Comments on: nace: internships drop significantly http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/03/19/ved-nace-internships-drop-significantly/ Insight and opinion from the world of employment. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:01:22 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Arthur http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/03/19/ved-nace-internships-drop-significantly/comment-page-1/#comment-117097 Arthur Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:26:37 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/?p=4247#comment-117097 As an undergraduate at San Jose State University and an intern at CKR Interactive, I know how hard it is to obtain even a non-paid internship in any field of work. To me, it is sad that many companies cannot invest their time to train and provide opportunities to undergraduates, who will soon be the leading force in their industry. Without "real-world" opportunities, it will be difficult to find qualified individuals that deserved to be paid for the work they do, and it will also be detrimental to the industries where there is no real training available. I am happy to have been hired as an intern at CKR Interactive and learn about my trade. As an undergraduate at San Jose State University and an intern at CKR Interactive, I know how hard it is to obtain even a non-paid internship in any field of work. To me, it is sad that many companies cannot invest their time to train and provide opportunities to undergraduates, who will soon be the leading force in their industry. Without “real-world” opportunities, it will be difficult to find qualified individuals that deserved to be paid for the work they do, and it will also be detrimental to the industries where there is no real training available. I am happy to have been hired as an intern at CKR Interactive and learn about my trade.

]]> By: J http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/03/19/ved-nace-internships-drop-significantly/comment-page-1/#comment-117052 J Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:34:06 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/?p=4247#comment-117052 What frustrates me, as a recent college graduate, is that you need experience to get experience, even for unpaid internships! It's such a catch 22. Even with the experience that I have, I can't get a paying job, but I can't afford to live off nothing in order to "gain more experience" to get a real job. So where does that leave people like me? Stuck working crappy admin jobs just to pay the rent and bills and not being in my chosen field. I even seen UNPAID internships asking for people who have 2-3 years of experience in a certain field...isn't that normally a position that should be paid? It's unfortunate that I graduated from college in bad economic times and that by the time the economy does pick up, companies are going to be hiring the newer college grads and not me, the person doing low level admin work just to get paid. What frustrates me, as a recent college graduate, is that you need experience to get experience, even for unpaid internships! It’s such a catch 22. Even with the experience that I have, I can’t get a paying job, but I can’t afford to live off nothing in order to “gain more experience” to get a real job. So where does that leave people like me? Stuck working crappy admin jobs just to pay the rent and bills and not being in my chosen field. I even seen UNPAID internships asking for people who have 2-3 years of experience in a certain field…isn’t that normally a position that should be paid? It’s unfortunate that I graduated from college in bad economic times and that by the time the economy does pick up, companies are going to be hiring the newer college grads and not me, the person doing low level admin work just to get paid.

]]> By: Ted http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/03/19/ved-nace-internships-drop-significantly/comment-page-1/#comment-117028 Ted Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:53:46 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/?p=4247#comment-117028 There is a ton of student talent out there and the smart companies (mostly nimble startups and progressive large companies) are going to be rewarded when they continue to hire interns. Interns don't have to be a long term investment and their ROI (when done well) can be game-changing. Take a look at what Fog Creek Software does: http://fogcreek.com/Jobs/SummerIntern.html There is a ton of student talent out there and the smart companies (mostly nimble startups and progressive large companies) are going to be rewarded when they continue to hire interns. Interns don’t have to be a long term investment and their ROI (when done well) can be game-changing. Take a look at what Fog Creek Software does: http://fogcreek.com/Jobs/SummerIntern.html

]]> By: Charlie http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/03/19/ved-nace-internships-drop-significantly/comment-page-1/#comment-117025 Charlie Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:33:28 +0000 http://www.cheezhead.com/?p=4247#comment-117025 Two thoughts here: Interns should be really cheap labor, and the idea that companies are cutting some of their cheapest heads is interesting to me. This points to the idea that many companies think of internship programs as part of the recruiting funnel more than they think of interns as being able to complete actual work. When I interned in college, I was doing work that, after some handholding, MBAs would otherwise be doing. Everyone I know says that, because of layoffs, they're now doing the work of two people. You'd think a few min/low wage interns around would be a great way for companies to get what they need to get done w/o hiring a fulltimer with benefits. Two thoughts here:

Interns should be really cheap labor, and the idea that companies are cutting some of their cheapest heads is interesting to me. This points to the idea that many companies think of internship programs as part of the recruiting funnel more than they think of interns as being able to complete actual work.

When I interned in college, I was doing work that, after some handholding, MBAs would otherwise be doing. Everyone I know says that, because of layoffs, they’re now doing the work of two people. You’d think a few min/low wage interns around would be a great way for companies to get what they need to get done w/o hiring a fulltimer with benefits.

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