Sunday, August 25, 2013

Working for Nothing

If you are like one of the many recent college grads, you are probably still looking for a job or have taken an unpaid internship. The unpaid internship may include answering internet phone calls and even taking out the trash. Unpaid internships are, at best, ethically iffy. A necessary precursor to jobs in certain fields, they act as both a gateway and a barrier to entry. Young people believe they have no choice. Anyone unable to forgo pay risks being shut out. Legally, they’re murky. The Labor Department holds that unpaid internships in the nonprofit sector are “generally permissible." Interestingly enough, the Labor Department does not, for example, routinely monitor job boards for suspicious ads. Nor have lawmakers on Capitol Hill tried to draw attention to the culture of unpaid internships, with task forces or hearings or education campaigns. Have you ever been in this position?

4 comments:

  1. Unpaid internships for anything is unfair. Even if it is just answering phone services like emails.

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  2. Answering emails and internet faxes for an internship and not getting paid is part of life.

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  3. You should look outside of the box for a job, and do not limit yourself to emails and internet fax for applications. Sometimes you can just walk right in.

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  4. Software development is the best field to get into even with an internship. It will take you far.

    ReplyDelete