So as I was driving home from work last night, I made my usual post-work call to my father to check in and see how the family was doing. We did our usual chit-chat, "How was work?", "How was your day?", when I hear from him "Did you hear Obama's going after Internships?"
"What?" Those were my first thoughts. Me and my father usually talk politics and though we agree and disagree on many subjects that the current administration has been talking about lately, this hit me like an uppercut with the power of a hurricane. This entire subject is touchy for me, as it definitely affects me and hundreds of my colleagues who are going through the same situation right now. Forewarning though, this blog is going to get a little more personal than usual.
For those of you who do not know I spent the first few years post college working retail before finally getting the opportunity to pursue a career in the field in which I received my degree.
I received a degree in Communications from Appalachian State in December of 2007 and finally decided to make that giant venture to the Raleigh area in the Summer of 2009. But shortly after moving here, I was running into the same problems I had then, no experience. This was nothing new to me, after hearing this numerous times after college, from various employers who did offer me the opportunity to talk to them.
So when I first moved here, unsure of where I was going to take my next venture, I found an Internship at a music management company. Though it was not truly in the marketing field, I spent the next six months doing a variety of marketing related tasks to help not only promote them but also the events they put together as well. I will never forget some of the things I learned there and I thank the whole company altogether for the experience that I will never forget. I moved on from that Internship to another one, working now at an actual marketing company, in hopes that I will sharpen my craft that much more.
This is my story currently. Seven months ago, I moved to the Raleigh area, how else was I suppose to network with people, without the Internships I took. I knew a total of two people, who were non-family in the area. I am taking these internships not only to meet new people, but to get the experience that I need to move to the next level. Both of these have been non-paid Internships but do I care, no? I am getting something much more out of it than money, I am getting experience.
In a current job market where people can be ever so picky about their next hire, what else as college graduates and job seekers are we supposed to do to get this ever growing experience that these companies so dramatically say that we need? Yes, as Interns we are probably improperly trained at times to handle the tasks that are thrown at us, but doesn't that happen all the time on the job? A client or a boss asks you to jump and it is our job to ask them how high.
Mr. President, you and your circle are talking about ending non-paid Internships. This is after you are furhter burdening companies with healthcare restrictions and individuals with new taxes. Can companies really support to create an opening for one more position on their staff? Do not get me wrong, I WOULD LOVE TO GET PAID FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT I HAVE DONE IN THE PAST, but, Mr. Obama, payment does not always come in the form of currency, sometimes it comes in something else.
So I am asking you as a citizen and an individual, yes there are problems out there with Internships but you have to have the good with the bad. How else are we suppose to climb the mountain if you are going to take out the very steps that we use to climb.
