Read more: 鈥�Graduate Special 2013鈥�
Stories abound about unpaid interns slaving away for no money and little thanks. Unpaid internships are not only unfair 鈥� both on the graduates that do them and those that can鈥檛 afford to 鈥� but also illegal. But it can be tough to turn down the opportunity to gain work experience. So what鈥檚 a graduate to do?
聯Scientific organisations generally won鈥檛 ask graduates to work for free聰
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The good news is that scientific organisations generally won鈥檛 ask graduates to work for free, says Ball. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very uncommon.鈥� If you鈥檙e hoping to apply your science skills to a different industry, however, it could be another story. 鈥淥ver a third of unpaid interns are in just six roles: marketing, PR, journalism, graphic design, general admin and research,鈥� says Ball. 鈥淪cience graduates wanting to use their research skills in other industries might need to be careful, as a lot of organisations ask people to work as researchers for free.鈥�
Even within science, there are still a few areas where unpaid positions are the norm. These are usually within charities, which can legally employ volunteers. Here, the best tactic may be to volunteer part-time while you work at another job. 鈥淏ecause so many applicants have relevant work experience of one kind or another, be it voluntary or in paid positions, it is difficult to find permanent roles without having gained relevant experience,鈥� says Ball.
On the whole, though, science graduates will not have to face an unpaid internship. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not likely to get a pharma start-up asking a chemistry graduate to work for nothing and if they do, you probably need to tell someone about it,鈥� says Ball. The same applies for engineering. 鈥淧eople are in demand in this sector and for that reason, usually they are paid well,鈥� says Paul Jackson at .