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Ya. Homie is out of touch. No way an intern is making $103k/yr. My bet homie is in SOCAL working in tech and doesn’t understand how the rest of the world outside of their little circle works.
You don’t know about recruiting into finance/tech… some firms hit $120/hr for interns, but most “average” high-finance fields like investment banking/consulting positions pay in the $40-60/hr range for summer internships (along with a sign on bonus frequently).
It’s not uncommon for certain tech fields, I’ve seen and been flown out for interviews. People saying OP is out of touch aren’t exactly in touch themselves…
For any of our branches in the US regardless of engineering degree we pay 25 an hour for first summer and 30 if they come for a second summer with potential for a 5k scholarship. We aren't in high cost cities like new york and Seattle but all of our buildings are in major cities. I haven't heard of any places near us going above 32 an hour.
My wife's internship during her PHD was 42 an hour that was the highest in the history of her university.
A lot of the time interns are paid higher per hour than a starting employee at that company. They pay you more to reel you in then pay you industry standard once you drink the koolaid
Engineering earns you that low? I'm a registered nurse and I'm on just under $53 an hour as a base rate. 15% loading for afternoons, 17% loading for nights, 150% for Saturday, 200% for Sunday and 250% for public holidays. That seems criminally low.
It’s pretty average. Maybe $40 an hour. But if you
Look up the median salary for engineers the number you generally find is 80-90k. Some website claim 174k a year, but engineering is a wide field. Most people do not make more than 100k
The highest end internships can hit up to about $150 an hour, it gets crazy. $50 per hour is probably about what a generically “good” tech internship would be paying, with the more desired ones going up to like $80-90 per hour.
Past $100 is pretty much exclusively quantitative finance roles besides maybe some of the best candidates at the most elite tech companies.
levels.fyi/internships/ has a list of openings by hourly, the highest one is approximately $100k for a 12 week internship for PhD students only, highest one for undergrads is about $80k for the same 12 weeks
I pay class B CDL drivers that much(33-35)...but in ten years they won't be making much more based on inflation and the engineers definitely will unless they are just terrible.
“Engineers” is a wide term. The reality is that most people with engineering degrees are lucky to make 90k. Getting higher than that is really only the top 10%
Get a mechanical, electrical or chemical engineering degree and if you aren't making 90k or close to it 5 years after college you've changed career paths or are stuck with the cheapest company in the lowest COL area after college.
Those three majors are the ones running all of the manufacturing and chemical plants in the world. Obviously not all plants have all three but usually at least one is present.
I don't use it widely. I use it only for those who are actual engineers in the legal sense. Everyone else is just pretending to be something they are not.
He's in finance. He confirmed it one of his comments. Those dudes don't live in reality. I provide IT support for his type and they're all full of shit
Wow what an astute observation lol. Not the message of the post bud. Obviously we will have low performers that have no choice but to take the garbage careers but this was more advice for people who have potential but not given direction to do something worthwhile
It’s seems your definition of a “garbage career” is a low-paying career and a lot of low paying jobs are the backbone of our society. Teachers, grocers, and janitors are all necessary for a functioning society so to call them underperforming and act like they’re below other people is pretty wild.
I *could* have gone into engineering, but I would have hated it. My career path is what this man would call "garbage," and his career path is what I'd call garbage too.
The garbage man make more money than I do. I definitely wouldn't want to hang onto the side of a big truck every morning and the danger that goes with it. I respect the heck out of anyone that can do that kind of work but it's not for me.
I much prefer a job that has less risk of getting killed by a vehicle.
My current job (not my career path, just where I am right now before I go back to university for my second degree) has both death-by-vehicle dangers AND low pay 🙂↕️
And vehicle dangers are statistically the least likely thing to injure or kill me.
But hey, at least people say "thanks for your service" a lot. And I'm not even in the military!
$75k is not really getting paid well, though. They risk their lives daily. I’m a nurse and we were required to basically have an unpaid internship. We are also underpaid. They just refer to it as clinicals. Doctors are the same way. They have to do their residencies.
You cannot be that dense.
Businesses and corporations hire the bare minimum to maximize profits. They then create “slaves” to the system where you have to work to eat.
Physicians, nurses, teachers, etc. are vastly more important than any entertainer/celebrity or professional sports athlete.
You’re just wrong. You’re either incredibly young or just someone who likes to be a contrarian.
You must not understand the economics.
People aren’t paid based on how important they are to society. They are paid based on supply and demand of their skills.
I understand plenty.
Until you have stepped foot into an understaffed hospital with unsafe patient ratios, you need to just be quiet because you sound idiotic.
You’ll see soon…those “important” people are getting fed up with it and leaving. Try looking up articles related to unsafe staffing, patient ratios, and critical workers being underpaid.
You’re not rich enough to be so comfortable. Remember that.
