Unpaid internships are unavoidable steps that young, ambitious students take to gain access to meaningful career opportunities. The demand for extensive experience in entry-level roles pushes them into unpaid positions, as internships are often essential for gaining industry experience. While they can choose to avoid unpaid internships, many feel compelled to take them to stay competitive. I did the same.
During my undergraduate years, I completed various internships, which helped me build my resume and determine my area of interest. These internship roles consisted of content writing, editing, and social media management. All of them were unpaid and were online or hybrid. I opted for an online option as it was difficult for me to work offline while maintaining the university’s minimum requirement of attendance, which was 80%. Although managing them with my studies was taxing, I did gain the necessary professional and transferable skills through them.
Although managing them with my studies was taxing, I did gain the necessary professional and transferable skills through them.
I did summer internships at two reputable news media enterprises, which were also unpaid. The unpaid nature and short duration of these internships made my tasks observational, consisting of educational tasks rather than critical responsibilities. However, these internships helped me build a network with working professionals and gain in-person experience of how the news industry works.
However, my personal experience is from the perspective of an individual from the privileged socio-economic circle of society. Being able to build my resume before graduating from college is a direct outcome of these socioeconomic advantages. An individual from the middle or working class of society might not have the privilege to relocate and work for free. Therefore, in my opinion, unpaid internships do create inequality in the labour market. Employers do look for work experience before hiring for entry-level positions.
Although unpaid internships are beneficial in the long run, these benefits are only accessible to people who can afford them. Furthermore, it also violates the basic rule that you should be paid for your work. Therefore, employers must do better by providing equitable compensation or at least some assistance, such as stipends or travel allowances. Gaining experience should not be at the expense of financial stability.