The Unpaid Internship Requirement

I went into this article expecting a mildly offensive train wreck, as most pieces about generational differences of millenials tend to be. It wasn’t as bad as anticipated, except for this (my emphasis):

While a young Gen X grad might recoil at the prospect of long hours in an unpaid internship for the elusive potential to perhaps, one day, be gainfully employed, most millennials I know wouldn’t dream of not doing so — despite what you see on Girls. Resume-building work for little to no compensation is par for the course for young people entering the workforce today. It’s not worth complaining about. It’s simply a necessary step to compete when jobs are few and far between.

I’m not arguing the reality of this trend. I recognize it. I am, however, stating that it is, in fact,  something to complain about. Loudly. It is exploitative and as far as I know illegal. “A gray area”, at best. Worse than that, though, it perpetuates inequality.

Want a good career? You’ll have to work with no pay or benefits for two years, so I sure hope you come from a wealthy family able to support your unpaid existence in a high rent city. Don’t come from a wealthy family? Ah well, take some classes at your local for-profit outfit along with your free labor, then you can cover it all with high risk, predatory student loans that can’t be discharged in default. Can’t do either? Target might be hiring, get in line. 

So yea, it is so very much worth complaining about. 

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