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Necessary internships conflict with affordability
BY CORY CLAESON
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
iISSUE: 78/27
In today’s day and age, students need internships. However, many internships are not paid, which can cause problems for students. “It depends on the field if you get paid,” said career counselor Sonja Olsen. “Business and engineering fields tend to get paid while liberal arts fields usually aren’t. This is because they are more specialized and there is a higher demand.”
This means that not only are college students working for free, but they also have to pay to be an intern. “I didn’t like the fact that I had to pay tuition for the internship,” recent UMD graduate and current PAVSA intern Emily Mueller. “I had to pay for all the university fees even though I am not taking a class.” According to the university Web site, class credits are $300 a piece at UMD for in-state students and almost $700 non-resident students.
The Web site also states that internships can range from one to six credits. This makes it possible for in-state students to spend up to $1,800 for a full six-credit internship. The variety of internships out there is immense. Some are directly through the university itself and seem to be financially beneficial.
Senior Gretchen Egeberg is currently doing an internship through the Kirby Student Center as an activities coordinator. She says that the cost of internships can be a dilemma for some students due to the financial burden. “I would need a second job if the internship wasn’t paid,” said Egeberg, For Egeberg and other students who are either searching for internships or who are interns, that need for money is important. “It pays for groceries and gas,” said Egeberg.
According to the university, some fields of study require and/or strongly encourage students to do an internship. For Mueller, this was the case. As a graduate in both sociology and criminology, she was required to have an internship completed. According to Olsen, an option to reduce the cost of an internship might be to take an internship during the summer months. “Although it still could take a lot of work, students can have time to work a summer job in order to pay expenses,” Olson said. “Since school is out of session, it may be possible to have time to do an internship and work a job.”
For future internship seekers like freshman Stephan Shoemaker, the idea of getting one comes with some skepticism. “Although internships are important they are time consuming,” Shoemaker said. “It makes it hard to have an outside job.” Another future internship seeker, UMD freshman Ashlee Hartwig, said that they are valuable experiences that will, “help you along the way.”
No matter what the case may be, having an internship looks and feels good for individuals. “My internship has been a very good preview for my career,” Mueller said. “I believe that a lot of potential employers look for people who have experience from internships.”
