At Wichita State, applied learning is a core part of the student experience. Whether that be in high school or college, some are interning in fields based on their interests or degrees. Lots of college students are told that internships are the key to landing a job after graduation, but sometimes gaining that “experience” often comes with one major flaw: working for free.
I’ve personally had one internship and it was for Butler County Times Gazette newspaper in July 2024, where I helped cover a range of local stories, learned to juggle multiple assignments at once. My experience was good and I think it taught me many skills, but I did not get paid much. The minimum wage in Kansas is pretty low at $7.25 so I didn’t like putting in effort to get paid little in certain jobs I did. I work in the field of journalism, a field where low-paid or unpaid internships are common.
So where does this internship culture come from? A big part of it lies with major institutions such as local newspapers, maybe even animal shelters, organizations tied to education, culture, arts and more – even music theatre, production and marketing. When large companies and organizations normalize unpaid internships, smaller businesses often follow suit, seeing that as an acceptable price. Small businesses also may not have enough money to pay interns but still want to provide experience to students or need a little extra help.
Not every student can afford to work for free especially if they are juggling jobs, classes, rent, bills and more. Unpaid internships are unfair. These internships do not just cost students time, but waste their money on using a lot of gas to get to the workplace when it could go towards rent, food and more instead. If you are not being paid, you are basically paying to work. Students don’t benefit from this.
A company that genuinely wants to develop talent should be willing to pay for it. Students are often told that the experience will “look good” on a resume and while that may be true, it’s not always enough to justify working for free.
There are many other paid opportunities and internships out there. Sometimes it depends on the situation. Is the company offering the unpaid internship your dream institution to work with? Will you be able to fund your stay in a new location or living expenses while working there? These are definitely questions to consider asking yourself.
Yes, internships can be valuable, but if you are doing real work and putting in a lot of effort, then you are doing the job of a paid employee. Work is work, and work deserves pay.
Students at Wichita State and across the world deserve more than just a line on a resume. They deserve fair pay for honest work.
Major companies should step away from the unpaid internship culture in order for smaller entities to follow their steps, so students can gain experience without going broke and internship culture can be changed for good.
