With the summer internship season fast approaching, Bowdoin students may be at a disadvantage since the College usually will not give academic credit for such internships. In addition, unpaid internships are facing new scrutiny nationally about whether or not they are in violation of federal labor laws and are realistic educational experiences for students on financial aid.
"I considered an internship," said Anthony Carrasquillo '07, "but none of them in my area really paid, and I wanted to take a summer course at Tufts." Eventually, Carrasquillo decided to return to his summer job as a lifeguard for Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts.
He would most likely be unable to get college credit for any internship he might find. According to Career Planning Center (CPC) Coordinator for Programs and Operations Martha Janeway, receiving credit is "typically very hard to do at Bowdoin, unless something is worked out with a professor or department. But credit is typically not given for internships."
Unpaid internships also present a problem for some Bowdoin students who receive financial aid packages. The College requires students make at least $2,000 over the summer to cover some college expenses.
"There is a huge [socioeconomic] disparity among students who take internships because students on aid need to come back with a certain amount of money and most internships just don't pay," said CPC Assistant Director James Westoff. "So if they do accept one, they sometimes will work on the side."
According to a recent USA Today article, nearly 60 percent of unpaid summer interns come from households earning more than $100,000 a year.
"Most unpaid interns have parents who can underwrite the summer," wrote USA Today contributor Laura Vanderkam. "With interns you get what you pay for."
Since only 20 percent of the nation's college students come from an income bracket of $100,000 or more, many college students simply cannot afford unpaid internships. What many companies have yet to realize, however, is that by not compensating interns through a salary or stipend, they may in fact be overlooking very bright, capable, and skilled students who do not want unpaid internships.
The situation's effect on Bowdoin is unclear. According to the CPC, 60 to 70 percent of Bowdoin seniors completed at least one internship since their first year at Bowdoin. However, the CPC doesn't break those numbers down by race, socioeconomic background, or gender, which could reveal disparities among different Bowdoin student populations. When asked if the CPC had ever considered doing so, Westoff said, "No, it was really never something we thought about, but it is a very good idea."
There is also much controversy surrounding issues of whether or not unpaid internships are illegal. On collegerecruiter.com Carol Anderson of the Career Development Placement Office of New School University said, "Unpaid internships are common and legal. The premise is that as an intern, you are not yet an 'up-to-speed' professional and will need more supervision and training, and deliver less value to the organization, than an already competent employee."
Labor laws specify that interns do not have to receive a salary if their input does not provide any meaningful, immediate benefit to the company. Many of the duties that unpaid interns are assigned are administrative tasks such as photocopying, running errands and answering telephones.
Other labor law experts contend that unpaid internships that have interns doing menial assignments are illegal. They say that companies do derive a benefit from summer interns, thus making them illegal. Since neither a student nor a company is likely to gain much by filing a lawsuit, however, there has been little litigation about the issue.
Westoff isn't sure companies should be blamed for not paying their interns.
"I think that with today's economy, many places, especially non-profits, just can't afford to pay interns," he said. With the recent recession many non-profit companies aren't receiving as much funding by way of grants. For-profit companies are becoming more fiscally conservative and paid internships have either been eliminated or drastically reduced. They usually have no trouble filling positions since students want to get a jump-start in the private sector.
Some students aren't so sure that this makes it right not pay.
"I think unpaid internships, while they provide really great first-hand experience, are unrealistic for undergrad college students because we need summer jobs to help us pay off loans and stuff like that," said Mayra Alvarado '07. "Also, if you're doing the work you should be getting paid."