THE ISSUE: In recent years, multiple court cases have been heard over the legality of the unpaid internship. A Supreme Court case found that two interns on the set of ‘Black Swan’ should have been paid. As summer — or internship season — nears, two editorial board members weigh in on the matter.
Click to see an opposing viewpoint.
The value of experience should never be questioned. The fact is, an undergraduate degree — even one from a prestigious university like UNC — is only slightly better than useless if the recipient has never worked in their field before.
That is why I am extremely grateful for both unpaid internships that I have worked at. I learned more in a week at either of those two positions than I did in entire courses.
But the only reason I was able to take these positions, the only reason I now have this experience and the only reason I will have any shot at getting a job is because I am privileged enough to have the option of foregoing a summer of wages to work and pay for room and board in a city far from home.
I have a great scholarship and come from an upper middle class family. Without either of these, I could not have afforded an unpaid internship.
And that is why the unpaid internship needs to be banned by the government.
It has become essentially necessary to have at least one internship on a resume to even be considered for a full-time position after graduation. If more and more organizations look to cut expenses by eliminating intern wage, only the financially privileged will be able to even apply for them. This could cause only the upper and middle class to be considered for full time jobs in the future, leading to a degradation of the United States’ already poor economic equality .
