“At least they don’t seal the fire exits” Or why unpaid internships are BS by Auriel M. V. Fournier.
From the post:
I’m flipping through a job board, scanning for post docs, dreamily reading field technician posts and there they are
Unpaid internship in Amazing Place A
Unpaid technician working with Cool Species B
Some are obvious, and put their unpaid status it in the title, others you have to dig through the fine print, before you are hit you over the head with what a ‘unique oppurtunity this internship is’ how rare the animal or system, and how you should smile and love that you are not going to get paid, and might even have to pay them for the pleasure of working for them.
Every time I see one of these posts my skin crawls, my heart races, my eyes narrow. These jobs anger me, at my core, and I think we as a scientific community need to stop doing this to ourselves and our young scientists.
We get up and talk about how we need diversity in our field (whatever field it is, for me its wildlife ecology) how we need people from all backgrounds, cultures, creeds and races. Then we create positions that only those who come from means, and continue to have them can take. We are shooting ourselves in the foot by excluding people from getting into science. How is someone who has student loans (most students do), someone who has no financial support, someone with a child, or a sick parent, no family to buy a plane ticket for them, or any other kind of life situation supposed to take these positions? How?
….
Take the time to read Auriel’s post, whether you use unpaid internships or not. It’s not long and worth the read. I will wait for you to come back before continuing….back so soon?
Abstract just a little bit from Auriel’s post and think about her main point separate and apart from the specifics of unpaid internships. Is it that unpaid work can be undertaken only by those who can survive without getting paid for that work? Yes?
If you agree with that, how many unpaid editors, unpaid journal board members, unpaid peer reviewers, unpaid copy editors, unpaid program unit chairs, unpaid presenters, unpaid organizational officers, etc., do you think exist in academic circles?
Hmmm, do you think the people in all those unpaid positions still have to make ends meet at the end of the month? Take care of expenses out of their own pockets for travel and other expenses? Do you think the utility company cares whether you have done a good job as a volunteer peer reviewer this past month?
The same logic that Auriel uses in her post applies to all those unpaid positions as well. Not that academic groups can make all unpaid volunteer positions paid but any unpaid or underpaid position means you have made choices about who can hold those positions.