Ridiculous expectations for interns

[SarcasticDwarf]

Is it some kind of requirement that inters be expected to do a job normally expected of someone with years of experience in the field getting paid 6-10x as much? Argh.

*bangs head on desk*

In my case half the day I am sitting there TRYING to think of something to do (everyone i work with can see my screen, so it is difficult). The other half is being given work like preparing a report analyzing a specific industry in a specific region and its impact on the local economy.

 

[Tiamat]

yes, get used to it

 

[jmcoreymv]

I've dealt with the exact opposite problem where interns are expected to just sit on their ass all day.

 

[OOBradm]

ill be starting my first internship this summer programming a joystick operated machine gun turret for trucks that go to Iraq. I hope all internships arent like what you describe

 

[Jawo]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I've dealt with the exact opposite problem where interns are expected to just sit on their ass all day.

Thats been more my experience...............

 

[Kanalua]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I've dealt with the exact opposite problem where interns are expected to just sit on their ass all day.

Me too. Give you an assignment; then you do it because it's easy. You ask for more work and they don't have any "right now, just relax."

Gotta love government internships...you really learn how a bureaucracy (doesn't) work.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

All of my internships (3) have been a giant waste of time. If I wasn't getting paid I wouldn't have done any of them. The truth is most companies don't trust interns to do any significant work for them, so you end up doing a lot of busy work and meaningless tasks. But you do create great networking contacts.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I've dealt with the exact opposite problem where interns are expected to just sit on their ass all day.

Well that is half my internship. Most of the work I am given takes minutes where they think it will take hours. The rest of the work I am given is stuff that is waaay over my head (say to prepare a formal report on an industry in a state).

A REALLY annoying mix.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Kanalua

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I've dealt with the exact opposite problem where interns are expected to just sit on their ass all day.

Me too. Give you an assignment; then you do it because it's easy. You ask for more work and they don't have any "right now, just relax."

Gotta love government internships...you really learn how a bureaucracy (doesn't) work.

My internship with the air force research laboratory was very much the opposite back in high school. They basically were told me to learn JHDL and write a program for them (can't disclose what for). I had never programed in my life before then. This is when I learned the great importance of networking and talking with other people. A great experience!

 

[IronWing]

The trouble with interns is that the person who decided to hire the intern usually isn't the person who gets stuck with the intern. Interns take time. Yes they can do really good work and bring fresh air to the workplace but they also take a lot of time on the part of the mentor, particularly when they first start. We hire lots of interns and the first three to four weeks are a drag for all involved. The intern feels ignored and the mentor feels put upon simply because of time constraints. Interns are also viewed as short timers so they have plague when they come through the door. Other workers don't want to invest energy in someone who is leaving soon.

 

[her209]

I never did an internship. :thumbsup:

 

[nageov3t]

I love our interns... we lock them in a room and have them head cables for us all day while we surf the net

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: jmcoreymv
I've dealt with the exact opposite problem where interns are expected to just sit on their ass all day.

Agreed. I was basically getting paid to not fall asleep.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: ironwing
The trouble with interns is that the person who decided to hire the intern usually isn't the person who gets stuck with the intern. Interns take time. Yes they can do really good work and bring fresh air to the workplace but they also take a lot of time on the part of the mentor, particularly when they first start. We hire lots of interns and the first three to four weeks are a drag for all involved. The intern feels ignored and the mentor feels put upon simply because of time constraints. Interns are also viewed as short timers so they have plague when they come through the door. Other workers don't want to invest energy in someone who is leaving soon.

In my case it is a company with three people working there. I don't think they really thought through what EXACTLY I am supposed to do for 20 hours/week.

 

[ngvepforever2]

Well I am glad I learned a lot in both my internships (the one at fatwallet taught me a lot and challenged me). I was expected to be a fast learner and be able to pick up stuff on the fly and I believe I didn't dissapoint. I like to feel challenged and my internships did that for me.

ng

 

[Doodoo]

i love interns...the hot ones anyways.

 

[DaShen]

6-10X is a bit of an exxageration, don't you think?

 

[Greenman]

For the short time I was an employee I had an intern, I dumped all the crap work on him and did the fun stuff myself. Good kid, nevered complaned, always did a good job, and even when he didn't understand what he was doing he always gave it his best shot.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: George P Burdell
Agreed. I was basically getting paid to not fall asleep.

I got paid and I fell asleep :laugh:!

My task was pretty large and obtuse though.. not something I could've completed in my time, but it wasn't expected of me.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: Doodoo
i love interns...the hot ones anyways.

Interns engulfed in flames are bad, mmmkay.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
Is it some kind of requirement that inters be expected to do a job normally expected of someone with years of experience in the field getting paid 6-10x as much? Argh.

*bangs head on desk*

Get used to it. And then after you graduate expect that any potential employer will try to downplay your intern experience as it was nothing during negotiations...

 

[irishScott]

lol my internship last summer (and hopefully this summer) was programming GUIs for the consoles on the upcoming Virginia Class Sub being developed by Lockeed Martin (intership was with Lockheed). I guess when I put "proficient in java" on my resume they assumed I had memorized the entire swing library. My "boss" (they guy I was an intern for) basically gave me work that he could probably do in a few hours. Took me days.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: DaShen
6-10X is a bit of an exxageration, don't you think?

I am getting paid $9.50 an hour. The first two weeks I spent looking at the needs of the company and then implementing a document management system (actually Sharepoint). Once that is fully installed I will be handling the creation and population of the system. I have also been doing a bunch of other (unrelated) IT stuff.

The other half has been doing research. The research I am conducting is (for the most part) stuff that is not the things that an intern could EVER be expected to do.

As for the figure, it is something of a WAG. The first part above would normally have been done by a consultant. I am familiar with the rates that are charged and $70/hour would be about right. The research stuff is normally done by a salaried employee, so converting that to an equivalent hourly/contract rate is a bit difficult.

 

[TuxDave]

We grind our interns at Intel. Several interns have been designing blocks (simplier ones of course) that will go into the next processor.

 

[daniel1113]

When I worked as an intern last summer, the other employees worked us as much as possible. I worked ~12 hours almost every day, and was always there before and after the regular staff arrived. They didn't do it to be jerks or to abuse us (although they really did), but to weed out the individuals that could work under pressure, manage their time, and get the job done.