Glamour Magazine, the New England Wildlife Center, Google, J.P. Morgan Chase, NASA, the AARP these are only a handful of the prestigious companies and nonprofits where Tufts students have held internships, both paid and unpaid.
According to Jean Papalia, director of the Tufts Career Center, 85 percent of the class of 2013 reported having at least one internship throughout their undergraduate career, and 62 percent have had at least two.
The numbers are clear students at Tufts who have held internships are in the majority. The question remains as to who benefits the most. Is it the student gaining professional experience and contacts? Or is it the employer gaining student labor for which it does not have to pay?
This June, a federal judge in New York ruled that unpaid interns on the sets of Black Swan and (500) Days of Summer should have received at least minimum wage for their work. The judge further allowed the interns to file a class-action lawsuit against Fox Entertainment Group, according to a New York Times article published in July. Since then, according to information published by ProPublica, the question of exploitation and illegality in regards to unpaid internships has appeared in 21 new lawsuits.
According to senior Kaveh Veyssi, unpaid internships are particularly important in breaking into the film industry. Veyssi, who aspires to become a film producer, had an unpaid internship this summer at FilmNation Entertainment and the previous summer at International Creative Management (ICM), a talent agency, for which he received academic credit. He spoke highly of his experience working as an alternative television intern at ICM.
When I first found out I was going to be working under an assistant, I was like, Oh man, this is kind of a cruddy job, its going to be a lot of grunt work, which it was, Veyssi said. But it was a phenomenal experience. I got so much experience on the inside that I wouldnt have gotten working for pay somewhere else.
At FilmNation, Veyssis internship involved reading scripts, which he acknowledged is commonly a paid job. He said, however, that his personal experience was different than that of the interns suing Fox Searchlight.
The interns on Black Swan felt they were being mistreated because they were doing what full-time employees do and not getting paid at all. I felt no such thing, he said. I felt that every single moment in my internship was well spent, and I didnt feel taken advantage of.
Many others at Tufts echo Veyssis assertion that an unpaid internship provides positive, hands-on learning experience. Leslie Goldbergs role as internship administrator for the Communications and Media Studies department is to match students looking for internships in media fields with companies that seek interns, as well as to oversee the course students enroll in to receive academic credit along with their unpaid internship.
Most of the time, in my experience, the interns get good work experience because they get to shadow people, they get to sit in on meetings, they often get assignments that theyre in charge of where they can really take the initiative and learn from [them], Goldberg said. Theyre doing work for the company but theyre also getting a lot of mentoring and learning.
While these interns receive academic credit, Goldberg also recognized the exploitative nature of the unpaid internship.
Is it work that an employee might be doing? Yes. And in that sense, its a good deal for the company because they [dont have] to pay an employee, theyre getting free labor, she said.
Tufts offers other forms of compensation for unpaid internships in addition to academic credit. Each summer, the Career Center offers up to 45 internship grants of $3,500 to students who have full-time, unpaid internships but who would otherwise be unable to accept the position, Papalia told the Daily in an e-mail.
Realistic financial constraints are another unfair aspect of the unpaid internship. Having to find a paying job may prevent some students from gaining the same experiences, according to senior Amelia Haney. Haney interned two summers ago at the International Institute of New England, a nonprofit that assists newly-arrived immigrants and refugees in finding employment in Boston.
I was really lucky to have parents who could help me out through that summer, but I know that a lot of people dont have that, she said. I think it can be really limiting in the opportunities people can pursue. Its an unequal system.
Haney interned 30 hours a week without pay, doing the exact same work as employees, she said. Because it was a nonprofit with limited resources, all the interns were unpaid.
Our boss would always tell all the interns, What you do is invaluable for the organization and we couldnt function without you. But theres no return in a lot of ways, except for the experience, which is important, she said.
Despite this, Haney said that the internship overall was rewarding. She worked directly with clients, and the experience she gained reinforced her career goal of working in the nonprofit sector. Papalia has found that students typically agree.
Many unpaid internships offer excellent hands-on experience in a students field of interest experience that is essential to land a job, she told the Daily in an e-mail. This is especially true in a nonprofit where the organization cannot afford the intern, but where both parties gain value from the work experience.
Nonprofit organizations are subject to different labor laws regarding their interns than for-profit organizations. If a nonprofit were to provide a stipend for unpaid internships the Department of Labor may classify the intern as an employee, potentially leading to legal repercussions, according to the National Council of Nonprofits.
Pursuing unpaid internships during undergraduate years may seem like the only option out there, but unpaid internships post-graduation open up an entirely new debate. Some, like Veyssi, plan to continue interning in the hope that it will lead to a job with the same supervising nonprofit or company. He has kept in touch with FilmNation for precisely that reason.
Hopefully, after these two internships, I might have an opportunity to interview for a job, Veyssi said.
Goldberg cited instances of students she has advised for whom this strategy has worked, specifically in the film industry.
Ive had students whove gone out to [Los Angeles] to volunteer their services, theyre working on a set and the next thing you know, they have a job, she said. Its good to get experience and when youre looking for a job, if youre doing something thats career-oriented ... it cant hurt you.
Goldberg also warned against relying too heavily on the possibility of an unpaid internship becoming a paid jobs.
Its really important for students to have the confidence and the wherewithal, to have the mindset that yes, I got a college degree and now I can get a job a paying job ... not just taking an internship and hoping it leads to a full-time [position], Goldberg said.
She maintained that Tufts students in particular should feel confident in their ability to get hired, and that working unpaid internships for too long can send a negative message to possible employers.
I think its easy to get discouraged because the job market is so tough, and then youre like, Oh, Ill just get this internship, itll get me good experience. But you kind of put yourself out there as Im willing to work for no pay, Goldberg said.
Haney has decided against continuing unpaid internships post-graduation.
I dont think that would be a feasible option for me. After college, Ill definitely need to focus on making money and paying [off] loans, she said.
Unpaid internships come with a unique set of risks and benefits that differ for every individual. As students muddle through college, they must take into consideration resumes, dream jobs, financial realities and working rights. Students should carefully evaluate each opportunity on its own merits, Papalia said.
Goldberg added that Tufts students should try not spend too long working as an unpaid intern.
I dont think it should ever be a substitute for looking for real work and knowing that you are marketable, Goldberg said. Tufts students, when they graduate, are very marketable.
