The Trouble with Internships

**Warning: I'm going to try my hardest to write this post in an intelligent manner without using sarcasm (partly because I'm trying to be above that, partly because it's hard to catch through text). That being said please remember I'm merely human and sometimes as humans, we fail.**

The idea of internships has bugged me for a couple years now, but I think my recent job hunting and this article from the New York Times,

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/fashion/millennials-internships.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0

is fueling my fire.

Recently I had the pleasure of sitting in on an interview with the artistic director of a theater company near the city and while she was talking someone pointed out that it sounded like everyone on her staff was over the age of 40, to which she responded, "No, we have one person on staff in her 30s and all of our interns are in their 20s". This statement immediately made my blood boil to the point of wanting to boycott her company for life. She went on to explain that it just wouldn't be right to offer a twentysomething a full time position because you just can't tie those young ones down. Excuse me?! (Note: I typed a sarcastic comment here, then went back and deleted it. I'm growing folks!)

Whether she knew it or not, the message she was sending was "They're good enough to keep around to do the things you don't want to do and to offer good ideas, but they're not valuable enough to pay". As my friend Geoff says, "I went to college for this."

The internet is filled with stories about how millennials feel entitled and want everything handed to them because they went to college and that's what they were promised. If I read one more article stating that the problem is that millennials' parents spent too much time telling them they're special, I might throw my computer against the wall (not really, I can't afford to buy a new one on my current salary...dang that sarcasm came out). I'm going to speak for my generation here and say, we don't feel like everything should be handed to us. We're willing to work, but we do feel like we should be paid SOMETHING.

Please don't read this thinking that I feel I'm above being an intern. On the contrary. I've had 4 different internships (2 theater and 2 dance) and I see the value in them, but enough is enough.

My first internship was with a summer theater company. I worked like a dog and they did pay me (It figured out to like 34 cents an hour, but by living with 5 other people in a 3 bedroom apartment, I made it through the summer). I actually learned a lot and spent coming up on 5 years with the company working my way up to production stage manager and then general manager/choreographer. That is how I feel an internship should work.

My second internship, I quit. Not going to lie. It was the first time (and last time so far) that I walked out on something because I just didn't find it right. I was working 10 hours a week for no pay then they told me they're bumping it up to 15 hours a week. I didn't find that fair, but didn't say anything. Then I came in one day clearly very ill. It took pretty much all my energy just to make it there. Seeing how sick I was, their response was to tell me to run all over the city hanging up posters for their upcoming show. I'm sorry, but that's a no go. I was already killing myself working 5 other jobs to be able to pay my bills and these extra 15 hours were taxing enough, but if you can't respect my body and my health, I don't want to work for you.

The other internship I want to mention is such a rare case. I went to interview for this position and said to myself "if it's not paid, at least a little bit, i'm leaving". I walked in talked to this woman for almost two hours and walked out agreeing to an unpaid internship. (I still work here, not as an intern anymore, but I feel comfortable saying all this, because my boss knows all of this already). I worked like crazy for this company, but never once did I feel like I was getting cheated. Why? Because she treats me like a person. She let me make mistakes and learn from them (writing one thing wrong on a grant application and the whole application gets thrown out). She values my artistic contributions and offers me in friendship what she doesn't offer me in money. This company made Philadelphia my home and I can't imagine ever not working for them. She doesn't expect me to give my life up for her because she knows the reality of bills to pay and she gives me every opportunity she can. She gives me glowing recommendations and makes me feel like a valuable member of the company. If she told me to start each rehearsal by hopping on one foot and spinning a plate on my head, I would probably do it, because I know she still respects me as a person and an artist and quite frankly she'd probably be right next to me doing it too.

This brings up my main point. THE TROUBLE WITH INTERNSHIPS IS EMPLOYERS NOT TREATING THEIR INTERNS WITH THE RESPECT THEY WOULD SHOW THEIR EMPLOYEES. This shows itself in two ways. The first involves internships where the intern is basically slave labor. Internships (by definition of law) are supposed to be learning experiences. Having this person constantly running around doing everything you don't feel like doing is not helping them learn. Merely existing at a company is not helpful or resume building. It's just a waste of time. The second involves basic human respect. This individual is an adult with some level of skill (we did learn something in college) and should be treated as such. Tell them when they're doing something well. Help them when they're struggling. It will all come back to you in the nicest of ways. Happy interns (and employees) produce better work and will be proud of the work they produce. This serves you and your company in a much better way. You're not the all powerful, superior being of the work world and this person should not feel honored at the bone you threw them.

I received an email some time ago from someone in the area whom I had talked to when I first moved to Philadelphia saying how impressed he was with all the work I'd done in Philly and asking if I needed some help because he'd be willing to offer me an internship. "It's not paid, but it would be a great experience to boost your resume". I was very tempted to write back that he was seeking me out, not the other way around. If you feel that my work would be so valuable to your company, suck it up and pay me for it, in which case we can strike up a deal. I don't need anymore internships on my resume. I have plenty of those and they don't seem to be getting me anywhere.

This post is not just a frustrated rant. It's a call to action. I don't think internships will go away, it's a part of the work world (at least in the arts, which is all I know, since that's where I work), but the attitude towards interns is something we can change. Friends currently stuck in the internship cycle of death, REMEMBER THIS FEELING. One day you will be in a good position in a company (hopefully. Someone has to hire us and promote us at some point right? Maybe when we're 30? Dang there's that sarcasm) You will maybe be in the position of overseeing interns. Remember what it feels like to be in their shoes. Write down your current frustrations. Write yourself a mini journal and when you meet those interns go back and read what you wrote. Remember how it feels and treat them like you wish you were being treated right now. Hopefully we can turn things around for the next generation of interns.

Now that I'm the general manager for the company at which I started as an intern, when one of the interns does something stupid I remind myself that in this little area of the world, I worked my way up, but everywhere else in life I haven't yet and I take a breath and say something that I hope will help them and stop them from making the same mistakes I made, because we're all in this game of life together so we might as well help each other along.