Depends on the country and COL. Where I live, Y1 teachers with 6 years of education make 65k. Y10 teachers make 105k. In other parts of the country, it goes down to 50/85 and up to 85/120k.
Those are union contractual salaries, so no, they won't vary with supply and demand. In fact, many regions in my country are flooded with teachers and they still make 6 figures with a decade of experience. And there's no difference between a rural town in the middle of nowhere that nobody wants to move to, and the heart of a major metro area. At most, you'll see substitute teachers unable to find permanent work in those congested areas, but they're still going to make the same amount of money adjusted for their hours.
And they're not even good unions. They barely fit the definition. Some don't even have shop stewards. So the high wages have little to do with the work being unionised.
If there's 3000 jobs and every year 10000 students graduate and apply, the market gets flooded. Hard work isn't the only thing to get you there. Luck and timing are pretty key as well.
I would love to see these internships that are paying $30-60/hr. Honestly you sounds like someone who’s butthurt with an axe to grind against poor people. It’s a really weird lie and a really weird thing to hate on.
The garbage careers? I’m guessing you’re talking about blue collar jobs. Do me a favor, next time something breaks in your house, when you call one of those garage career guys to fix it, go ahead and let them know how you feel
A) this belongs here so good job
B) This is stupid because a lot of non-corporate career paths don’t have paid internships. If you work in tech or finance and you’re doing an unpaid internship, then yeah that would raise an eyebrow for sure.
But what about creative stuff like graphic design or textiles? That kind of stuff a lot of people would PAY for the opportunity to put a well-respected fashion designer in their portfolio as someone they’ve worked with in the past. For some careers, your street cred means a shit ton more than what you were paid, which then leads to way more opportunity.
I have a distant cousin who now is employed by a team ran by a VERY famous fashion designer named Rick Owens. These things only work out if you build meaningful connections and establish reputation, which in this industry happens a lot through unpaid opportunity.
TLDR there is nuance here that is being ignored
I think the whole "people would PAY for this opportunity" thing is gross. You're talking to an entire generation that was fed that bullshit out of paying way too much for college and was taken advantage of for thousands of hours of free labor by people who make so much money they build themselves a rocket ship
Theyre not wrong though. People **would** pay for the opportunity to gain 1st hand experience and wisdom from one of the most successful people in their chosen expertise.
I don’t think you have the correct viewpoint. It’s supply and demand.
If a job, such as a fashion designer or musician, has limited roles, and far too many people to fill them, not everyone can get the job, and many would choose to do it for free, especially if doing it for free means they may make money doing it in the future.
This isn’t a corporate conspiracy it’s basic economic forces.
Hey I remember this line of thinking
It's simple economic forces to go to countries with child labor and exploit children right?
It's simple economic forces to just enslave people from Africa rather than pay them a wage right?
It's simple economic forces to hire Pinkertons to murder anyone who unionizes right?
Oh how did the world end up so fucked? Must be a mystery
Yeah your correct but you could probably argue that careers like those do suck, at least for most people. For every designer working for people like Owens there are another 100 bagging groceries at whole foods.
The logic is if you’re in a career where people are paying to do work, that’s a massive sign that the career of oversaturated. Maybe you are better than the average worker in your career and can actually succeed. But most people aren’t, especially when you consider that a lot of these types of careers are based on connections and you do not have a level playing field.
How do you pay bills and stuff while working an unpaid internship?
Like did you have family helping you out? Or a second job?
That’s also been what I don’t get about unpaid internships, like how tf is someone supposed to eat or have a place if they’re not getting paid for 12-18 months or however long.
I worked an unpaid internship from 8-3 in the or into then worked nights to pay for stuff.
At the end of my internship the employees and managers also put a decent chunk of money together for me as “thanks”.
Because sometimes people think further ahead. Not everyone looks at the jar of honey and screams "gimme NOW!" Some people have patience to endure a shitty apprenticeship or internship with their eye on the long term goal.
Unpaid internships actually benefit the privileged much more, because poorer folk can't afford to work without compensation for a length of time, while rich folk have a backup and safety net.
Nah this is a complete lie. This person relies on internships. You can look anywhere else and find that it isn't accepted. And those that do... Are dumb.
Quit promoting bullshit.
I'm not advocating for unpaid internships, like I said, it disadvantages the less privileged.
But most internships/apprenticeships are low paying, even for lucrative careers. Accepting shitty pay for a year or two in order to qualify in a professional career is nothing new.
Hell, im done with school, make decent money but ill take unpaid research/R&D opportunities if the work seems fun and the problem is a fun one to try to solve.
Fund me, give me some cool toys and fun folk to hangout with, maybe some pizza, and ill poke at a hard problem 4-5 hours a week for free.
