A Magical War on Interns

If you were a college student in 2013, then you may know first-hand what it feels like to wonder how the economy will be once you cross that stage. Unfortunately for those of us who are recent graduates or soon-to-be graduates, the job market hasn’t exactly rebounded like many had predicted. Instead, many students have been jumping to opportunities to take on paid and unpaid internships. I am one of those students. 

I was in my junior year at the University of Hawaii and like many of you, I had no idea what I was going to do once I graduated. To my surprise, Disney came in October to recruit interns for the 2011 Disney College Program. I happened to be one of the two chosen from my university. Although, it was not until I began work at Disneyland that I realized what internships were doing to the economy. 

Working at Disneyland was truly a magical experience for me. I lived in Disney College Program housing only 5 minutes away from the park. I had free admission into the park every single day. And best of all, it was PAID! All of us interns were getting so many hours while working at the park. Little did we know, we were “taking” hours from regular employees with low seniority. You may be asking, “How does that work?” Much like in college, Disneyland employees are given priority number based on how many years they have been on staff. Therefore, the newer employees priority numbers are no match to the 5 year seniority that interns are given. Although, this is most likely due to the housing fees and a few other financial benefits, the regular employees are not too shy to tell interns how they feel about the inequality. Of course, they bully in the most polite way…

Even though I absolutely loved my internship at Disney and will be attending the alumni program, the war on interns continues. Students are nearly required to intern in order to be eligible for the crazy job market. With over one million internships (both paid and unpaid) offered in the United States a year, it is no secret that companies are getting away with job market murder. Even with the many regulations put on the companies that employ interns, it is clear that internships are being offered in place of regular paid positions. This makes me wonder if I will be caught in the same situation as soon as I receive my diploma in the mail (along with my student loan bill). 

Despite the terrible predicament everyone has been placed in, I am still awaiting the start of my alumni internship program with Disney. The market currently gives recent graduates a very small lead for interning for big corporations. So I definitely need to take this opportunity if I am going to ever get a job that will allow me to pay off these loans. Though an unfortunate part of my experience, I believe it was only touching the very surface of our new job market and the war on interns. 

Yours truly,

      Michaela