Editorial: Students: Consider value of internships before investing

The excessive opportunity costs of interning — including time spent completing responsibilities, the risk of only performing grunt work and the expected lack of pay — already drive a wedge between high- and low-income students. This chasm grows deeper, though, when another variable is thrown into the mix — the supposed competitive edge of international experience over domestic internships.

Studying abroad alone has lost popularity to interning abroad, the Washington Post recently reported. In the 2012-2013 school year, about 35,500 students participated in internships, internationally and domestically combined, according to the Institute of International Education. These internships start at around $3,500 for a six-week program. 

Internship economy reinforces privilege and makes it seem as if people paying thousands of dollars to work is normal. In a February 2014 Time article, David Lloyd, founder of The Intern Group — which has placed young adults from 80 countries in positions around the world — said that interning abroad “will build a young person’s contacts and context.” But isn’t this true of traveling to another city or state within your own country? Automatically viewing international internships as more valuable than domestic internships creates a disparity between middle-class and upper-class students. 

Just as studying abroad does not instantly equal cultural enlightenment and personal development, experiences interning abroad can turn into partying abroad and doing a bit of paper-pushing. An international internship can make a student into an experienced competitor, but some students land at companies that are only interested in the guaranteed free labor —  international interns, by law, must work for free. So, if there is an option to do research or real work interning in the U.S., versus grabbing coffees in France, students should consider working in their area before concluding they must leave the country.

This is a multifaceted compromise. Employers should not put all stock into the face value of a unique geographical location. If two prospective employees have each interned at a business firm, they should be considered on similar platforms, regardless of location. If the student studying at a German firm simply observed others work, and the student interning in New York published findings or conducted their own research, the latter has better experience.

Most of the funds for study abroad tuition go toward internship placement, which involves one-on-one time with each student, during which an adviser then acts as a matchmaker between the intern and companies. It’s not always a perfect fit, and it can be more cost-effective to seek out an internship on your own than through a third-party program. Students who choose to intern abroad should vigorously examine the placement company’s reviews and history.

Looking into the value gained through an interning experience rather than the glamour of crossing the ocean is a great equalizer between students of all incomes. For this reason, students should be careful when choosing an internship, whether abroad or at home. Interning is costly no matter how you slice it, and it is important that you get your money’s worth.