The economics of unpaid internships are obvious. Employers are desperate for cheap work, and “free” is pretty cheap. Workers are desperate for, well, anything, and students and recent grads are willing to negotiate their wages down to zero. But the ethics aren’t so clear-cut. If unpaid internships are the key to better jobs and bigger salaries, should we be concerned about the millions of lower-class students who can’t afford to work for free?
Yesterday, I asked you to tell me your experiences and opinions about unpaid internships. Hundreds of you responded.
What say you, Tumblr? Are unpaid internships unethical?
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katznjammer reblogged this from positivelypersistentteach
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thefemcritique reblogged this from theatlantic
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asongagainstsex reblogged this from theatlantic
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readingwritingteaching reblogged this from iamlittlei
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languidlimbo answered:
well right now im in one and it is discouraging having all of this work with no pay. it’s hard to have incentive
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nomoredrama78 reblogged this from positivelypersistentteach
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teamanthro answered:
In theory no but in practice yes. They are often used in place of entry-level workers re-enforcing a cycle of under-employment
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omnomnomagon likes this
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pegobry answered:
No.
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donkeyhot reblogged this from dowager-countess-of-westeros
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ekw29 reblogged this from fuckyeahcollege and added:
I HATE YOU UNPAID INTERNSHIPS. YOU ARE NOT ETHICAL. YOU ARE DUMB.
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right-after reblogged this from theatlantic
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aileenloveslife reblogged this from positivelypersistentteach
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tikster24 likes this
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suchprettywords answered:
I wrote my ugba 107 paper on this!
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bittersweetpotatoes reblogged this from fuckyeahcollege
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christiansalvadorbananas reblogged this from fuckyeahcollege and added:
Well I’m ignorant as fuck. But hearing about people paying money to get their hands dirty for someone else’s thesis...
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theafricanjew reblogged this from fuckyeahcollege
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desirsecret reblogged this from fuckyeahcollege
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fuckyeahcollege reblogged this from theworkingprocess and added:
Putting this out there. Personal views withheld.
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hiaquaman likes this
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pamelab answered:
Yes…businesses are taking advantage of grads who have little job experience.
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annickbusch likes this
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whenimreallyathundacat answered:
In a word, yes.
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zipporah likes this
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craftypalette likes this
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jessfurrow reblogged this from saravee and added:
I just started a 1 year unpaid internship this week and I’m not sure how I’m going to manage 25+ hours a week of it and...
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philipgirvan answered:
Upaid internship : indentured servitude
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anxietiesandstrategies likes this
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seesheflies likes this
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samriedel answered:
As an writer, I have enough problems with people undervaluing my skills as it is. I’d rather not compete with slave wages.
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quarter-lifeuncertaincies answered:
My student teaching cost $12k in tuition. With no $$ from family & limited to 10/hrs of work a week, I relied on loans that now drag me down.
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spiritsdesirespiritsattain said:
that same luxury.
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spiritsdesirespiritsattain answered:
Yes! I’m fortunate enough that money is not a huge problem for me so I am unable to work an unpaid internship. I know many who cannot afford
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saravee reblogged this from iamlittlei and added:
My students usually felt sorry for me and thought I was absolutely insane when they asked if I was getting paid to...
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