Reply to Rant: Tell Kids to Stop Bugging Professors for Internships

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Reply to "Rant: Tell Kids to Stop Bugging Professors for Internships"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Luckily, not all professors are as closed-minded as OP. [b]Some high school students ARE capable of producing publishable research.[/b] Just because you couldn't do it when you were young, doesn't others can't achieve it.[/quote]

No they aren’t.  They are capable of providing some of the relatively unskilled labor necessary to produce publishable research, but frankly those jobs would be better given to college first and second years.  The only reason high schoolers might get those jobs is that they’re more likely to tolerate not getting paid.  Which makes this whole situation a fun adventure into unpaid internships aka buy experience for your resume/college app.

I agree with OP that this whole concept is offensive and upsetting but I don’t think it’s the kids’ fault at all.  No high schooler really understands how much they still have to learn and they’re just kids.  Much better for parents and counsellors to encourage them to work as lifeguards or in public-facing roles.  Now those are things that will develop the skills they need for their later careers — besides giving them the wherewithal to save.[/quote]

My field requires years of training/experience before someone is qualified to conduct publishable research.  Many people are capable of completing the training, but HS students and undergraduates are just not ready - or helpful.  I can't trust any aspect of my work, even the busy work, to a student at that level.  This is not because they're not smart, eager, and nice, or even because they're not deserving of encouragement, but because they literally don't have the skills yet, and I can't make anyone have those skills in the length of any internship.  It's no one's fault that they're not prepared to participate, but a kid who thinks that their momentary expression of curiosity is a job qualification is a kid who is being massively disserved by the HS machine. [/quote]

PP you’re responding to.  You’re right, I should have said high school students AT BEST are capable of providing some of the relatively unskilled labor necessary to produce publishable research depending on the field.  It’s insane that people legitimately seem to think that high school student have the skills and education to perform research; there’s a reason people go to college before embarking on PhDs.[/quote]

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