Ford modelling agency, that says it all. Its the "media" industry, where contacts, bribes, kickbacks are more important then your grades.
Really, you can get college interns working for free from you from the States now in Singapore for 4-8 months...
Here's a more recent article:
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/loc...cle_3f48d96a-c28d-5b16-a6a6-1ba791bf150a.html
Unpaid college internships are on the rise
TODD FINKELMEYER | The Capital Times |
[email protected] | Posted: Sunday, May 2, 2010 5:00 am
Would you accept a job offer if you knew you weren’t going to get paid?
For a good number of college students hoping to get their foot in the door, the answer is “absolutely.”
“For me, it’s better to have an unpaid internship than no internship at all,” says Max Appelbaum, a UW-Madison junior who will be spending a second straight summer in New York working as an unpaid public relations intern.
That’s because internships, paid or not, are valuable experiences.
According to a 2009 National Association of Colleges and Employers report, new college graduates who had taken part in internships fared far better in the job market than those who hadn’t. The NACE survey found that 23 percent of those with internships who graduated in 2009 had a job in hand by April. For those who didn’t, just 14 percent had landed jobs by that time.
Yet, some are starting to question if businesses that offer unpaid internships are merely exploiting ambitious college students to help their bottom line during the economic downturn. The topic started garnering national attention in early April when the New York Times posted an article noting that “with job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships has climbed in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.”
In response to the media attention, the U.S. Department of Labor recently released a “fact sheet” that outlines whether interns must be paid. It’s a subject those working in career services positions across the UW-Madison campus are paying attention to these days.
“It’s a complex situation, but our office is following this closely,” says Pam Garcia-Rivera, the assistant director of career services for UW-Madison’s College of Letters and Science. “Nobody wants somebody to be taken advantage of. But it works both ways — students get to explore new career options and, depending on the internship and the work load and learning opportunities, it can be very valuable to both sides.”
An additional kink is that nearly all employers offering unpaid internships now are asking that students receive credit for the experience. Companies are being told by their lawyers — perhaps incorrectly — that if a student is receiving credit for an internship, the firm is under no legal obligation to pay at least minimum wage.
UW-Madison students dislike this because in order to receive academic credit, they generally have to write a paper about their experience. Worse yet, they have to cough up tuition and fees to pay for a single-credit course — $392 for a state resident at UW-Madison during the summer, and $1,007 for an out-of-stater.
“It’s one thing to be willing to intern for no money, but it’s another thing to have to pay to work,” says Appelbaum.
The prospect of having to settle for an unpaid internship is greater in some majors than others.
Steve Schroeder, an assistant dean for undergraduate programs in the School of Business, says that most business-related internships are paid. “Internships are really a major part of a company’s recruitment strategy today,” he says. “Companies are paying these (business) students because they want to test-drive them for 10 to 12 weeks to see if they want to make them a job offer. And from a company’s perspective, although there are exceptions, if they want the best interns they have to pay them.”
Similarly, John Archambault, an assistant dean for student development in UW-Madison’s College of Engineering, says his college requires all intern positions to be paid. Although the number of internships has dipped due to the recession, he says it’s “extremely rare” that a company will even inquire about posting an unpaid position. “For 30 years or more, getting paid has always been a fundamental component of engineering internships,” he says.
But those pursuing degrees in many other fields aren’t as fortunate.
Robert Schwoch, the undergraduate adviser in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, says more than half of the internships posted through his office are unpaid; that percentage, he adds, is climbing as the recession continues.
“I’m concerned because, due to the economy, students and their parents are becoming less and less willing to take an unpaid internship and pay for the credit that those internships require,” he says. “It’s a double-whammy and it’s a particular problem in journalism because the industry is really struggling and fewer are able to pay their interns. That’s an apprenticeship type of profession where you really need to gain experience.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are certain circumstances under which those who participate in for-profit, private-sector internships don’t have to be paid.
When making that determination, six criteria must be applied: the internship is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment; the internship is for the benefit of the intern; the intern doesn’t displace regular employees; the employer derives no immediate advantage; the intern isn’t necessarily entitled to a job after the internship; and the intern agrees he or she won’t be paid.
