杏吧原创

Internships raise a host of financial and moral dilemmas

Samantha Sherman was on a marine biology internship earlier this year when a great white shark leapt out of the water, landing just inches from her on the research boat. Sherman鈥檚 unusual experience made international news, but shark attacks aren鈥檛 the only reason internships are in the headlines.

At a time when jobs are scarce, it鈥檚 no surprise that graduates are turning to internships to gain valuable career smarts. At the same time, companies are increasingly using internships to wangle free labour. So what can you do to make sure you don鈥檛 end up bottom of the food chain?

Are there still internships out there?

Despite tighter purse strings, there are still placements up for grabs. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen fewer companies participating in our year-in-industry scheme but there鈥檚 still a loyal core of good companies,鈥� says Chris Ward of the education charity , which matches up interns with employers. Internships are available through a range of science companies and organisations, but you must be prepared to search them out. Typically, engineers will undertake a year-long placement in industry as part of their course, but you can also find placements in labs, offices 鈥� in science policy and science communication, for example 鈥� and field work.

鈥淲e had a student do a placement in a lab and she said the experience was beyond anything she鈥檇 got at university because of the rigorous way they taught her,鈥� says Ward. Getting technical experience like this tends to be harder than finding placements on the business or marketing side of things, according to a recent report by the . Part of the problem is just knowing where to look, so check out New 杏吧原创鈥荣 listing for some ideas.

How do I find a decent placement?

A good internship should be structured. 鈥淪traight away there was a lot for me to do and a really clear plan,鈥� says Beth Rice, who is doing a two-month placement at the , where she is helping to develop resources for women and disabled people in science. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been structured but they鈥檝e also given me the independence to get on with things,鈥� she says.

Rice suggests finding out whether there is a plan in place for interns, or whether the organisation 鈥渏ust wants someone to do the donkey work鈥�. Ask whether you鈥檒l get a mentor and what sorts of projects you might undertake. 鈥淭he quicker the graduate feels part of the team, the more productive they are likely to be. So, whether students embark on a paid or unpaid internship, it is important that they find out if the company is serious about internships,鈥� says Vishanti Fox, careers manager at the Institute of Physics. The government also has a for high-quality internships, which gives a good idea of what you should expect.

Will I get paid?聽聽聽聽

In tough economic times, companies have to lay off staff, and graduates looking for experience struggle to find work. Surely, then, an unpaid internship offers a win-win solution? It鈥檚 certainly an issue that has been getting considerable column inches 鈥� the beef with such a system is that only those who have financial support can gain experience.

What鈥檚 more, says Tanya de Grunwald, who delves into the issue on her website , many unpaid internships could be considered illegal under UK law. If you are doing work for which you have set hours and responsibilities, rather than merely shadowing someone, for example, then you should be getting paid the minimum wage. 鈥淭hanks to an oversupply of graduates and a shortage of graduate jobs, too many employers are using this imbalance as an opportunity to gain free labour,鈥� says de Grunwald. 鈥淥thers simply don鈥檛 realise that what they are doing is illegal.鈥�

An exception to the rule is charities, where unpaid work comes under the heading of 鈥渧olunteering鈥�. But let鈥檚 be honest, most interns aren鈥檛 simply there to volunteer for a good cause 鈥� they want to gain career experience. And why should interns be made to 鈥渧olunteer鈥� when the rest of the staff are paid? That said, science charities can provide some fantastic experience 鈥� both the and the offer unpaid internships in their science policy teams of about three months. They look great on the CV, they pay your expenses and the placements are legal because they are 鈥渧oluntary鈥�. Which leads us to ask鈥�

Is it OK to work for free?

鈥淚 would suggest you do your best to find a paid internship first,鈥� de Grunwald says, and if you can鈥檛, then weigh up whether the experience is going to be worth it. 鈥淚f the company is well known, it will look good on your CV. If it鈥檚 a small company but you鈥檒l be given lots to do, that will also be of value,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut don鈥檛 bother making tea and sorting the post for a small company. You鈥檙e learning nothing and it won鈥檛 even look good on your CV.鈥�

Can I get funding elsewhere?

If you鈥檝e found a work placement you think would look great on your CV but it is unpaid, there are other places you may be able to find funding. Some universities offer bursaries 鈥� the University of Warwick, for example, offers up to 拢200 for students on short placements. Professional bodies might also offer you support. From 2012, the Institute of Physics will be inviting students to apply for bursaries for unpaid internships, and the has internships paid for by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

How can I make the most of my internship?

Making your mark during a placement could lead to future work, or even funding for your studies. That鈥檚 what happened to industrial design student Jake Tyler when he decided to take an optional sandwich-year placement during his degree at Loughborough University. During his placement at carpet-cleaner manufacturers Vax, Tyler had a eureka moment: why not make an ecofriendly vacuum cleaner out of cardboard? 鈥淚 suggested it as an off-the-cuff comment, then developed the idea and came back and did a presentation,鈥� he explains. Vax were so keen they , and they have now offered him a permanent position.

鈥淓very placement has something to offer, so try to get as involved as possible, and get knowledge from everyone around you,鈥� Tyler advises. Also, leave on good terms so you are more likely to have the opportunity to go back.

What will I get from it?

The tantalising prospect of a permanent job is what motivates most interns. And according to the , one-fifth of their members who responded to the recruitment survey published in June filled 60 per cent of their vacancies last year with people who had previously participated in a placement or internship programme within their organisation.

But watch out for companies in which interns are actually replacing paid staff to do work that is vital to the company, with those interns themselves later being replaced by new interns. If the company has a permanent flow of interns and do not seem to be recruiting new staff, the odds are the placement will not lead to a job.

Taking a chance on an unpaid internship can pay off, though, says Jessica Bland, who decided to do a three-month voluntary internship at the Royal Society while she was finishing the dissertation for her MSc in science communication. 鈥淚 got lucky,鈥� Bland says. 鈥淚 was offered a full-time position when I finished the internship because one of the team working on the same study as me left.鈥� Fitting in a placement while you are studying is one way to cut the cost, because you aren鈥檛 earning at the time anyway. 鈥淎fterwards, I needed a month off just to sleep,鈥� she recalls.

There are, of course, other reasons to do an internship besides the hope of a job at the end of it. 鈥淎s well as the experience, my placement has given me lots of ideas of what I want to do afterward,鈥� says Rice.

Placements can also help you with your interview technique, and give you more confidence generally in looking for a job, says Fox. Ward agrees: 鈥淚 say to students that, in many respects, it鈥檚 not really about learning science or engineering as such 鈥� you do that at university. It鈥檚 about learning to be a professional in a professional environment.鈥