If you think you need an unpaid internship to get a foot in the door and then a job, I’d like you to meet reality:
The [National Association of Colleges and Employers] released a study this week showing that 60% of 2012 graduates who worked a paid internship got at least one job offer, while just 37% of those in unpaid gigs got any offers. That’s slightly – only slightly – better than the offer rate for graduates who skipped internships entirely, at 36%.
It is no better than no internship at all. Being paid on the other hand is much better, 62% better. And that’s for all unpaid internships, not to mention unfair internships where you surely get no on-the-job training.
Those are unsettling statistics, but it doesn’t surprise me. I’m not sure if there’s something about the economy that necessitates so many internships, or if employers just don’t budget for employees in these positions because they don’t have to.
Such a shame that young people have to stoop so low to move ahead.
“Because they can” is the most likely explanation. The law is rarely enforced, the economy makes jobs scarcer, the interns have no negotiation power and little knowledge of their rights anyway.
All internship and traineeship positions are paid at http://www.j1training.org. J1 Training programs are open to all international students and young professionals up to age of 34. However most positions are in hospitality