Modern Slave Labor

Will Work for Free: How Unpaid Internships Cheapen Workers of All Ages | The Business Desk with Paul Solman | PBS NewsHour | PBS:

...But increasingly, what interns face now is that there are no jobs, and no prospects of a job waiting at the end, no matter how well they do. Indeed, they're going to have to do multiple internships, become serial interns, and even at the end of that, they may be in a very precarious position. So it's really something that sounds good for a lot of people but increasingly is not working out. Since 2008, rising college tuition, record levels of student debt and high levels of youth unemployment have exacerbated the dismal prospects for unpaid internships. Unpaid internships have become a straw that breaks the camel's back for many people....

One of the reasons I got out of the degree-earning business and one of the reasons I discourage undergraduate students from seeking advanced degrees. Several good undergraduate programs have ruined their recruitment prospects via internships and "clinical" hours.