Should I Feel Guilty That I Can Afford An Unpaid Internship?

No one would ever walk up to a friend on financial aid and accuse her parents of being lazy, good-for-nothing, bad parents for not making enough money to send her to college. Yet people feel completely comfortable going up to a friend with an unpaid internship and accusing her of being a spoiled brat because she’s fortunate enough to be able to afford spending a summer making no money.

Don’t think that’s true? Just read the comments on almost any internship post on this site (like this one or this one).

I had two unpaid internships in NYC and I can’t even count the number of times people told me “it’s ridiculous that your parents are just letting you live in the city and make no money.” But was it ridiculous? In today’s world you’re expected to graduate with internship experience and if my parents decided to spend their hard-earned money paying for me to live in NYC and reach my dreams, was it wrong for me to take that opportunity? Should I have spent my summer waitressing instead? I don’t want to come off like a whiny bitch, but I want some answers on why I should feel bad that my family can afford this. Isn’t complaining about unpaid internships the same as complaining to a friend when her family goes on a week long resort vacation?

Everyone can choose how they want to spend their money and my parents chose to forgo fancy family vacations and buying me designer clothes so that I could get the most out of my college education. I appreciated how fortunate I was every day and I did work menial jobs part-time during my summer internships to make money for the school year, but that never stopped people from making accusations.

While I completely agree with the fact that the unpaid internship system is completely unfair because it gives well-off kids yet another career advantage that their other classmates can’t afford, I also think it’s unfair to expect people to not take these internships. And I don’t think it’s fair to make people feel guilty because they happen to be fortunate (assuming they’re not arrogant and entitled and making Facebook statuses that say “living off my parents”).

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Comments

[fem56]

12:59 PM on 06/21/2011

There are always going to be some that will criticize. Understandably people get jealous. That is life. In my opinion the best way to deal with the guilt that arises is to some day offer paid internships to worthy students.

[larararara]

11:17 AM on 06/21/2011

I wouldn't feel guilty because everyone has an option to intern. I pay my own tuition and living expenses, and I was still able to balance work, school, and an internship. Students with parents that pay for everything may not have to work as hard or sacrifice as much, but in the end the experience will be more beneficial to those that had to make it work on their own.
I agree unpaid internships are a bit of a scam, but I don't blame students, I blame the corporations that offer the internships. If a student doesn't have an internship on their resume at graduation they are not going to be tough enough against their competition. In addition, internships offer an opportunity for students they otherwise would not get if they had to be full time paid employees.

[WriterInThePink]

09:09 AM on 06/21/2011

I think everyone has to pay their dues. However, at the same time interns should be protected under workplace laws. Many companies take advantage of interns and have them do entry level work that a normal person would be paid for. I've had several unpaid internships in addition to working on campus to make money to afford to live. It's not easy. Working for "credit" or "experience" has it's limits. At the end of the day, I'm paying for the credits and "experience" doesn't pay the bills. I think after a certain amount, its time to say enough and start paying me. Unfortunately, with the economy the way it is... people will continue to exploit unpaid work.

[Carl Brown]

09:23 PM on 06/20/2011

No one should feel guilty for the circumstances they were born into.

Someone, however, should feel guilty for the fact that you (and many other people) will do for-profit work for no money. I'm guessing it's the moronic hiring managers out there who place value on you sitting in that dreary cubicle in the picture above and pushing papers around, doing mindless, ridiculous work because there's a nice name attached to it, rather than actually making money and paying bills if at a far less glamorous position.

[bluepink]

09:07 PM on 06/20/2011

No, you shouldn't feel guilty. There are many country club no-gooders where I live, but that doesn't mean my parents did well in life. In fact, they are probably failures compared to 75% of America. But that's ok, because you have one life to live, you do what you want to do. An unpaid internship may be nice for future use, but after maybe a yr. no one will probably care. My parents couldn't afford to send me to a top 10 school based on World ranking(not an Ivy or Stanford), but that's ok. There are plenty of people whose parents work menial job...you just have to do better (for all those who aren't lucky like the individual writing the post). Do your best in life, go start something, even if it doesnt make money--it's good for a resume! Work hard, make money, and have rich kids blow you! There is no way models will date you unless you have $$$! It's a fact of life.

