You may recall that when I posted about my efforts to redesign the summer intern application, I vaguely mentioned that there would have to be some changes to the program moving forward in order for it to continue. Well, I am happy to say that my work towards a new application was not done in vain, as the program will continue next year. However, in 2014, all intern positions will be unpaid.
Yes, that's right - unpaid. I'm sure this will not be a popular change. I'll readily admit that the opportunity to receive a salary definitely influenced my interest back when I applied to be an intern. This internship was my first job, my first responsibility, my first time clock, my first income. It was a major turning point in my life that influenced my entire education and career path. And I'm not alone in that.
Be that as it may, our current situation simply does not afford the luxury of monetary compensation this year. RIT is undergoing cost containment, and budgets are tight. Labs can't help support the program with anything more than the work involved with taking in an intern. Industry sponsorship was waned to a point where we can only cover the costs of a single intern - and for the past few years, we have around 14 interns per cohort. When you consider that the price of a single intern is around $3,000 (including administrative costs), times fourteen, that is a significant investment. Granted, if we get even just one student enrolling in Imaging Science as a result of their experience in the intern program (and for the past few years we've been getting more than one), the return on investment easily makes it all worth it. But, to be perfectly honest - we just can't do it on our own anymore.
So, for 2014, we'll be asking interns to volunteer their time. This isn't to say they won't still be rewarded for all their hard work. Even though they won't get a salary, they will still get to work in real research labs, interact with college students and professors, gain significant skills and experience, participate in professional development activities, go on field trips, and meet students from other schools who have similar interests. We'll also provide interns with letters of recommendation, and we're still looking into the possibility of offering some additional form of compensation (though I'm unsure at this point what form that may take). These are all pretty significant benefits, especially in a world where competition among applicants, be it for college or for jobs, is ever-increasing.
Overall I feel pretty conflicted about the whole thing. I am afraid that we will miss out on some really good students. But then again, there are a lot of really good students. Just look at the massive applicant pool we had last year - there are way more deserving students out there than we have positions to accommodate them. Not to mention, the demand was getting out of control to handle. I suppose a few fewer applications wouldn't be such a bad thing... Also, there are still so many benefits to participating even without money. I would hope that if a student is passionate about getting this kind of experience, that they could overlook the lack of salary. Maybe this will automatically filter out those students who were looking at our internship as an opportunity to score some cash while beefing up their resume to go elsewhere, and we'll only get those who are genuinely interested in being here. But let's get real for a minute - there are a lot of people feeling strapped for cash, and it may not be realistic to expect that they could devote 40 hours a week to us when they could be spending that time making bank.
One could argue that this is unfair, while another could argue that we're under no obligation to offer the program at all. I think it is pretty easy to see both sides of the issue, but I find it extremely difficult to sort out my feelings about it all, especially because the program has had such an impact on me personally. But I suppose when it comes down to it, it really doesn't matter what I feel, because the bottom line is that we don't have a choice. I guess we'll just have to see how it all plays out.
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