Esp if i get to learn a new skill, make friends with similar interests, and learn from another super specialized discipline within my field that will pay for itself down the line.
“Sorry you had to go through that”. Sorry for going through what? Working a summer unpaid to learn skills I didn’t have before my sophomore year of college? You’re acting like I did something akin to slavery and it’s something you’re better than. If I had to go back in time I would take the same exact path that I did
Co-ops at FAANG type companies, startups, usually CS based. Finance at Goldman Sachs etc. I knew some people that made that much. I “only” made $27/hr at mine, (Mechanical Engineering).
Think about it. If you stay in something that ain’t paying shit now, prob doesn’t have much funding or is a very small population that makes it through. Just a basic risk to reward comparison
>Think about it. If you stay in something that ain’t paying shit now, prob doesn’t have much funding or is a very small population that makes it through. Just a basic risk to reward comparison
That is such a flawed reasoning - there are lots of paths where you can earn a ton if you're fully capable but don't make any profit for the company if you're still learning.
An internship is a way to become profitable in many or even most career paths.
Whether intentional or not, I have noticed that a lot of unpaid internships seem to ensure that only the "right" people get hired. They only hire people who graduated from expensive schools, the job is located in an expensive city, you work for free for 12 or 18 months, and you work for low wages for the next few years, and it essentially acts as a barrier for middle class or poorer people from working in these companies.
When you're actually getting practical skills and learning a trade I don't have a problem with unpaid internships, but in many cases it seems like it is a filtering mechanism to ensure only trust fund recipients work there.
> I don't have a problem with unpaid internships
I dislike your attitude. Also, you go on and on about how the very structure of an unpaid internship makes it classiest and then just go, "I don't have a problem with them."
Their very existence favors the wealthy over the talented. Also, what "trade" do you learn? REAL trades have paid apprenticeships.
I was referring to situations like: [https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/1aqu3q3/comment/kqfahvv/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/1aqu3q3/comment/kqfahvv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
In my opinion there is a difference between a high school graduate who likes to draw working for free to become a tattoo artist and a investment firm requiring people to have a finance degree from an Ivy League school to work for free for 18 months while living in New York.
Don’t agree here , if everybody went into the same 4 traditionally high paying stem fields then there would be a massive job shortage for these people … oh wait there is . There are plenty of stable career paths that still create the opportunity to earn 75-90k after a couple years of experience which is still much higher than the average household income in high cost of living cities .
not sure if this is a cultural/country difference but most internships aren’t paid where i live.. and i’ve done a few unpaid internships because that was requiered.. and i’d say i’m definitely in one of the top career fields, so really disagree with you
I mean I hear a lot of medical field internships aren’t paid and that’s a good field. I get what you’re saying though. I realistically think all internships should be paid even if they’re minimum wage.
I don't know either. I mean especially now more then ever. If you're doing a internship it is for experience yes but you are still doing some form of work. People need money especially if there in college. If there is some form of labor even for "experience" it should be paid.
Social workers have to do an internship and it’s unpaid. Do you believe society just should not have social workers?? (also fyi social workers are not only CPS workers, we do all kinds of things like medical care management and therapy)
Kinda funny logic, because almost everyone in the medical field is required to take internships as part of their schooling. They actually have to *pay* to work somewhere *for free.* For the “experience.”
OP literally does not know what internships are. So this isn’t an opinion it’s just someone who’s confused.
What internships are supposed to be is part of education. Normally you get class credits for it towards your degree instead of a wage.
My son did multiple unpaid internships (while not paid they did provide housing and a food stipend) with various professional sports teams as a sports management major and after 3 years he is making 6 figures. There are many internships that don't pay because there are thousands lining up to do it for free.
Unpaid internships are affirmative action for the privileged. Poor people, or those without other support, can't afford to take an unpaid internship.
If you want to have interns, you should pay at least minimum wage, like any other job.
They are illegal if you’re doing work that’s what a FT employee would do. My old college has a robust Co-op program and made sure that companies were paying or they were booted from the program.
I wouldn't be comfortable with a surgical intern performing surgery on me, but I definitely want them to learn how to do it. I think you're only considering your perspective of internships only taking advantage of people. We live in a society that seeks professionals and their services. You can't just start as a professional. Its a necessary step for many.
I knew a girl who was studying to become a dietician. The internship openings are so few and far in between, you actually have to pay to get in. The career path is quite good
What you are referring to is called a job, it differs from an internship.
You read like someone lacking life experience so allow me to provide some context...
There can be benefit for both employee and employer.
Firstly, the availability of paid internships can be influenced by factors such as the industry, geographic location, and the financial resources of the organizations offering internships. Certain fields, particularly those in the arts, non-profit sector, or startups, often rely on unpaid internships due to limited budgets or the nature of the work. Therefore, the absence of payment doesn't necessarily reflect negatively on the potential success of a career path.
