Internships May Be the Path to Take

Unemployment and underemployment have both been serious problems since the Great Recession of 2008. While jobs are being created, many of them are low-level and are being highly contested thanks to the sheer number of job seekers, or they require skills beyond entry-level employees. To improve your resume, you may need to consider becoming an intern.

Companies can now pick and choose who they wish to employ, and they can do so at low market rates. If you don't have the skills you need to get the job, someone else will. You may have to make sacrifices to get ahead, and that can mean becoming an intern.

Many full-time jobs are being replaced by part-time jobs. Employers realize that they can work with freelancers or contractors, saving them money when work is limited. Full-time, in-house employees are becoming rarer, and the career paths that gradually molded candidates in their positions are less common. For many, becoming an intern is the only way to gain the experience they need to address their current skills gaps or participate in the modern gig economy.

In theory, under the rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act, an internship can only be unpaid if:

• It is similar to training.
• It is for the benefit of the intern.
• It doesn't displace regular employees.
• The employer gets no immediate advantage.
• There is no guarantee of a job after the internship is finished.
• Both parties agree that no wages are to be paid.

In practice, these rules are often significantly overlooked. Some internships are nothing more than free labor for the company that's providing the internship. Many interns are not particularly closely supervised, and the training programs tend to be fractured and incomplete. However, becoming an intern provides opportunities and contacts within your chosen field, and it can be a good starting place to secure your dream job or to become independent and take advantage of the gig economy.

However, internships tend to be heavily contested because of the opportunities they provide. Advances in technology have eliminated many positions or simplified others. Numerous jobs require high-level knowledge that requires significant training that is not provided at high schools, community colleges or universities. In certain fields, becoming an intern is the only way to gain significant experience.

Companies are hiring, but they require job candidates to have significant amounts of knowledge that may only be gained by becoming an intern. As result, it's up to you to decide whether you can afford to pursue the opportunities that an internship can provide. While many internships are unpaid, those who can afford to take such positions will have a significant advantage in the modern workforce.

Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net