If all these factors are met, an “employment relationship” doesn’t exist under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and an internship doesn’t have to be paid. These guidelines don’t apply to those doing internships with nonprofits or government agencies — such as Gov. Jim Doyle’s Internship Program, which is non-paying and not for credit.
It’s the first criterion — that an internship be similar to training in an educational environment — that leads many companies to insist that a student receive academic credit for unpaid internships. The thought is if a student gets credit, it’s an educational experience.
But Schwoch says that’s faulty logic. UW-Madison, he says, doesn’t award credit for taking part in an internship — it only gives credit for academic study. The College of Letters and Science has set up an online summer internship course, which must be supervised by a faculty member and is graded on academic work, generally in the form of a paper that analyzes the internship experience. Others who intern set up a one-credit independent study course with a professor to meet employers’ desires.
“So it’s a misconception on the part of employers that students are getting credit for the job they’re doing,” says Schwoch. “They’re not. At least not at UW-Madison. The student is getting credit for the academic work they’re doing that’s related to the internship.”
Some students wonder if UW-Madison couldn’t do more to help ease the financial burden on those who accept unpaid internships. Appelbaum says some of the financial strains could be eliminated if students who intern over the summer could complete their one-credit class during the fall semester — when students taking anywhere from 12 to 18 credits all are charged the same lump sum of tuition and fees.
“I get that some are trying to stop companies from using unpaid labor,” says Appelbaum. “But then what happens is kids end up paying to work, so you’re actually hurting the same people you’re trying to help.”
These added costs and additional schoolwork are why some still jump at the chance to take an unpaid internship without the credit — if an employer is willing to take the legal risk.
“I was told my internship was credit-optional, so I went without the credit,” says Nick Daar, a December graduate of UW-Madison’s School of Business who spent last summer in an unpaid internship with a local company that provides financial planning services for Americans living abroad. “I figured one credit wasn’t going to help me out a lot, so doing it for credit just seemed like more trouble than it was worth.”
A 2008 survey produced by the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicates that 50 percent of graduating students self-report that they had an internship during their college years. According to the New York Times, that’s roughly a three-fold increase from 1992.
Although there is no solid data available through UW-Madison, published estimates indicate between 25 and 50 percent of these internships are unpaid nationally.
Justin Mozer, a UW-Madison sophomore who plans to apply to the Journalism School, currently is working in a paid internship with UW Athletic Communications. Although he is only making minimum wage, he says “it’s one of the best things” he could do because he is considering going into sports-writing or public relations.
This summer, Mozer will head to Los Angeles for an unpaid internship with Dick Clark Productions, an independent producer of television programming. “Now I can find out if Hollywood is my angle or if I enjoy television. I think it’ll be worth it because it’ll expose me to new things.”
Appelbaum, who took an unpaid internship with Motown Records last summer and will do the same with Nielsen Media Research this summer, is on the same page: “Strategic communications covers a large range of jobs and I’m trying to feel my way through that and figure out exactly what I want to do with my life. So these real world experiences are the only way to get a feel for what a job is really going to be like.”
Mozer admits to being “very lucky” in that he is receiving a lot of financial help from his family to pay for college, and he is aware of the advantage that gives them. “Your socio-economic background definitely comes into play,” says Mozer. “I come from a well-off family, so working is actually more a way to get some good experience. I’m worried about those who, if they don’t get paid for an internship, won’t be able to afford to do it.”
Daar, who received financial support from his grandparents, agrees.
“I had the benefit of being able to spend a summer where I wasn’t necessarily getting paid,” he says. “But a lot of people don’t have that luxury and it’s a problem where everybody who can afford it is building up their resume and those who can’t are falling behind.”
In an effort to address this issue, Garcia-Rivera says the College of Letters and Science is slowly growing a summer internship scholarship. This year, her department is awarding five $5,000 awards, and two $2,250 scholarships.
“It’s just a way we can help some level the playing field,” she says.
一家金融公司招聘1年无薪实习生，遭一些网友痛批有欠公平。（图/翻拍自网络）
