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Education: Colleges
should pay kids; kids pay employers
That’s My Opinion
By Bob Robinson
I’m a criminal and didn’t know it.
That’s what I found out on “Stossel” on Fox Saturday night. Actually, I
saw the first 20 minutes as I was winding down to go to sleep… then I
saw the first 20 minutes again when I woke up at 5 a.m.
I never see a full program any more… it’s usually 15-20 minutes before
I go to sleep and 15-20 minutes while I wake up enough to start my
morning coffee.
I digress. I’m a criminal because I use (and have used) interns today
and throughout most of my working career. They are not paid monetarily
but rather with training, experience and (hopefully) a good entry on
their resumes.
Stossel had about 100 interns out in the audience. He asked them two
questions. One… how many of you are paid for your efforts? No one
raised their hands. Two… how many of you have learned more from your
internships than you did in college? Nearly all of them raised their
hands.
And they have to PAY their colleges!
Stossel interviewed a gentleman who talked about the law and read
portions of it. I never did find out if he was a government employee or
just an “advocate” interested in seeing the law obeyed. He said, “If
you don’t like the law, then get on the labor bureau to change it.”
Paraphrased, the law states that the only reason for an internship is
to benefit the student. If the company benefits in any manner
whatsoever it must pay (at least) minimum wage.
Is there no wage equivalent to the man-hours spent training/teaching
interns so that they can use that experience on the employer’s behalf,
then take it to the next level? Either in your own company or at
another one? Evidently not according to Big Brother.
I beg to differ. I had student interns in California who learned the
ins and outs of typesetting, desktop publishing and graphic design at
my company and then got excellent paying jobs (that I couldn’t offer)
at larger companies.
I had interns throughout my seven years at the Advocate. Several went
on to pursue careers in journalism. Three of them were hired full time
once their internships were finished. One, I believe came back as the
Advocate’s Sports Editor. Another, Christina Chalmers, is the
Advocate’s Managing Editor.
A tremendous amount of time – mine and that of others – went into the
training of these young people. The experience they gained went well
beyond the nuts and bolts of the fields they were pursuing. They
learned deadlines, maintaining schedules, responsibility and more!
What are those idiots in Washington thinking?
I will “give” this guy that some students intern as gofers… coffee, box
lunches, errands and so on. They still learn other values I guess, but
I wouldn’t know. I’ve never asked a student to intern without expecting
to invest my own time into his or her training.
Stossel touched on the supposed lack of jobs… noting that it was the
lack of employees to fill specialized jobs that was possibly a bigger
concern. He also said that those with general education degrees – BA’s
and MBA’s – were the ones who had most of the trouble finding a job.
Interesting… I did the same thing on Friday.
He also touched on the penchant of our saviors to require
ever-increasing minimum wages. There is discussion currently going on
about $10 an hour. Minimum wages keep kids who need mentorship and
training out of the job market. The more an employer has to pay the
more that employer will expect someone to start out with some
experience.
Beautiful example… technical writers. Tech writing is a process similar
to journalism. I’ve taught it at Edison for years. Some students
occasionally checked out the job market for tech writers. Nearly all
required experience for the jobs being offered (minimal to start, by
the way). I learned tech writing the same way I learned journalism… “On
the hoof” from some pretty good specialists. No pay but lots of
experience.
Which brings me back to Stossel’s question to the interns in his
audience. Most of them are learning more from their internships than
they did at college. With the exception of one instructor at Texas
A&M I learned far more in my internships and entry-level jobs than
I ever did in the classroom.
So here’s my solution.
Instead of students going into debt to go to a 4-year college and
receiving government-mandated minimal pay for the tremendous experience
they get on the job, let’s have those colleges pay the students for
their indoctrination opportunity and have the students pay the
employers for the experience and training they get!
That, my friends, could have far-reaching impact. It might even turn
our economy around, and it would be a helluva lot cheaper for the kids.
In the meantime, I guess I’ll continue to be a criminal. I’m not going
to let some bureaucrat tell me what I can and can’t do with the value I
put on my time to teach, mentor and train.
That’s my opinion. What’s yours?
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