What would happen if I had this conversation with the neighborhood kid who stopped by to ask if he could mow my yard?
Neighborhood Kid: “Hey mister, would you like me to mow your yard?”
Me: “That’s a great idea. And I have an even better idea. How about you mow my lawn for free? Every week for the whole summer. In exchange, you’ll get some super valuable experience in both mowing lawns and in developing an entrepreneurial business. Plus, I will give you a great reference.”
I can tell you how the conversation would end …
Neighborhood Kid: “@#$% you.”
Kids these days! Where do they learn that kind of language? Probably from Old Man Thomason (that’s me) yelling at them to stay off my @#%$^&* lawn. However, that’s really their parent’s fault for not raising them to stay off other people’s lawns.
None-the-less, that is the right answer. “@#%$ you.”
A few months back, I interviewed a young engineer for an internship. I noticed a previous internship at another local company on his resume and asked about it.
“It was an unpaid internship but it was great. I learned a lot. I implemented an interface to collect real-time data from mechanical systems and pump it into a time series database so customers could monitor their equipment.”
Umm … unpaid? And yet you implemented a feature for this company that would be a selling point for their system integration?
Are you @#%$^&* kidding me?
Interns Help Companies Make Money
For-profit companies (see the section below titled “The Exception – Non-Profit Organizations”) are in business to make money. Hence, the words “for-profit” in their description.
Students come into these companies with valuable skills. Yes, they need training and education. And, as argued by an article on recruiter.com, interns often cost companies money.
“In fact, unpaid interns actually cost money for companies and can reduce the productivity of other (paid) employees. Given the time paid members of staff must dedicate to training, educating, and monitoring unpaid interns — not to mention the cost of desk space, light, heat, water, and other overheads — unpaid internships are not a profitable exercise whatsoever.”
To be fair, most of the time, new employees are not profitable, either. It generally takes a while to get a new engineer up to speed and turning a profit for the company. The nice thing with an internship is that it’s a low-cost, “try before you buy” experience when shopping for employees.
Interns provide value to the company through their work. If they don’t, you’re not using them correctly.
All Work and No Pay Makes Living Tough
During their internships, interns need to:
- Have a place to live
- Eat
- Get to and from work
Unless their parents are paying their bills, unpaid internships make the simple act of living difficult.
No one is asking that interns be paid the same as full engineers. At least I hope no one is asking for that. Maybe the interns are but, as mentioned above, maybe they still need a little education. However, it’s not unreasonable to provide a fair wage that enables them to live and function at a company without the stress of “how will I eat tomorrow” hanging over their heads.
For-profit enterprises (again, see the section below regarding non-profits,) are in the business of making money. All of those involved in helping the process should be rewarded. Despite that, companies still try to get labor for free and exchange for “valuable experience.”
According to a 2016 story in the Guardian, nearly half of the 1.5 million internships in the United States are unpaid. And from a 2013 story, even billionaire Sheryl Sandberg (of Facebook and Lean In fame) tried to get an unpaid intern for her organization, LeanIn.org. To their credit, they reversed that decision and hired a paid intern instead.
The Exception – Non-Profit Organizations
I will give a pass to internships offered by non-profit organizations. Working for a non-profit organization is a rewarding and worthwhile experience. Using your engineering skills in service of such an organization will aid in building a network while also providing a valuable experience (as mentioned in my previous article Volunteer Service = Professional Growth.)
However, even nonprofits need to be cautious. The Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act has a little something to say about the legitimacy of unpaid internships at nonprofits. Not all unpaid internships are legal.
And, to be fair, the above-mentioned internship for Sandberg’s was for the non-profit organization LeanIn.org. However, in that instance, based upon the description of the work as well as the fact that Lean In is synonymous with Sheryl Sandberg and its work will always further her reputation, I don’t think the unpaid internship was fair. And, fortunately, neither did Sandberg and Lean In.
Final Takeaway
Both the company and the intern receive valuable experience. The company previews a potential employee without a long-term hiring commitment. The intern learns from experienced engineers and applies their skills in real-world scenarios that college can’t provide. That’s an even trade.
Both the company and the intern receive valuable connections. Company employees are exposed to promising young talent who might shape the future of the industry while the intern gets to know people well ahead of them on the career path. Again, an even trade.
But in an unpaid situation, the company comes out well ahead as interns work to develop valuable projects that aid the for-profit companies in their quest to remain for profits.
Of course, as comedian Dennis Miller used to say, “That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”
Author: Tracy Thomason
Agile project manager by day, craft beer drinker by night, and avid reader anytime I can get 5 minutes alone with my Kindle.
More posts by Tracy
Featured photo by Andrew Khoroshavin from Pixabay
Lawnmower photo by Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay
Sandberg photo from LeanIn.org