Internships are often the first step into the professional world. It is also a form of employment. It is professional training given period from industrial leaders. For freshers, it is a learning period.
You might be wondering if the internships are paid; aren’t they employment? The response may not remain the same at that time. However, the questioner this time necessitates a comprehensive explanation.
To understand why internships are and are not considered employment, it is necessary first to learn some basic facts. We shall provide a thorough, logical overview here by stating some questions and answering them briefly. So, let’s get the ball rolling!
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What is an Internship?
Before going into a brief argument, it is important to know what an internship is. An internship is a short-term work experience provided to students or recent graduates in general. It aims to provide hands-on training in a specific field or industry.
The interns may work on specific projects, assist with day-to-day tasks, and shadow experienced professionals to learn about the industry. It is usually offered with a small stipend or unpaid.
Overall, it is a learning period for a recent graduate or a final-year student to become familiar with the industrial environment, work ethic, and some hands-on real-time work experience.
Related: How Long Does An Internship Last?
Why Don’t Internships Considered Employment?
We will know why we don’t recognize low-paid internships as employment and try to find out whether or not an internship meets the job requirement. We will also see a real-time case analysis based on the assumptions.
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Some Assume Low paid Internships aren’t Employment
Internships are often referred to as trainee periods. A period of time when individuals can gain practical training and experience in a specific field.
However, you must know that most internships are either unpaid or low-paid. As a result, many individuals question whether an internship can be considered employment.
It is entirely up to you whether you consider it works or not. Some argue that paid internships can still be considered work. Because you are learning, participate in certain tasks that will help you learn. So it might be an employment. But if you know the payment base, you may find a clear conclusion.
Even while some internships provide a little stipend, employees are paid a salary. Therefore, interns aren’t considered employees of the company. Furthermore, some assume that internships aren’t converted into jobs in maximum time.
So, in that situation, it is obvious that students receive a stipend for learning, which does not appear to be a job.
The internship doesn’t Meet the Job Requirements
It is now a bit confusing, right? Alright, let’s try to make it easier. Some people believe that paid internships resemble employment, while others believe that internships are voluntary.
Consider doing a job requirement analysis. If the internship does not satisfy the qualifications, we may conclude it is not employment. It is considered employment if it satisfies more than half of the standards.
Let’s start with typical job qualifications and assess whether a newcomer needs them.
| Requirements | Freshers | Verdict (Percentage) |
| Experience | No | 0% |
| Deep Knowledge | No | 0% |
| Well paid | No | 0% |
| Language Expertise (English) | Yes/No | 25% |
Assume these are the four requirements. Each necessity has 25% of its bag. Freshers barely satisfy 25% of the employment qualifications. It is evident that they fail to satisfy even half of the job criteria. So, you may argue that internships are not employed in this context.
Case Analysis: Software Engineer
How about analyzing a job and its entry requirements? Suppose it is a Software firm. They are looking for an experienced software engineer and a fresh face as a Software Engineering trainee.
Let’s have a quick look at the software engineer’s entry criteria:
- Should have at least a particular year of work experience
- Knowing certain programming knowledge and frameworks
- Have to know the application development process well
- Good basics on other development stacks will bring a good lead
- Good English skills are a plus point
If you’re a software engineer, don’t take such simple requirements seriously. It’s just a hypothetical example.
However, they want smart experience on professional projects and a specific understanding of programming languages and frameworks. They want someone who is familiar with the application development process for a position.
But what do they need as a trainee? In most circumstances, offices expect interns to be attentive, determined, and eager to learn the job. A basic or intermediate programming language skill might bring value in some instances.
Why Are Internships Still an Employment?
We were discussing why internships aren’t considered jobs. We will now provide two reasons why internships are employment opportunities.
1. A Certain Time Service and Assistance
In employment, you are expected to work for the firm for a set amount of time. Because the corporate expects you to work for and serve them for at least that long. It can be a year, at least six months, or something like that.
An internship can also be time-consuming. However, it is not the same. You can study for a few weeks to a few months. You might study while also assisting with professional activities.
So, in such a scenario, you are paid and contribute little to your firm. So you might call it employment. Paid internships can therefore be considered employment.
2. Work Experience
When applying for a job, you may be asked to demonstrate your experience. What is the source of that? If you’ve already worked someplace, don’t you demonstrate your experience there?
Similarly, you may show your internship as job experience for that period. That is, your work throughout your internship term which was done professionally and with professional support.
You learned professional competence and put it into practice. It wouldn’t be a job experience if you didn’t do it.
Since you can use it as work experience, you were paid for this, why do not you call it employment?
Final Thoughts
So, what will be the exact answer after all that things? Well, the answer is it depends on you.
To put it simply, if someone gets paid for doing anything, it is employment. But since employers and trainees aren’t paid on the same basis, you can’t call it employment.
But on the other hand, it is recognized everywhere that you can show your internship as a work experience. It means you professionally did something, got paid for a little, and you have assisted with some professional work. In this point of view, internships are employment.
After assessing both points of view, it is most evident that internships are employment. It has a strong logical backup which clears the matter.
On the other hand, internships aren’t employment are just some people’s assumptions. Sometimes it may provide strong logical backups, but in most cases, some people shared their experiences and assumptions. So, this isn’t well established after all.
All in all, paid internships are surely employment.
