No, interns do not deserve salary

 

I have things to say when it comes to the issue of internships. It’s something that I find quite close to my heart for several reasons.

First of all, I have done internships when I was studying. Secondly, I have supervised students who had to do their internships and have been placed under my charge at work. Thirdly, I also have many students who are at the point in their studies when they have to do internships.

The issue recently raised in the public sphere is that there has been a demand, mainly by those who have to do internships, that there needs to be fair financial compensation for interns by companies and organisations that take them on. I have a little bit of beef when it comes to this because I feel that an internship is not a job where service is done in exchange for an agreed financial fee.

I run a company and have also been under full-time employment and the difference is that I have a set of skills that are needed by whoever hires me and hence I charge a fee for it. I do the work and they pay for it. However, an internship is not a job. Someone who applies for an internship needs it and the company or organisation that they apply to is providing them what is needed.

A student at a university is studying to obtain an education. In many tertiary education programmes, an internship is part of it because the student needs to gain that education. The supply in demand is the opposite. The student needs the experience and the company is providing that experience. If anything at all, the student needs to pay the company for being allowed to learn.

If you were going to enrol on a university or school to learn something, you would expect to pay a fee because you want them to give you a service and an education. So that is what you’re paying for. An internship is just that - a learning experience that you apply for. You wouldn’t go to university to study and then demand that the university pays you for attending classes, right?

I did my internship at two places during my student days. A couple of weeks at CNBC Europe and another couple of weeks at Discovery Channel Europe, both in London.

Both places did not pay me any money at all. But these companies did allow me to keep all of my receipts and claim everything I spent on accommodation, transport and food during the whole duration of the internship.

I learnt so much. When I arrived, my first task was to arrange a cupboard full of tapes in alphabetical order. It was a menial task, I know. But what did I expect? I was a student who had almost no working experience as a journalist.

But slowly, I transitioned to more significant tasks like taking minutes during editorial meetings to writing scripts and finally was even given the chance to mock run in front of the camera.

Proper internship programme

In my honest opinion, and you can call me a boomer if you want to (even though I was born in the 70s), but students these days are asking a little bit too much when they demand for an actual salary to be an intern. They are interns. Not qualified professionals yet.

Don’t make me go back to the same rant from the first six paragraphs above! That’s how much I am annoyed about this issue of paying interns a salary!

With that being said, I also actually believe that companies and organisations that do offer internships to students need to have proper internship programmes in place. The students are right. They are not cheap or free labour.

These companies need to realise that if they do offer internships, it is a responsibility to educate these students and, basically, give back to the industry and also develop it with new talent.

If these companies offer internships to exploit students, then these companies need to be blacklisted. Universities and students should not be applying to these companies, and if possible, spread the word that these are exploitative companies so that others will be aware. If anything, the discussion in the public sphere should be about creating awareness about what internships are.

When I take interns under my wing, there is a set structure that I go through with the students and with their supervising lecturers. It details out what are the tasks that they would have to do throughout the internship duration that helps to contribute to their learning experience. There would also be regular check-ins with the students and their lecturers to make sure everything is going fine.

And again, with that being said, although I don’t believe that interns should be paid a salary, I think that a basic allowance is only fair.

At the end of the day, if the internship is done properly, these interns would be doing real industry work. As much as the students will be gaining an education, the company also gains extra manpower and talent. It should be a win-win situation for all. Clear as that. - Mkini

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ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. The Sheraton Move frustrated him but maybe after November 2022, he can start feeling better again. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.