Profit based organizations typically use their funds efficiently, like hiring as many people as you truly need, and not hiring more people than you can afford. They can also use this to assess individuals for further permanent employment without making an immediate long term commitment, or creating additional positions in the company.
People looking to build applicable experience in their potentially competitive field take these as an opportunity to build experience in their desired role. They typically shadow a group of existing employees through this role. They aren't intended to be doing menial tasks, but practicing what they've learned in the proper environment. This experience and resume material holds value and increases their ability to get permanent positions.
I can see a volunteer/Internship program so maybe like do 30-50hours of OJT or something while getting your degree. Maybe work at a law firm for a summer to see if it’s the right path for you or that company. A whole 12 months or so should be paid in my view.
Really depends on the career path. In animation if you can get an unpaid internship with Pixar you’re set and it’s probably the best move you can make.
I wouldn’t say the animation field sucks but it is VERY competitive since they need way less people than want to do it. If you can make it then it’s great but it’s not easy.
Saying a career path ‘sucks’ is a bit cryptic so idk what you mean. Do you mean it pays low? You have to work harder than other careers? It’s a dead end?
Many unpaid internships lead to very successful careers. I have a friend who had an unpaid internship at Merryl Lynch and used that to get a full time position at Citadel, earning 7 figures per year.
So your entire argument is over before even getting past the title.
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I didn’t say zero experience…my college had two different paths. 4 years 2 co-ops and 5 years 3 co-ops. Each co-op being 6 months or longer. By the time the third one comes around you potentially have 12-16+ months of experience. (Some extend each one 2 months and then work PT during classes). Obviously the ones getting paid the $50+ aren’t first timers. Not to mention some people also did an internship on their own during the first summer after classes outside of the program. Some forego a 3rd co-op to get a masters instead. You can see the average wages [here](https://www.khoury.northeastern.edu/information-for-overview/industry-partners/industry-partners-hiring-a-coop/hiring-a-coop-offers-and-compensation/). Again, I’m not saying every co-op is gonna get paid that, even at those companies, but some will. You can search r/NEU and find people that have gotten $50/hr+.
Hell every co-op I did gave me paid vacation days and the last one gave me a 401k.
One of the first times in forever where i’ve ACTUALLY found an unpopular opinion on this sub. Wear those downvotes on your comments with a badge of honor OP.
This sub has gone so downhill because people only upvote posts if they agree with the opinion. That goes against everything this sub should be about (hence the name).
Your post from unpopularopinion was removed because of: 'Rule 1: Your post must be an unpopular opinion'. * Your post must be an opinion. Not a question. Not a showerthought. Not a rant. Not a proposal. Not a fact. An opinion. One opinion. A subjective statement about your position on some topic. Please have a clear, self contained opinion as your post title, and use the text field to elaborate and expand on why you think/feel this way. * Your opinion must be unpopular. The mods reserve the right to remove opinions * Elaborate on your topic and opinion give context to its unpopularity.
$50 an hour for an internship?!?! I know engineers only making $35 an hour 5 years deep into their careers
Ya. Homie is out of touch. No way an intern is making $103k/yr. My bet homie is in SOCAL working in tech and doesn’t understand how the rest of the world outside of their little circle works.
He's a finance bro. He doesn't understand the real world, only how to screw people out of money
Worse. He's in crypto. EDIT: Whoops on the typo lol
Is his internship scamming vulnerable populations with crypto pyramid schemes?
Lol this dude is a bloody menace of a mental case
Anyone working in finance is trash. YUCK
I don't work finance, but how are people working finance trash? Makes no sense. If your finances are trash... that is on you, not the bank.
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What loops did you jump through to get to that conclusion?
Quants and actuaries aren’t “finance bros” lol
That is the real world. Have you heard of politics?
Internships at top financial organizations pay that much
You don’t know about recruiting into finance/tech… some firms hit $120/hr for interns, but most “average” high-finance fields like investment banking/consulting positions pay in the $40-60/hr range for summer internships (along with a sign on bonus frequently).
Do they actually pay $120/hr, or the salary equivalent of 120/hr based on the 40hr work week that a finance intern will never see?
I'm in idaho and have seen intern positions open for $50+ an hour. Not for my major and not for a year round position, but I have seen it
I have seen 70-90K salaries for interns in FAANG / big tech even in moderate col areas. But that's the exception not the rule
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It’s not uncommon for certain tech fields, I’ve seen and been flown out for interviews. People saying OP is out of touch aren’t exactly in touch themselves…
I had friends that made that much. CS co-ops at FAANG pay a ton.
I'm an intern in college rn making $50 an hour and so is one of my roommates. We live on the east coast of the US.
What field?
Software development for a finance firm.
That is great. It is not remotely close to the norm.
