Yesterday, the U.S. honored its working men and women by giving them a day off from their daily toils and celebrating their effort. On Labor Day, it is also important to remember the student laborers who contribute to America’s workforce. While these workers and interns are receiving an opportunity to pick up real world skills during college, a large number of them are also facing difficult conditions due to the prevalence of unpaid jobs.
Though the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not keep records on the number of paid and unpaid internships, it is clear that a sizable number of GW students take unpaid internships to complement their education and gain valuable experience that will presumably help them once they enter the real world. The abundance of uncompensated positions in the D.C. area may be beneficial for many at the University, but they also put pressure on some students who require an income for living expenses. Without pay, many students are unable to afford these opportunities to gain useful experience in their field.
In many cases, the lack of a salary for intern positions could be considered unfair. These include situations in which students are counted upon to do the work of well-paid, full-time employees. Furthermore, students from lower-income families may require a job providing some source of income. These individuals may be forced to opt for a paid service job instead of an unpaid position that may provide better experience for their future careers.
The great equalizer in this equation may be the fact that students have the opportunity to receive college credit for their work experience. This form of compensation may also be viewed as somewhat unfair, however, since students at GW and many other schools must pay tuition for those credit hours. In essence, they are paying for work, not working for pay. Further exacerbating this issue is that federal financial aid programs often cannot be applied to summer studies, a common option for college students.
The University has certain operating needs and requires money to support the faculty and staff that make for-credit internships possible. A student receiving credit for a job experience, however, commonly receives a minimum amount of guidance and advising throughout the duration of their employment. Several departments simply require that interns write a paper about their work experience at the end of the semester and provide little opportunity for student interaction outside that paper.
If the University is to continue charging per-credit hour tuition for those seeking internship credits, it ought to consider expanding the services available to such students. Doing so would help interns get more bang for their buck and also improve the overall academic quality of the University.
GW is in a unique position because it is in a city with a wealth of employment opportunity for students seeking experience. A number of highly skilled professors at the University also hold jobs at various organizations in the public and private sectors throughout the city and are knowledgeable about the real world working conditions in their respective disciplines. These professors could be used to provide increased hands-on guidance to interns throughout the University, thus fostering the possibility for a more worthwhile internship experience for many students. Frequent meetings between internship coordinators and students, along with more in-depth projects pertaining to a certain job posting, would make the tuition required for internship credits far more worthwhile.
If the University is unable or unwilling to implement a more rigorous guidance program for students seeking credit for their jobs, then it should consider lessening the charges that students pay for their internship credit hours. This would perhaps help some students, especially those who have a more difficult time financially.
No matter what course of action is chosen, something should be done to help ease the burden that students interning throughout the city face. An expanded intern academic and advising program should accompany the current tuition fees that these students pay for their job credits. While it is unlikely that the offices hiring students during the school year and the summer will do much to change the current situation in the near future, the University can take the first step in making interning more accessible for all students.
