As the spring semester come to a close and summer comes, it’s about that time where most New York City college students are heading to their summer internships. Since the very beginning of this year, many college kids have been preparing themselves to get an internship. Many are going to internship finding sites or their college career offices; applying and sending out their resume and cover letters. Some in these last few months have been lucky enough to receive an email responding for an interview, and some have already received the great news that they have been accepted to be an intern.
Internship programs have been making news and it all not positive. Just last year a Chinese New Agency, Phoenix Satellite Television U.S here in New York City made headlines when an intern, Lihuan Wang, filed suit against her supervisor who sexual harassed her, reported in Bloomberg BNA. However the controversy does end there, Wang’s case was thrown out by a federal judge, due to the fact that she was not being paid by the Agency, that made her not an employee and therefore she has no right to sue the Agency and her suit was not able to stand in court.
The biggest negative of having an internship is that most of the time the program is unpaid. There are some that are paid ones out there, but those can be rare. “The issue of being unpaid while you are an intern is a controversial one and it’s one that leads a lot of interns vulnerable, and unprotected by law” responded Shauna Channer, a Baruch student, to the Wang story.
This summer things however will be changing, in June a law will in effect that was just signed in April of the this year by the new mayor of New York City Mayor De Blasio. Wang’s case caught the attention of some NYC council member and a bill was introduced that will now protect interns. This law will give interns the protection from any discrimination and harassment, reported in the Huffington Post, but it also extends the protection of New York City’s Human Rights Law to interns, whether they are being paid or not.
“New Yorkers deserve to work in a safe environment without fear of harassment or discrimination—and this legislation will ensure that interns, paid or unpaid, are entitled to workplace protections under the law” said Mayor De Blasio in his speech before signing the bill.
This is very good news for many interns that will be working in New York City, however the issue of getting paid for the work and time interns put in is still highly debated. Many companies see that interns are getting compensated with all the new things they are experiencing and the new skills they are learning. “I could see why this may be a good reason not to pay us, but sometimes it just like c’mon give us a little something to work with” says Fitha Tarigan, a LaGuardia College student.
“There’s a value associated with paid work that isn’t necessarily there when you’re working for free” attorney Juno Turner told the Atlantic Wire last year after representing the interns who sued Fox Searchlight last year for not paying them on the set of Black Swan. The other side of the argument sees that paying the interns shows the interns that they are valued and their hard work does not go unnoticed by the company.
Since the debate has not been settled, many companies like, Condé Nast, has decided to no longer take interns for their magazines. This is was decided after 2 former interns filed suit against the company, for paying them to low of a wage while, reported in the New York Times. Condé Nast settled the suit and closed every internship programs and opportunity.
There are these disadvantages of having an internship, but there are still many good reason for having one. “Internship are so important for me as a student, I think the experiences are great, but also they can lead to good paying jobs, for some of us hopefuls” Says Crisiti Zulicon
An internship has many benefits, for one reason it allows students to get their feet wet and see what’s like to be working in their potential industry. They are given the insider’s look of the ins and outs and are able to gain new experiences outside of the classroom environment. Another benefit they will learn new skills and put to use the skills they have learn and enhance them. And lastly it’s a great time for them to network.
Here is Christi Zulicon’s story and her positive experience interning at Net-A-Porter and Teen Vogue
The Girl, The City, & The Internship from Marc Tarigan on Vimeo
“Even thought the news about internships have not been so great, hopefully all this media attention will encourage companies to change their programs and how they structure it” says Christi. “I had a great experience at Net-A-Porter and Teen Vogue, and I believe it benefited me and I hope it benefited them that I could be there and support and put my ideas on the table. So it’s like a win-win for everyone”
Here are some great tips, to leave you with from fellow college students on landing and internship. Happy Hunting.