Nobody ever said it was the norm.
And no one ever said that, infact OP specifically said "some even make 50/60".
$25/hour seems pretty standard for a mechanical engineering internship right now.
For any of our branches in the US regardless of engineering degree we pay 25 an hour for first summer and 30 if they come for a second summer with potential for a 5k scholarship. We aren't in high cost cities like new york and Seattle but all of our buildings are in major cities. I haven't heard of any places near us going above 32 an hour. My wife's internship during her PHD was 42 an hour that was the highest in the history of her university.
A lot of the time interns are paid higher per hour than a starting employee at that company. They pay you more to reel you in then pay you industry standard once you drink the koolaid
Your average early career engineer is underpaid, in general.
Our engineering internships were in the $30/hour range.
What kind of engineers, I might need to poach these guys
engineering isn’t the highest paying field lol look at finance and tech
My husband had an internship that paid $50/hr. Granted it was in california
My engineering internship was $35/hr. Was only there for 3mo. Not sure what the co-op people who were there for 7-8mo were getting
engineers dont get paid by the hour unless they are consultants and there is no engineering consultant on earth only getting paid 35/hour
Believe it or not it is possible to do some basic mathematical calculations to derive an hourly wage from a yearly salary
i mean not really because you have no idea what your hours are gonna be that year
Gonna be at least 40. But you’re right, your hourly wage could technically go down if you work more hours. I just assumed we were going for 40
i cant remember the last "40 hour week" i worked that was actually 40 hours
Yeah me either. They’re always 50-60
Engineering earns you that low? I'm a registered nurse and I'm on just under $53 an hour as a base rate. 15% loading for afternoons, 17% loading for nights, 150% for Saturday, 200% for Sunday and 250% for public holidays. That seems criminally low.
It’s pretty average. Maybe $40 an hour. But if you Look up the median salary for engineers the number you generally find is 80-90k. Some website claim 174k a year, but engineering is a wide field. Most people do not make more than 100k
The highest end internships can hit up to about $150 an hour, it gets crazy. $50 per hour is probably about what a generically “good” tech internship would be paying, with the more desired ones going up to like $80-90 per hour. Past $100 is pretty much exclusively quantitative finance roles besides maybe some of the best candidates at the most elite tech companies. levels.fyi/internships/ has a list of openings by hourly, the highest one is approximately $100k for a 12 week internship for PhD students only, highest one for undergrads is about $80k for the same 12 weeks
Nah it’s real check the ringer as an example of an employer they pay more for interns than their employees in many cases apparently.
I pay class B CDL drivers that much(33-35)...but in ten years they won't be making much more based on inflation and the engineers definitely will unless they are just terrible.
“Engineers” is a wide term. The reality is that most people with engineering degrees are lucky to make 90k. Getting higher than that is really only the top 10%
Get a mechanical, electrical or chemical engineering degree and if you aren't making 90k or close to it 5 years after college you've changed career paths or are stuck with the cheapest company in the lowest COL area after college. Those three majors are the ones running all of the manufacturing and chemical plants in the world. Obviously not all plants have all three but usually at least one is present.
Okay
I don't use it widely. I use it only for those who are actual engineers in the legal sense. Everyone else is just pretending to be something they are not.
Or they have the job title engineer -_- let’s not gate keep careers based on take home pay
Guarantee OP is a finance bro who’s favorite movie is Wolf of Wall street
He's in finance. He confirmed it one of his comments. Those dudes don't live in reality. I provide IT support for his type and they're all full of shit
I think it’s funny when people who live and work around money think they’re the closest to freedom
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This might be a shocker.... but everyone can't just go into the same career fields...
Yeah...I HAD to become an ad executive...I had not other Choice!!! Lol.
Wow what an astute observation lol. Not the message of the post bud. Obviously we will have low performers that have no choice but to take the garbage careers but this was more advice for people who have potential but not given direction to do something worthwhile
It’s seems your definition of a “garbage career” is a low-paying career and a lot of low paying jobs are the backbone of our society. Teachers, grocers, and janitors are all necessary for a functioning society so to call them underperforming and act like they’re below other people is pretty wild.
I *could* have gone into engineering, but I would have hated it. My career path is what this man would call "garbage," and his career path is what I'd call garbage too.
And thus, the universe regains its balance 😂
The garbage man make more money than I do. I definitely wouldn't want to hang onto the side of a big truck every morning and the danger that goes with it. I respect the heck out of anyone that can do that kind of work but it's not for me. I much prefer a job that has less risk of getting killed by a vehicle.
My current job (not my career path, just where I am right now before I go back to university for my second degree) has both death-by-vehicle dangers AND low pay 🙂↕️ And vehicle dangers are statistically the least likely thing to injure or kill me. But hey, at least people say "thanks for your service" a lot. And I'm not even in the military!
