for a law firm, not a primary business focus, so the intern is really putting in the time without gaining the kind of experience and knowledge they deserve for doing unpaid work on their own time.

 

[Plutonius]

These are mildly clueless responses.

Please read the thread again. The OP is an IT person who setup a station for an intern at a law firm to use. Nowhere did the OP say this intern was an IT person at the law firm. Talk about a mildly clueless response .