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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Kids don't work hard these days.  Her retail job is dead end.  Sure, it pays a bit, but if she's looking for growth in her field, she needs connections.  Complaining about working extra hours unpaid at this point in her life is BS.

Millennials are such whiners.  This is a temporary phase. And as a parent, you should encourage her to build her resume instead of enabling lazy behavior that will lead to "basement living" in your home. [/quote]

NP here.  I disagree.   My father is the hardest working man I know, and growing up, he told me that unpaid internships are exploitation.  Anyone who truly values hard work doesn't expect others to work for free.

Volunteer work is different.  An internship is not volunteer work.

The distinguishing factor between volunteer and internship is that interns have less control over their hours.   I don't see how anyone should be able to legally tell someone they have to work more unpaid hours.  But I do think "internships" get around that.   Otherwise, those campaigns and employers would just seek volunteers looking for experience (for which they get plenty).

But as other PPs have said, if OP's daughter wants to go into politics, perhaps she should get used to it.

If I were OP, I'd advise my child to think seriously about whether that is the field she wants to go into.  Despite the positive anecdotal experiences listed here, I have a friend who volunteered (it wasn't an internship) for a campaign.  He reduced his actual paying work hours (sacrificing pay he needed) because he really believed that somehow the volunteer work would lead to something.  It never did lead to an actual job.  He says he learned a lot about campaign work and made a lot of great contacts.  But none of it amounted to a paying job.  He moved back in with his parents and is exploring other career options.

I only mention that so that OP can caution her daughter to go into it eyes wide open.  Sure, there is the potential that it will lead to other things.  But there is no guarantee.  [/quote]

Nothing in life is guaranteed!

How old are you, PP?  young, I imagine, as I hardly think you'd have a 40 yo friend moving back home

These unpaid internships are nothing new.  When I was a journalism major, internships were required.  There were a few lucky students who were paid.  Yes, we earned credits for interning, but we also PAID for those credits.  lol

And while many were paid for X number of hours, my peers who "volunteered" for extra hours were often offered jobs after graduating.

I will says this again - Millennials can't cut the cord, often complaining to their parents who ultimately enable co-dependent behavior.  It's not healthy.

OP's daughter needs to suck it up.  This won't be her life forever if she works hard hard.  And OP needs to let her daughter fight her own battles instead of coming here to complain FOR her.

oy[/quote]

I would also add that the job market is likely very different than when you or I were first starting out.  In my opinion, the career fields that *require* internships (political science, journalism, et cetera) with the exception of teaching (where the internship is tied to certification) are career fields I would avoid because they involve a lot of years of long hours and horrible pay.  And even then, there's such a steady influx of new people who are willing to work for free (internships!), that even once you pay your dues, you could be downsized.

That is why my advice to OP was to advise her daughter to consider if she really wants to go into that field.  She should go in eyes wide open, that it might take years of long hours and low pay and a lot o schmoozing before she finds some sort of financial stability.

You mention journalism.  A person I knew about a decade ago went down that path, did the internships, and never did find a full-time paying job in her field (despite good greats, great feedback and accolades).  [/quote]

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