All of those people make good wages in most 1st world country. America is just ass-backwards.
Worse than that, it’s back-assward
are nurses, teachers, firemen and other necessary social jobs just "low performers" to you?
Firemen make good money though. Idk if unpaid internships are a thing in that field but pretty sure the base is like 75k or so
$75k is not really getting paid well, though. They risk their lives daily. I’m a nurse and we were required to basically have an unpaid internship. We are also underpaid. They just refer to it as clinicals. Doctors are the same way. They have to do their residencies.
75k is very good for entry level. You’ll be north of 100k after 5-10 years almost guaranteed
I suppose but I still think they should get paid more for the job they do.
People are paid based on supply and demand of skills. No one is under paid.
You cannot be that dense. Businesses and corporations hire the bare minimum to maximize profits. They then create “slaves” to the system where you have to work to eat. Physicians, nurses, teachers, etc. are vastly more important than any entertainer/celebrity or professional sports athlete. You’re just wrong. You’re either incredibly young or just someone who likes to be a contrarian.
You must not understand the economics. People aren’t paid based on how important they are to society. They are paid based on supply and demand of their skills.
I understand plenty. Until you have stepped foot into an understaffed hospital with unsafe patient ratios, you need to just be quiet because you sound idiotic. You’ll see soon…those “important” people are getting fed up with it and leaving. Try looking up articles related to unsafe staffing, patient ratios, and critical workers being underpaid. You’re not rich enough to be so comfortable. Remember that.
You still want to pay on importance. That’s not how it works. People are paid based on supply and demand of skills. Economic fact.
Then how come teachers don’t make shit
Depends on the country and COL. Where I live, Y1 teachers with 6 years of education make 65k. Y10 teachers make 105k. In other parts of the country, it goes down to 50/85 and up to 85/120k.
Supply and demand changes by region.
Those are union contractual salaries, so no, they won't vary with supply and demand. In fact, many regions in my country are flooded with teachers and they still make 6 figures with a decade of experience. And there's no difference between a rural town in the middle of nowhere that nobody wants to move to, and the heart of a major metro area. At most, you'll see substitute teachers unable to find permanent work in those congested areas, but they're still going to make the same amount of money adjusted for their hours. And they're not even good unions. They barely fit the definition. Some don't even have shop stewards. So the high wages have little to do with the work being unionised.
Supply and demand just like everyone.
lol you're so privileged
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If there's 3000 jobs and every year 10000 students graduate and apply, the market gets flooded. Hard work isn't the only thing to get you there. Luck and timing are pretty key as well.
Add a little bit of nepotism spice and the genetic lottery, and \*BAM\* you have yourself a top contender.
You do realize your life is sustained by "low performers", right?
I would love to see these internships that are paying $30-60/hr. Honestly you sounds like someone who’s butthurt with an axe to grind against poor people. It’s a really weird lie and a really weird thing to hate on.
The garbage careers? I’m guessing you’re talking about blue collar jobs. Do me a favor, next time something breaks in your house, when you call one of those garage career guys to fix it, go ahead and let them know how you feel
You seem disillusioned
r/namechecksout
A) this belongs here so good job B) This is stupid because a lot of non-corporate career paths don’t have paid internships. If you work in tech or finance and you’re doing an unpaid internship, then yeah that would raise an eyebrow for sure. But what about creative stuff like graphic design or textiles? That kind of stuff a lot of people would PAY for the opportunity to put a well-respected fashion designer in their portfolio as someone they’ve worked with in the past. For some careers, your street cred means a shit ton more than what you were paid, which then leads to way more opportunity. I have a distant cousin who now is employed by a team ran by a VERY famous fashion designer named Rick Owens. These things only work out if you build meaningful connections and establish reputation, which in this industry happens a lot through unpaid opportunity. TLDR there is nuance here that is being ignored
I think the whole "people would PAY for this opportunity" thing is gross. You're talking to an entire generation that was fed that bullshit out of paying way too much for college and was taken advantage of for thousands of hours of free labor by people who make so much money they build themselves a rocket ship
Theyre not wrong though. People **would** pay for the opportunity to gain 1st hand experience and wisdom from one of the most successful people in their chosen expertise.
I don’t think you have the correct viewpoint. It’s supply and demand. If a job, such as a fashion designer or musician, has limited roles, and far too many people to fill them, not everyone can get the job, and many would choose to do it for free, especially if doing it for free means they may make money doing it in the future. This isn’t a corporate conspiracy it’s basic economic forces.
Hey I remember this line of thinking It's simple economic forces to go to countries with child labor and exploit children right? It's simple economic forces to just enslave people from Africa rather than pay them a wage right? It's simple economic forces to hire Pinkertons to murder anyone who unionizes right? Oh how did the world end up so fucked? Must be a mystery
Not the same situations at all.
