Internment

There has been a general hubbub around the internet because of an op-ed in the NYT about unpaid internships, the scourge of those trying to break into publishing (and many other industries). The article makes the point that it's not really fair to make working for free a prerequisite for working for money. We tend to agree on principle, but don't think there is much to be done about it, and don't think it's on par with other social injustices. It's a pretty horrible self-selecting process, that only people who can afford it. But, as this person points out, the fields where you can make the most money, i.e. the fields with the most chance for upward mobility, don't require this sort of commitment. These include finance, law, medicine, etc. (magazines, we sadly discovered, are not on this list). You may have to go to grad school, but then you rake in the big bucks. You can look at it like this: post-college, you have to make an investment in your future (there was a point when college was this investment, but we've moved on). You can pay for three years of grad school, which costs a lot, but which you will make back quickly, or you can take 6 months working for free, which costs comparatively little, and then make it back slowly. It all depends on what you want to do, but basically everyone has to do it in some way or another. Is it fair? Not really. But can we really ask companies to not accept free labor? If someone is taking an unpaid internship, you assume the person can afford it. It's not like they're running sweatshops. The companies are not the problem, it's the rich kids willing to take the job for free. Get angry at them, and tell them to stand up for themselves a little better. Other takes here, here, here and here

UPDATE: An irate reader, who may or may not concurrently hold several unpaid positions, took umbrage with our down playing of this problem and our vilification of "rich kids" Which is fair. We were dismissive and overly harsh. It would be great if there was a law forcing companies to pay everyone who works for them, because there is no way a company is going to turn down free labor just to be more fair. But then these internships would still be minimum wage jobs, and the same people probably wouldn't be able to afford them. Still, that would be a nice start. Until then, all we can hope for is some sort of post-collegiate union where everyone banded together and refused to work for free. Then we could call the interns scabs, and spit on them on the way to work.