Scores of students from the college plunge in the employment world every year. And, while they are still studying, most people prefer to have an industry experience along with. The hands on experience give the young lads a hands on training about the different facets of industry that they are plunging into. Internship is a great way of gaining experience. There cannot be two ways about it. But, one more issue that is constantly debated is whether it is alright to give unpaid internship opportunity. Duration of most of the internship lasts between 3 to 6 months. So, is it fair to make someone work without being paid? Well, it is probably not a great idea to have an unpaid internship, and here are few reasons for that.
Lack of Motivation
It is human nature that, there is no motivation without a reward. In case of employment too, without payment, there is no motivation to work and give your best. The person does acquire experience, but lack of motivation may not give him enough enthusiasm to give his best. So, one of the pitfalls of internships which are unpaid, is the person is never motivated enough to give his best.
Feeling of Unemployed
If there is anything that employment gives, that is money. In an unpaid internship, that experience and satisfaction is totally missing. You cannot possibly feel the elation that you get after the salary is dropped in your account. And, so even if the person is working all the day in the office, at the end he feels like an unemployed person because there is no salary. This again can dampens his motivation to give his best.
Limits opportunity
The kind of work that is given to a paid intern or employee will never be the same for an unpaid one. So, yet again, the scope and the nature of work will be limited. This in turn also limits the person’s experience from the job, which will effectively give him a half baked knowledge and experience. The scope of work is much less prioritize for the people who are not paid. So, unpaid internship is definitely an hindrance in procuring and delivering quality of work and experience on the whole.
Limits Potential
The way unpaid internship limits opportunity, likewise it limits the person’s potential too. Many a times, even if he has the potential to do much better, the scope of the work will be such that will not have enough scope to prove himself. Such aspects are generally inapplicable when you are paid for the internship and are given best of opportunities to utilize your potential. So, yet again it becomes important that a person is paid for his internship and so that he is used to his full potential.
Results in Lower Salary
The person who is not paid during an internship is most likely to have less salary on job compared to his counterparts who have been paid during their internships. This is because a minimum salary is fixed based on the competence. But if you are not paid, you are generally given a basic starting because you have no prior salaried work experience. This is definitely hugely demoralizing for people who are starting their employment journey.