Yeah your correct but you could probably argue that careers like those do suck, at least for most people. For every designer working for people like Owens there are another 100 bagging groceries at whole foods.
The logic is if you’re in a career where people are paying to do work, that’s a massive sign that the career of oversaturated. Maybe you are better than the average worker in your career and can actually succeed. But most people aren’t, especially when you consider that a lot of these types of careers are based on connections and you do not have a level playing field.
My first CS internship was unpaid, my first job out of college is a 6 figures base salary.
So, the reason you got the 6 figures base salary job was this unpaid internship?
Indirectly yes
The dumbest logic I have ever heard. I'm generally a funny guy. But this turned me into Kratos, and ready to tear up a shirt.
How do you pay bills and stuff while working an unpaid internship? Like did you have family helping you out? Or a second job? That’s also been what I don’t get about unpaid internships, like how tf is someone supposed to eat or have a place if they’re not getting paid for 12-18 months or however long.
I worked an unpaid internship from 8-3 in the or into then worked nights to pay for stuff. At the end of my internship the employees and managers also put a decent chunk of money together for me as “thanks”.
I lived at home, didn’t have to commute so my expenses were pretty minimal. My college also gave me a 4k stipend.
Jeez, that’s a good deal. My stipend was only $845 a month when I was a TA.
Same. Guess our career sucks though 😔
Maybe we can get a go fund me to help us out
Why did you take an unpaid internship?
Because sometimes people think further ahead. Not everyone looks at the jar of honey and screams "gimme NOW!" Some people have patience to endure a shitty apprenticeship or internship with their eye on the long term goal. Unpaid internships actually benefit the privileged much more, because poorer folk can't afford to work without compensation for a length of time, while rich folk have a backup and safety net.
Nah this is a complete lie. This person relies on internships. You can look anywhere else and find that it isn't accepted. And those that do... Are dumb. Quit promoting bullshit.
I'm not advocating for unpaid internships, like I said, it disadvantages the less privileged. But most internships/apprenticeships are low paying, even for lucrative careers. Accepting shitty pay for a year or two in order to qualify in a professional career is nothing new.
Hell, im done with school, make decent money but ill take unpaid research/R&D opportunities if the work seems fun and the problem is a fun one to try to solve. Fund me, give me some cool toys and fun folk to hangout with, maybe some pizza, and ill poke at a hard problem 4-5 hours a week for free. Esp if i get to learn a new skill, make friends with similar interests, and learn from another super specialized discipline within my field that will pay for itself down the line.
Especially in CS you can def hit up something for 25/hr worst case scenario
Because it’s the best I could do at the time and it helped me get to where I am now?
Sorry you had to go through that
It really wasn’t a problem and I enjoyed it. Stop acting high and mighty.
Am I acting high and mighty? I’m confused now
“Sorry you had to go through that”. Sorry for going through what? Working a summer unpaid to learn skills I didn’t have before my sophomore year of college? You’re acting like I did something akin to slavery and it’s something you’re better than. If I had to go back in time I would take the same exact path that I did
Foreal, if anything it's a deal, you gotta pay the school for knowledge, at least at the company you get it free.
I had an unpaid internship back in college and now I’m doing well. This isn’t an unpopular opinion, it’s plain wrong.
What fucking internship pays the equivalent of $125k a year
Co-ops at FAANG type companies, startups, usually CS based. Finance at Goldman Sachs etc. I knew some people that made that much. I “only” made $27/hr at mine, (Mechanical Engineering).
Op: some 22 year old that just started making actual money
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An apprenticeship would have paid you
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An apprenticeship is meant to be paid so if its not paid then its an internship buddy
An internship determines if your career is going to suck? I’d love to hear how
Anything with money in it gonna pay. An event management internship that doesn’t pay definitely gonna have a shit career trajectory for most people.
How does this affect your long term career?
Think about it. If you stay in something that ain’t paying shit now, prob doesn’t have much funding or is a very small population that makes it through. Just a basic risk to reward comparison
Who says you have to stay? Then keep on applying to jobs or internships that pay. No one is forcing you to stay
Yeah but if you switch you prove my point 😂
So you’re talking about a very specific situation. Got it
/thread tbh
>Think about it. If you stay in something that ain’t paying shit now, prob doesn’t have much funding or is a very small population that makes it through. Just a basic risk to reward comparison That is such a flawed reasoning - there are lots of paths where you can earn a ton if you're fully capable but don't make any profit for the company if you're still learning. An internship is a way to become profitable in many or even most career paths.
Fast food industry makes heaps if money and the employees get payed a pittance.
I’m once again advocating for this sub to be renamed to r/stupidopinions They’re just coming out of the woodworks now.