[frank day]

09:02 PM on 06/20/2011

Just having parents to pay for your tuition already makes you privileged.

Enjoy your advantages. Just remember to be humble and to treat those

less fortunate with respect.

[Maac]

04:40 PM on 06/20/2011

I meant "a" job?

LOL! Not making fat finger errors like this!

[Maac]

04:39 PM on 06/20/2011

I'm doing an unpaid internship this summer. 150 hours now and 150 hours this fall. I graduate in December 2011. And I'm 50+.

Think I'll get at job?

[ritgar]

04:08 PM on 06/20/2011

Don't feel bad at all if this is what you need to get where you want to go. My son did an unpaid internship and it led to a great job in the #1 place and field he wanted. Sometimes you just have to do it. It wasn't easy for us to afford, but it was well worth it. Not everyone can afford it, even scrimping & saving, but it was worth all of the effort.

[BinghamLofts]

03:34 PM on 06/20/2011

nonone should work for free. internships are slave labor. would the plantation owners have said, "well, tobey here is learning valuable experience in the cotton fields.' didn't think so...

[TheAdvertainers]

03:27 PM on 06/20/2011

I think it's unfortunate that you would gladly accept an unpaid internship, therefore, furthering a growing and ridiculous trend that people should work for free, even if it is for experience. The college system is also propitiating this negative return scenario. Why don't you do us all a favor and ask for some money....pretty soon everyone will work for experience? Your college education was worth more than that! Or was it?

[nemoroman]

02:56 PM on 06/20/2011

I don't think there should be guilt involved, it's your decision, but here are a couple things to consider. You're not necessarily advancing your career because you're better than your competition, so, it's likely more qualified people had to turn it down. You should also realize that once you get to the top of whatever ladder you're climbing, you didn't achieve the same thing a person who had to support themselves had. And, finally, consider if a boycott on unpaid work might put a dent a company's desire to exchange experience for labor.

All that being said, still, go for it. There are very few people who wouldn't take advantage of opportunities their parents grant them, Hollywood is full of such cases. But I don't mean that to be cynical, for every 10 whiners out there, 9 would probably snatch up the unpaid internship if given the same financial support.

[EmboldenedOlden]

02:55 PM on 06/20/2011

Just enjoy having your privileges in life. You don't get to both have them *and* complain about it too. Just accept having been born to the parents and situation you have and move on. If the worst thing for you is that people talk badly about your privileges in life, then your life is probably good enough that you can live with that.

[6p023E23]

02:09 PM on 06/20/2011

Unpaid internship. you mean you are working w/o pay?
Cool! At least you are working!!! God bless You.
There are many generational welfare queens who never work but get paid.

[EmboldenedOlden]

02:56 PM on 06/20/2011

What do you actually know about welfare queens? You seem to be parroting a long-debunked myth about the system.

[6p023E23]

04:01 PM on 06/20/2011

I know them all, I see them daily. you want to come to Baltimore?

[Deep77]

02:09 PM on 06/20/2011

Those with unpaid internships shouldn't feel guilty. You do what you got to do to get ahead. If you have the good fortune of having supportive parents, or are able to survive with a weekend job, then go for it. However there are a lot of intelligent, hard working students who just can't afford to have an unpaid internship. These students are going to be at a serious disadvantage when they graduate, because they have neither the work experience nor connections to make them compete in the job market. Most of these students don't come from well off families, most of them are struggling to make ends meet. A good internship could be the difference between them struggling after graduation or lifting themselves and their family to a better life. Fortunately some colleges offer work study money to unpaid interns, but even that won't be enough to cover bills.

The ones who should be guilty about unpaid internships are the companies that offer them. Many of these companies can offer millions upon millions to their incompetent CEO's, they save millions by shutting down operations here and moving them overseas, yet they cannot come up with $15/hr to help out a hard working goal oriented college student who may possibly one day be a valuable asset to the company! Come on!