Does being in the center of Mpls hurt the U of M? (Virginia: mortgage, credit)

[Kid Cann]

Originally Posted by track2514

Golf Gal I think you missed my point about the availability of internships or even paid work experience at an urban university vs. a small school. In general an urban university setting offers a potential student with more opportunity for outside experiences while they are completing a four year degree. I was one of the students you mentioned who interned for a semester when I was not taking classes, i.e. the last semester of my senior year. Luckily, I was able to drive to my internship and still live on campus, but it was still an hour each way. So a student at an urban university can get four years of experience prior to entering the workforce, whereas a student at a rural university may have to take another internship or low paying job after college since they have only interned or worked for a semester.

As an Urban Planning major with a semester-long internship required for graduation, I found most internship opportunities to be in Rural towns A) Because they don't have the resources to necessarily pay a year-round full-time employee so they take in a part-time, seasonal intern to suffice. B) Because big cities interns are usually gophers and coffee makers, never getting their hands dirty.

[trackstar13]

Thanks for the input Kid Cann, that is also kind of ironic that as an Urban Planning major you had to go rural for an internship. I am simply trying to point out that while in school, many students have more (not always better) opportunities in an urban area. I am currently a professor at the U of M and I can tell you the students I have recently graduated with little or no internship experience are really struggling to find jobs right now. The students who completed several internships during their four years at the U of M are for the most part employed shortly after graduating. I think it also depends on the major.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Kid Cann

You do know that about 99% of Lawyers do about 100 hrs of Lawyer service while in school for FREE. Doctors, while in residency earn little to no money and work 80+hrs a week. That's what you do to get ahead. I made a stipend of $25/week for 35 + hours interning. It hasn't paid off yet (thanks recession), but it looks good on my resume. And the job was also supposed to roll into a full time job. So, as a potential job candidate, why not work for free or nothing to prove your interest in the field or job, and that you're not just showing up to work for a paycheck

Doctors while in residency still get paid. It seems to me that a person who works for free part time for 4 years picked the wrong darn career!! Lawyers are a dime a dozen so that makes sense that they work for free as well.

While you call that getting ahead, I call that person a slave. I don’t care how popular internships are. If you want experience and plan on working for free, how about you start your own business and work for free while you build your business. I did. I sell things for more money than I pay for them. It’s called sales and you can make a small fortune if you are good at it. J

All I am saying is that I won’t work for free unless I’m doing it because I really want to (charity, working on someone’s campaign etc).

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by track2514

You are living in another world Born and Raised, jobs are currently hard to come by and recent college graduates often need to take an unpaid internship prior to gaining employment in their field. Many of these students are competing against people with many years of experience who have been laid off and it is hard to get your foot in the door without experience. If you have ever seen the movie "Pursuit of Happyness," you can see the real value of an internship. In the movie, the main character took an unpaid internship to better his life and get the job he wanted. Your reality is a little different than the rest of the world.

I realize that I live in a different world than you. I am self employed and you are employed by the government. i'm a capitalist and you are a green movement pro-union big government kind of guy. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying we are different.

If people are climbing over one another competing for the same jobs then they picked the wrong career. Independent what is common or typical, it's stupid to work for free. If you all want to do that, go for it. I call it taking advantage of someone. Being a pro-union person, I would have guessed that you should understand that more than anyone. Be consistant.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

"You know the old Depression-era signs, 'I'll work for food?,' " asks Philadelphia workplace attorney Robin Bond. "Well, now they say, 'I'll work for free.'

Read more: Unpaid Adult Internships on Rise, Posing Legal Questions - TIME

I've leactured my Kid's a couple hundred times that they need to pick a career that cannot be outsourced and always aim towards owning their own business.

It seems I need to add one more criteria. Pick a career that you don't have to be an "Intern" (a.k.a. work for free). I thought that went without saying but I didn't realize it was so popular these days (see Unpaid interns - the slaves of the 21st century - Opinion (http://media.www.neiuindependent.com/media/storage/paper1122/news/2010/04/27/Opinion/Unpaid.Interns.The.Slaves.Of.The.21st.Century-3913380.shtml - broken link)

[Kid Cann]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

I realize that I live in a different world than you. I am self employed and you are employed by the government. i'm a capitalist and you are a green movement pro-union big government kind of guy. Nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying we are different.

