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WORK & MONEY
PAYING THE INTERNSHIP DUES Published April 8, 1996
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Hanging out in that lawyer's office sounds really cool -- doing research, helping prepare briefs, listening in on intense consultations between clients and your boss.
Or maybe you want to check out your local newspaper and see how journalism is practiced in the newsroom's hectic atmosphere.
Ad agencies seem like a really hip place to see if your creative talents jibe with fast-paced world of image making.
An internship can be an excellent introduction to the field you're considering, but don't have any illusions about what kind of work you'll be doing. Internships tend to be a lot of fetching and copying, typing and filing, phone answering and message taking, with a few interesting bits thrown in to make the experience worthwhile.
But don't wait until you're out of college to try out your first one. Generally speaking, internships pay squat and even if you are one of the lucky few whose families have deep pockets, a lot of parents cut the financial umbilical cord after graduation and you might find yourself in a situation where you're working two or three OTHER jobs to supplement what meager compensation, if any, your internship is paying you.
Sometimes it's totally worth it, even if you have to pay your own way. My first internship was with National Public Radio's Morning Edition in Washington, D.C. I worked the graveyard shift, midnight to 8 am as a production assistant, learning how to uplink to satellites, edit tape and write copy. I had the opportunity to attend the morning editorial meeting and then worked the reception desk from 9 am to 1 p.m. to supplement the modest compensation I was getting from the internship. The schedule was completely exhausting, but I learned more in that 10 summer weeks than I had in a semester's worth of classes at college.
My second internship was with the National Endowment for the Humanities. I was paid a stipend, but only after I had begged for one and it didn't start until midway through my stint at the Publications Office. This internship was fascinating for one reason only: to observe first hand the incredible waste our federal government indulges, my "job" being a perfect example. Most days I sat around the office chewing the fat with the editor of the endowment's office newsletter, spending many hours talking to her about compulsive buying habits and occasionally taking over copy editing responsibilities when she received a frantic call from a fellow compulsive shopper screaming into the receiver, "I'm at the Gap and I've got my gold card out! You've got to help me!"
Even though most of my time at the NEH was wasted, I did get a few valuable things out of it. I learned how the endowment works and was there during the Reagan years, when its budget was being slashed and its chair, Lynne Cheney, was attempting to pull the NEH--kicking and screaming--to the right philosophically. Also, on more than a few occasions, I had the opportunity to do photo research at the Library of Congress, which meant that I had access to the library's stacks, where I would lose myself for hours, pouring over crumbling manuscripts and moldy books. By the end of the summer, I had a couple of great references from my bosses and another internship to put on my resume.
Internships build your resume, show people that you have some knowledge of the area you are seeking work in and that you have the initiative to go out and explore career options. Internships also help you figure out what you DON'T want to do, and I knew the day I left the NEH that I didn't want to work for the Federal government in any capacity, never mind the NEH.
The summer after college graduation I had my final internship, this time with Utne Reader, which touted itself as a digest of the alternative press. By far the most influential of all my internships in terms of its impact on my career, my time at Utne was what an internship should be about: learning. I was exposed to a vast array of publications, styles of writing, subject matter and points of view. The editors I worked with were genuinely interested in helping me get articles published in the magazine. The editors also helped me improve my writing style and editing skills.
Of course there was also a vast amount of grunt work involved and they only paid $5/hr. Thanks to its internship program, Utne Reader had an editorial assistant most of the year, with the interns changing every three or four months. There was a constant supply of eager college graduates available--over 400 applicants for each internship that opened up -- so Utne never had to pay a full time salary or health benefits. But this was a tradeoff I willingly accepted, making up the shortfall by working other part time jobs.
Ultimately, the relationship I established with Utne during my internship paid big dividends. I ended up freelancing for them on a fairly regular basis and the clips I accumulated from the magazine helped me land other freelance writing gigs and full time editing jobs.
Caveat intern: choose your internship carefully and take advantage of every opportunity to learn more about the field you want to work in. You're going to be taken advantage of; but as long as you know that going in and realize that your time there is limited, you can enter the job market with a familiarity with your chosen field that only hands-on experience can give you.
Online Resources: Tripod has teamed up with the National Society for Experimental Education to provide The National Directory of Internships, a searchable database that allows you to search for the work you want, anywhere in the U.S. Harry Goldstein is a writer and editor living in Manhattan. His work has appeared in Utne Reader, American Book Review, Promethean, AltX, word.com, and other periodicals.
© 1996 Harry Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
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