Whether they aspire to succeed in business, media or any other profession, millions of college students rely on acceptance into the lowest entry-level positions — internships — to get a foot in the door. For many, competition for this industry initiation has itself become so fierce that nonprofit and even for-profit companies have rushed in to calm worried students’ nerves, offering them comprehensive travel and internship programs and even helping them build their applications for other programs. Though many students likely feel relieved by these services, on the whole they are just another incarnation of the rich using their wealth to insert themselves undeservedly into positions of power.
There is nothing wrong with organizations using free-market economics to grease the wheels of this vital career process, but when students require thousands of dollars for placement in internship programs, the services only serve to make the rich richer. Some programs unconditionally promise placement in extremely competitive positions at major corporations. These companies often receive thousands of applicants and don’t have the time to consider each applicant’s personal qualifications in detail, let alone whether the applicant has received help. Many companies reserve spots entirely for placement organizations that charge thousands to accept applicants.
Effectively, young people are paying to get jobs that don’t pay. This may pay off for the applicants in the long run, and even if it proves a poor investment, neither students who can afford the programs nor the companies that hire them lose much in the deal. More qualified but less well-off students are inevitably hurt, however, when these pricey programs push them out of a future job. Individually, most people can bounce back from this, but the effect on society is undeniable — the dollar trumps talent.
Whether fighting for pre-college SAT primacy, increasingly limited spots in some graduate schools or worthwhile careers in the actual job market, each new generation of professionals seems to face increasingly greater obstacles to getting spots that came easy only decades ago. For every scholarship program that arrives to help less-privileged students, it seems a new way of boosting entitled groups removes the rest of the student population from these same opportunities. Though people have every right to pay for internship programs that provide them with more than just a shot at the big time — like the opportunity for networking or housing in an exotic locale — companies should ensure their most prized positions remain available to all applicants — not just for the businesses’ sake, but for their future staff as well.
