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Never, ever pay for an internship
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If you haven’t heard about it already from the Wall Street Journal, there is a disturbing new trend in organizations offering internships for hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars. Yes, that’s right—students (or more likely, their parents) are paying companies for the privilege of interning at their organizations.
I find this flawed on so many levels, it’s hard to know where to begin. It’s one thing to have an unpaid internship, which I’ve already encouraged you to consider as long as you have enough time left during the week for a paying gig. But, it’s an entirely different matter to pay University of Dreams $5,000 to $9,000 for an eight-week internship.
Internships, which ultimately lead to jobs because of the experience you’ve gained and the networking contacts you’ve made, should not only be offered to the elite. It’s bad enough these practices happen at colleges and universities around the country, but now internships, too?
It’s hard to say how wide-spread this trend actually is, although the Wall Street Journal also reports there are “consulting companies” jumping onboard this train, like Fast Track Internships where you can pay again hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars for “guaranteed internship offers.”
In a recent interview with Patrice J. Lee, media relations manager at The Fund for American Studies, she offered other options for students who want great experiences but may not be able to afford shelling out that kind of money.
1. Referrals are sometimes better than cold calls. With demand for internships at a premium, sending out your résumé alone may not be enough. That’s where networking helps, but if you have no network, an established internship program can help. They have relationships with companies/organizations that have sponsored their interns before and will be more accepting of a referred candidate then a complete stranger. For example, at The Fund for American Studies, we have access to hundreds of high-demand internship sites around Washington, DC, like the State Department, Chamber of Commerce, Washington Post, Fox News, General Electric, Time Magazine and USA Today.
2. Know the difference between paying for an internship and paying for an educational program. Students should never have to pay for an internship. When applying to an educational internship program, costs are usually for tuition and housing. At The Fund for American Studies, our program fees cover academic credits through Georgetown University, housing and program activities. We never charge to place a student at an internship site. (Note: To add to Lee’s statement, this is akin to doing an internship for credit at your school, where you have to pay the tuition costs but receive up to three credit hours toward your degree.)
3. Look for scholarships. Scholarships exist that can help fund your summer/semester working. At The Fund for American Studies, we offer $1,000,000 in scholarships each year (with average awards of $2,100 during the summer and $4,500 during semesters) to help defray the costs of our programs.
4. Apply your financial aid. Look for programs at universities or legitimate educational organizations that allow you to earn credit hours while interning. At The Fund for American Studies, we establish consortium agreements with students’ colleges, and the students can then utilize their financial aid to pay for our academic internship program.
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