Summer is rapidly approaching, and with it, internship season looms in the near future.  However, internships are often inaccessible to many who can’t work at unpaid opportunities.  

Not all SU students are privileged enough to afford time away from a paid job, and many students depend on scholarships and jobs to afford career-paving opportunities. Nationally, 63.3% of undergraduate students receive some type of grant, according to the 2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. This means that the same percent of undergraduates need financial support to pay for school. 

Unpaid internships are a possibility for people whose families can support them, but that’s not a reality for many, especially people of marginalized communities and low-income individuals, said Syracuse University sophomore Lucia Galeano. 

“There are more important things that you can be spending your money on right now than just moving to a new city and doing an internship for a company that might not even give you a job afterwards,” Galeano said. 

Interning for a company is a big-time commitment. Not everyone can afford to go without income for an extended period of time. SU students need jobs to pay for tuition. Not only is it unrealistic for some to afford a few months of an unpaid internship, but it may also put them in a difficult situation when it’s time to pay for their tuition. By dedicating time to the internship, they’re not earning the monthly income that keeps them capable of paying tuition.

But the issue of affording an internship goes beyond that. The most desirable internships are often offered in New York City, San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., which tend to have a higher standard of living. The income for people in those cities is higher, so rent, utilities and food have higher costs compared to smaller cities. This can make it hard for students who not only lose their income for three months but also have to spend money on living in an expensive city. 

“I really would have liked to work in D.C. as an intern, but there was just no way of me being able to do it, even if it was a paid internship, because it’s just unrealistic,” Galeano said.

COVID-19 has financially impacted many families, including those of SU students. When a student is applying for an internship, they may be forced to decline just because it’s unpaid. Affording an internship may be harder for more people now than it was a few years ago.

Even online internship opportunities are also designed for people with privilege. Going through an internship online implies that a student has a stable WiFi connection, a laptop and pricey applications to participate. There is also the need for a quiet working space, which, again, is not a reality for many people. 

The whole system of internships works on the assumption that students have the finances and resources to supply themselves with everything necessary for the job. 

“I honestly think it’s a scam because you’re basically working for free. And what are you getting? Just something that you can put on your resume for a company to maybe hire you in the future,” Galeano said.

Only 43.7% of graduates who had an unpaid internship were offered a job, while 66.4% of graduates with paid internships received a job offer, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Class of 2019 Student Survey.

A student just like you and me might do everything they can to find resources for an unpaid internship, only to end up jobless after graduation. The accessibility of internships needs to improve, otherwise it’s a luxury not everyone can afford. 

Polina Plitchenko is a junior psychology major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at pplitche@syr.edu.

Published on April 5, 2021 at 12:25 am