Paid Vs. Unpaid Internships
Should you take an unpaid internship? It’s a question students, their colleges and their families debate. Will it make a difference in a job search later? The answer, according to a new study from the National Association of Colleges and Employers is unclear.
The study released today shows a clear benefit to having a paid internship. Approximately 60% of 2012 college graduates who took part in paid internships received at least one offer.
The study also found that college graduates who had unpaid internships fared only slightly better than graduates who had not interned at all.Thirty-seven percent of unpaid interns received job offers; 36 percent of graduates with no internship experience received job offers.
“These results are consistent with what we saw last year with the Class of 2011,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “Students with a paid internship have a decided advantage in the job market over those who did an unpaid internship or didn’t didn’t have an internship at all.”
Although there are other factors that influence th job offer rate, the study also suggests that differences in the type of work undertaken by paid and unpaid interns contribute to the discrepancy in job offers.
“Paid interns spend much of their time engaged in ‘real’ work; employers prize that kind of hands-on experience. Conversely, unpaid interns spend more time on clerical tasks and less on the type of duties that employers value,” says Mackes.
The question of whether an unpaid internship pays off in the long run, appears to be inconclusive.
Tags: college graduates, college students, National Association of Colleges and Employers, paid internships, unpaid internships
