During my first internship at a newspaper, an editor asked me, "Would you walk into a butcher shop and ask the butcher for free meat?"<p>"No, I don't think so," I replied, confused by his question.<p>"So who in their right mind would think it's okay to ask a writer for free words?"<p>Although the paper had a small budget, he gave me a modest stipend for each article. It wasn't about the money; it was about what the money represented: respect for a person's time and energy.<p>I took his career advice to heart and never worked for a company that didn't value its employees enough to pay them.
From the US Department of Labor, an unpaid internship is legal only if all of these criteria are met (and I quote):<p>1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;<p>2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;<p>3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;<p>4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;<p>5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and<p>6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.<p>(<a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm</a>)<p>Labor laws in the United States were hard won, and we should not forget this. Along with minimum wage laws, they benefit all of us who must work to maintain our lives. So expecting someone to provide you free labor with no compensation for their efforts is not only immoral, it's illegal. If you work, you deserve to get paid. If you expect someone to work for you, you should be honored to be able to pay them reasonably for their time and effort.<p>Why is this so difficult to understand?
My problem isn't necessarily with unpaid interns, but how the industry treats paid interns. Specifically how it seems like the current industry trend is to hire younger engineers as "interns", even though they've graduated university, in order to treat them as trial/probation employees. I'm not sure what can be done about it, but it's frustrating seeing friends be excited that they got a "real programming job" but are hourly, low-benefits, low-job-security that do the same work as their salaried coworkers but happen to be junior enough to be taken advantage of this way.
This is fluff. Unpaid internships are so mainstream there's really no reason to call out Sheryl Sandberg personally for being associated with the practice (as opposed to every big bank in America which have 100x more money and also have unpaid interns). Furthermore, the amount of money the company/CEO has is completely irrelevant to what constitutes a market wage for a position. Sheryl Sandberg can afford to pay interns $100,000/year also, but the job isn't worth that much so no one is outraged that she's not doing it.
Give me a break. How many big corporations have unpaid internships? Yes, it sucks that not everyone is in a position to accept unpaid internships. But pointing fingers at Sheryl Sandberg because her company is doing the same as an untold number of others is disingenuous.
To people that didn't read the article:<p>The internship is for Lean In, a non-profit she started, and not for Facebook.<p>Minimum wage laws apply far less to non-profits, since you can legally volunteer at a non-profit.
I might have a problem if it wasn't a high-profile non-profit. And the headline's a bit mis-leading considering how little Sandberg has to do with the hiring.
If an intern knew they wouldn't be getting paid before they started and no one forced them to take the job, I don't see any reason to complain.
I object to unpaid internships chiefly because they tend to reinforce privilege. The kid whose family is just getting by doesn't take unpaid internships--he's out working for pay, maybe coding, maybe waiting tables. The kid taking the unpaid internship is generally not getting a bad deal, for his or her family is willing to cover any loss of wages for kid's chance to shuffle papers of Sheryl Sandberg.<p>(Let me add that this is an objection on principle, not one of resentment; I never heard of such arrangements when I was of an age to be an intern.)
My career was kickstarted by a paid internship. It wasn't much, but it was enough for someone fresh out of high school to get by the the summer -- and build a career out of it.<p><a href="http://peat.org/2013/08/15/take-a-chance-on-an-intern/" rel="nofollow">http://peat.org/2013/08/15/take-a-chance-on-an-intern/</a><p>The "getting paid" part was key. I could really focus on the work I was trying to do. Better for me, better for my employer -- better for everyone.<p>It doesn't have to be much. It just has to be something.
This seems like BS to me. I can't imagine myself ever accepting an unpaid internship (or any kind of unpaid work. That doesn't mean I wouldn't do charity work, but I'm not accepting a job for nothing). If there are idiots out there who like to work for free, let them.<p>Also, this is a non-profit, so "volunteering" is just fine. Granted the posting sounds a lot more like a job than charity work, but hey, if they can find people going for it then more power to them.
people generally pay the sminimum they must. rarely is there an exception. I respect those who are responsible for the exceptions, especially those who do it with conviction.
Lol. This is funny. To break into Wall Street, you almost have to have an unpaid internship. If you do well, they offer you a job there. If you don't, they don't. People just WANT to hate Sandberg. An internship is a chance to learn; you aren't entitled to learn at a company. Paid interns are the exception; they are odd. You're used too Google too quickly and clearly don't understand how most industries operate. If you think apprenticing would be more beneficial, call it that. Interning is an opportunity to learn, not to pay rent.