Taking an internship has become a requirement for many
students to graduate from college. Many students are ready willing to take an
internship, but struggle to find a company that offers compensation.
Kiera Phipps, a junior communications major at Bowie State
University, was lucky enough to find two internships this year with Radio One
and WUSA9 in Washington, D.C. According to Phipps, networking is the key to
getting internships.
Not every student is as lucky as Kiera Phipps. Al Davis, a
junior communications major at Bowie State, has applied to numerous internships
this year, but has not heard back from anyone. Time is dwindling fast, as summer
is just around the corner, “I’ve actually applied to a few internships [for]
this summer… I guess I’ll just have to take a 9 to 5.”
Though an internship may be hard to acquire, students do
understand the value of an internship. “I would like to have internships and
get experience before I get into my profession, because I feel like that would
better me and help me put my foot my foot in the door,” said Tre’Vonn Dennis, a
sophomore communications major at Bowie State University.
Brandon Williams, a sophomore criminal justice major at Bowie
State University, refused to look for an internship this year, because of the
lack of pay. He explained that he took an internship at a firm where he would
be filming a Human Resource Officer while he was working with companies. He
worked hard in the job and received no pay. When he asked his boss, at the
time, about compensation, he was told, “This is a good way to get experience.”
That wasn’t enough for Williams, as he was starting a life with his fiancée and
was looking for compensation to support his family.
According to Business Insider, companies save about $2 billion
every year by hiring interns, 18% of internships are conducted illegally, and
women are 77% more likely to work in an internships that is unpaid. Students
must receive course credit or compensation for internships in order for them to
be legal. In the summer, many students pay tuition, many without financial aid,
for an internship credit to take an unpaid internship with a company.
As students prepare for their futures, this is the harsh
reality that undergraduates must face if they wish to graduate from their
respective universities.
