Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

at an advantage

Knowing that they provide important experience, networking possibilities and resume fodder, I’ve toyed with the idea of pursuing various internships — from working for newspapers to working on the Hill — since undergrad. But I mostly ruled out such opportunities because of their cost: Oftentimes, good internships pay little-to-nothing, yet require so many hours that having a second job that pays a livable wage is a difficult if not impossible balancing act.

The New York Times reported this week that, particularly in highly competitive fields, the ability to take on unpaid internships is giving candidates with financial means (families who will pay for their living expenses) a decided advantage over potential applicants who come from lower- and middle-class families. (“Crucial Unpaid Internships Increasingly Separate the Haves From the Have-Nots” - 08/10/04)

But as internships rise in importance as critical milestones along the path to success, questions are emerging about whether they are creating a class system that discriminates against students from less affluent families who have to turn down unpaid internships to earn money for college expenses.

“It’s something that really makes me nuts,” said Cokie Roberts, an ABC News correspondent who spoke out about the problem on Capitol Hill several weeks ago at a gathering of Congressional interns. “By setting up unpaid internship programs, it seems to me that without completely recognizing it, it sets up a system where you are making it ever more difficult for people who don’t have economic advantages to catch up.” …

While half of internships nationwide are paid or have at least a small stipend, according to national surveys conducted by Vault, unpaid internships are concentrated in the most competitive fields, like politics, television and film.

“The more glamorous an internship, the less likely it is paid,” Mr. Oldman said. “Washington in general has high-demand internships. In most cases they don’t have to pay or they don’t have to pay much.”

The White House does not pay the hundred-plus interns who work there during the summer. The Supreme Court does not pay its undergraduate interns, who work 12 to 16 weeks, although in some cases it will give a $1,000 scholarship. And a vast majority of Congressional offices do not pay the 4,000 summer interns who pass through Capitol Hill, though a few, mostly on the Senate side, provide a limited stipend. Congressional offices once each received $3,000 to pay summer interns, but the money was eliminated by budget cuts in the 1990’s…

The high cost of housing in Washington helps widen the gap between the haves and have-nots in the internship world here.