If people are climbing over one another competing for the same jobs then they picked the wrong career. Independent what is common or typical, it's stupid to work for free. If you all want to do that, go for it. I call it taking advantage of someone. Being a pro-union person, I would have guessed that you should understand that more than anyone. Be consistant.

What area of study are you talking about man?
Because I just graduated college, and almost every single one of my peers were required to do an internship, and the ones who WEREN'T required to have an internship were STRONGLY encouraged to do so, since chances are the competition has done one (for free, paid, whatver)

I can't think of many of my friends who didnt

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by track2514

Thanks for the input Kid Cann, that is also kind of ironic that as an Urban Planning major you had to go rural for an internship. I am simply trying to point out that while in school, many students have more (not always better) opportunities in an urban area. I am currently a professor at the U of M and I can tell you the students I have recently graduated with little or no internship experience are really struggling to find jobs right now. The students who completed several internships during their four years at the U of M are for the most part employed shortly after graduating. I think it also depends on the major.

I know this is off topic, but "urban planning" doesn't have to be urban. There are many jobs in small towns and rural areas. Those in the profession just call it "planning."

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Kid Cann

What area of study are you talking about man?
Because I just graduated college, and almost every single one of my peers were required to do an internship, and the ones who WEREN'T required to have an internship were STRONGLY encouraged to do so, since chances are the competition has done one (for free, paid, whatver)

I can't think of many of my friends who didnt

It sounds like things have changed some. When I went to college, there were “internships” such as student teachers as well as social workers getting OJT. It was required to get your certificate. Those were structured programs with a clear learning goals. It wasn’t a way for someone to work for free thinking they were going to get a leg-up.

I went for a double major with a non-typical combo (EE and also a business major at the Carlson School of Management). We call "internships" working over the summer in a related field. What that really meant was the employer was interested in seeing if they wanted you after you graduate. We always got paid.

Fast forward to 2010. I’d be surprised if the electrical engineering department required internships. There is no doubt that you could beg a company to see if they can work for free.

See internship Jobs | Monster.com

Note the engineering and technical focused jobs offer pay and the public relations / international jobs don't. It seems that those political science degrees are not worth as much.

It's a pretty sad day when you are up against a bunch of applicants attempting to get the job to work for free. I'd stay away from those areas of study unless I was extremly talented in that area. The top performers will always do well.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

While you call that getting ahead, I call that person a slave. I don’t care how popular internships are. If you want experience and plan on working for free, how about you start your own business and work for free while you build your business. I did. I sell things for more money than I pay for them. It’s called sales and you can make a small fortune if you are good at it. J

All I am saying is that I won’t work for free unless I’m doing it because I really want to (charity, working on someone’s campaign etc).

Sometimes there isn't a choice ... for example, there are many IT skills that one simply cannot obtain without some form of hands-on work experience in a large corporate shop.

If graduates want to enter into the workforce and directly compete against people who have hard experience with such tools, an internship gives them a potential edge on those who don't have such an internship.

Sometimes an internship is a very good way to network as well ... people will see you *working*, and will form opinions about you based on what they are seeing. It sometimes results in a real job later on...

Of course, back when I was in school an IT or programming internship generally paid something, but even without pay I would still say the experience itself has considerable value.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by track2514

Golf Gal I think you missed my point about the availability of internships or even paid work experience at an urban university vs. a small school. In general an urban university setting offers a potential student with more opportunity for outside experiences while they are completing a four year degree. I was one of the students you mentioned who interned for a semester when I was not taking classes, i.e. the last semester of my senior year. Luckily, I was able to drive to my internship and still live on campus, but it was still an hour each way. So a student at an urban university can get four years of experience prior to entering the workforce, whereas a student at a rural university may have to take another internship or low paying job after college since they have only interned or worked for a semester.

I know very few people that would chose to live on campus while interning. Most majors these days seem to have an intern requirement. It is a good way to get experience. Depending on your major there may be opportunities nearby or not. There is also more competition for the internships in major metro areas. I don't know of anyone that wasn't able to get an internship that wanted one from my rural school.