Unpaid Internships...

jbreckmckye

The BBC is in no position to harangue anyone over internships. Media and communications are, far and away, the worst sector for this. The vast portion of the BBC's administration and research is done by unpaid graduates who, even if they shine, often receive no job offer, and effectively start at square one (in theory, they have gained 'experience', but most posts appear internally to those who have just completed their unpaid contract).

Oldernotwiser

Gingernutmeg wrote: »

I have no idea how people can afford to do unpaid internships - maybe at a pinch I can see how you'd manage a week, but I've seen placements asking for people to work for six months, or a year, unpaid. Especially in London - how do people afford it?

Presumably they do some paid work in the evening and either live at home or claim housing benefits. It would be perfectly feasible in either situation.

Voyager2002

Lokolo wrote: »

Volunteering in a charity shop and working for someone for free are 2 completely different things.

I think they are one and the same. For me, the important point is that I am willing to do unpaid work for a charity or something similar, but not for a profit-making enterprise.

Lokolo

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I think they are one and the same. For me, the important point is that I am willing to do unpaid work for a charity or something similar, but not for a profit-making enterprise.

That was my point. I know I didn't explain it very well....

Blacksheep1979

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I think they are one and the same. For me, the important point is that I am willing to do unpaid work for a charity or something similar, but not for a profit-making enterprise.

They're only the same if they both look as good on the cv and give you the same experience.

Josh80

I recently graduated from uni, and with the economy as it is I saw an internship as an awesome way to gain that vital real job experiance employers were wanting, even for entry level and graduate jobs.

I was living at home and having just finished being a student, having no money was something I was used to. The company paid all my expenses for travel and food etc and I really appreciate all the time and effort they put in to help me learn and develop great skills. I worked there for a few months and have since moved on to a great job, which im pretty sure I would never have got without the experiance I gained from my internship.

It is a trade off, but if you can afford to work unpaid for a little while and you find the right company to take you on, the rewards are great.

conradmum

It's an excellent way of separating the poor from the well-off students. No wonder the BBC is staffed by the upper middle class. I can't see any reason for companies to do this other than to exploit the people they take on these schemes.