Pros and Cons of Unpaid Internships
Unpaid internships are increasingly popular with employers today. It is estimated that 21% of UK internships are unpaid. Most of the people who go into them are students and people looking to change careers. At their best, they are a way of small businesses providing experience to someone who they cannot afford to pay. At their worst, they exploit the need in today’s job market for experience before you even finish studying.
Should we be doing them? Is the only way to put an end to unpaid internships boycotting them? Are there benefits to them?
Here Is My Experience
I did an unpaid internship in the summer of 2020, when lockdown measures meant that my workplace could not open. I was staying at home and decided to use the time to gain experience in the field that I wanted to go into. This internship led directly into employment, although I didn’t know that going in. Clearly, my unpaid internship was very useful to me.
I didn’t find it uncomfortable at the time. Because of the pandemic and the stay-at-home order, many people were working unpaid from home as retail work was unavailable. It was a good use of time when I couldn’t do anything else.
My experience was enjoyable. The team was lovely and they supported me in learning data and technical skills that I wanted to develop. I was able to choose my own hours, bar one or two set meetings per week.
These are all things that I would recommend looking for if you are considering an unpaid internship. However, it still didn’t sit right with me that I wasn’t being paid for my labour. At certain times, I was doing less learning and more work directly beneficial to the company.
Why I Don’t Agree With Them
There are two reasons really:
Firstly, I was so fortunate to be able to live at home with my parents and, when the lockdown was lifted slightly, work part-time in a local chip shop. Although I did very much need the pay, I was able to go for a short time without the earnings from my bar job. Most people are not in this situation, so unpaid work naturally favours the privileged. I had to think very hard about taking unpaid work, but to some it is second nature to consider unpaid work as a way of getting experience as a student. It is almost expected. To put it bluntly, unpaid internships give those with some degree of advantage in life an even bigger advantage, since so many professional jobs now require experience even for entry-level work.
The second reason is that you are providing labour, and this ought to be exchanged for pay. It is generally accepted that most people do get experience, training and first-hand knowledge of a career from an unpaid internship, but most companies get valuable labour and ideas from their interns for which they are never paid.
They essentially work for free. There has been some debate over whether unpaid internships are legal, and it boils down to the fact that interns who contribute work to the company (i.e. they are not work-shadowing or observing) usually should count as employees.*
Why Do People Do Them?
Experience. In a word, this is why people undertake unpaid work of any kind (unless it is volunteer work, but that is another ballpark). The graduate job market, particularly in fields like law, is so competitive now that everyone not only wants experience but they need it. Securing employment without some form of relevant work experience is harder than ever. It is this that makes unpaid internships particularly problematic. It is usually people already on a low wage or no wage at all who need this experience.
Of course, there are industries where unpaid work is more common than others. Most freelancers in creative subjects like art and web design have done at least one unpaid project to build their portfolio. I have, and I felt it was a different experience to doing unpaid work for a company. I think that this is because I enjoy writing immensely and I am able to choose the projects that I work on. Doing this is a good way to build up your portfolio, but you should still keep an eye on the number of unpaid projects that you undertake.
How to Avoid Them
If you are looking to gain experience in a competitive or technical field, then an internship might be your only way forward. But you’ll naturally want to be paid for your time and effort. To avoid falling into an unpaid position, here are some things that you can look out for:
Salary Range. Always look to see if an internship advertisement gives a salary range. Most sites will be different from one another, but say that you are searching on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has an option to include a salary or rate of pay but it isn’t compulsory in order to list a job. In the job description, keep an eye out for words like ‘voluntary’ or that you will be compensated in ‘experience’ or ‘new skills’. These things are great and they are all benefits of an internship, but you should still be paid for your work if you are contributing to the company. This is particularly true if you are sharing tasks with a paid employee - they would have had to pay that person to do the work.
Use Reputable Sources. If you are a student, your careers service will probably have a section where you can search for internships. Different departments will also probably list industry-specific internships under their careers page. Although not every vacancy advertised through the careers department will be paid, they will have been checked and verified. You are also able to use that service for help if your internship becomes exploitative or tries to overload you with unpaid work. Other sources include LinkedIn, The Dots (for arts), TargetJobs and Prospects.co.uk..
Check Time Limits. How long does the placement last? If you are considering an unpaid internship, it is good to look for ones lasting less than a month. Some can last up to a year, although many last between 8 and 12 weeks. Yes, the experience that you will gain is great, but working for someone with no pay for 6 months is probably not worth it. Work experience - which does not have to be paid* - typically lasts around 1-4 weeks, which is a more reasonable timeframe. This is true especially for full-time placements, as most people will need to work alongside them.
To Do Or Not To Do?
It is your choice whether to do an unpaid internship or not. They are certainly valuable in terms of experience and improving your skills. But they reinforce privilege by allowing those who can afford to do unpaid work for an extended period of time while relying on external support.
There are pros and cons to unpaid internships, but it is always best to look for a paid alternative that will reward your labour and level the playing field in terms of who can access the opportunity.
*please note: I am not a lawyer or an expert in employment law.
Written Anonymously