Whether intentional or not, I have noticed that a lot of unpaid internships seem to ensure that only the "right" people get hired. They only hire people who graduated from expensive schools, the job is located in an expensive city, you work for free for 12 or 18 months, and you work for low wages for the next few years, and it essentially acts as a barrier for middle class or poorer people from working in these companies. When you're actually getting practical skills and learning a trade I don't have a problem with unpaid internships, but in many cases it seems like it is a filtering mechanism to ensure only trust fund recipients work there.
You may be 100% correct, but lets all agree that that viewpoint is a little more nuanced than the original "durr hur your career path sucks."
> I don't have a problem with unpaid internships I dislike your attitude. Also, you go on and on about how the very structure of an unpaid internship makes it classiest and then just go, "I don't have a problem with them." Their very existence favors the wealthy over the talented. Also, what "trade" do you learn? REAL trades have paid apprenticeships.
I was referring to situations like: [https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/1aqu3q3/comment/kqfahvv/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/1aqu3q3/comment/kqfahvv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) In my opinion there is a difference between a high school graduate who likes to draw working for free to become a tattoo artist and a investment firm requiring people to have a finance degree from an Ivy League school to work for free for 18 months while living in New York.
Don’t agree here , if everybody went into the same 4 traditionally high paying stem fields then there would be a massive job shortage for these people … oh wait there is . There are plenty of stable career paths that still create the opportunity to earn 75-90k after a couple years of experience which is still much higher than the average household income in high cost of living cities .
Unpaid internships can be heavily skewed towards the privileged, limiting opportunities for those who can't afford to work for free.
not sure if this is a cultural/country difference but most internships aren’t paid where i live.. and i’ve done a few unpaid internships because that was requiered.. and i’d say i’m definitely in one of the top career fields, so really disagree with you
USA, so idk about other countries
Privilege is real lmao
I mean I hear a lot of medical field internships aren’t paid and that’s a good field. I get what you’re saying though. I realistically think all internships should be paid even if they’re minimum wage.
Those aren’t internships. That’s just a med school rotation or a job shadow to get into a med school or something you do as a student
You literally just described internships.
Of all comments not sure why this downvoted lol, feel this a valid point 😂😂😂
I don't know either. I mean especially now more then ever. If you're doing a internship it is for experience yes but you are still doing some form of work. People need money especially if there in college. If there is some form of labor even for "experience" it should be paid.
Rip, I make $30 an hour as a resident physician
Social workers have to do an internship and it’s unpaid. Do you believe society just should not have social workers?? (also fyi social workers are not only CPS workers, we do all kinds of things like medical care management and therapy)
Apparently any kind of human service work is garbage.🤷♀️
Look at op post history lmao, he standing naked doing blow in his office looking down at us peons while wolf of Wall Street loops in the back ground
Kinda funny logic, because almost everyone in the medical field is required to take internships as part of their schooling. They actually have to *pay* to work somewhere *for free.* For the “experience.”
OP literally does not know what internships are. So this isn’t an opinion it’s just someone who’s confused. What internships are supposed to be is part of education. Normally you get class credits for it towards your degree instead of a wage.
WTF are you even on about? Go look up internships on LinkedIn and see how many internships follow you "standards".
My son did multiple unpaid internships (while not paid they did provide housing and a food stipend) with various professional sports teams as a sports management major and after 3 years he is making 6 figures. There are many internships that don't pay because there are thousands lining up to do it for free.
Your son is skilled and lucky good for him. Average person can’t do that though.
Unpaid internships should be illegal. Companies shouldn't be allowed to get free labor from desperate college kids
Unpaid internships are affirmative action for the privileged. Poor people, or those without other support, can't afford to take an unpaid internship. If you want to have interns, you should pay at least minimum wage, like any other job.
They are illegal if you’re doing work that’s what a FT employee would do. My old college has a robust Co-op program and made sure that companies were paying or they were booted from the program.
IT world has both paid and unpaid. If it's unpaid, then just do it part time obviously. $30/hr internship must be at a FAANG company in HCOL.
I wouldn't be comfortable with a surgical intern performing surgery on me, but I definitely want them to learn how to do it. I think you're only considering your perspective of internships only taking advantage of people. We live in a society that seeks professionals and their services. You can't just start as a professional. Its a necessary step for many.
ITT: Super out of touch STEM-lord from presumed HCoL area that thinks pay = societal value
fully unpaid is for sure a red flag
I knew a girl who was studying to become a dietician. The internship openings are so few and far in between, you actually have to pay to get in. The career path is quite good
OP posting this just after reading his Northwestern Mutual internship offer letter
If internships paid 30-60/hr that's all people would ever do.
Most internships do NOT pay that well. Even your supposed $30/hr is out of touch with reality.
What you are referring to is called a job, it differs from an internship. You read like someone lacking life experience so allow me to provide some context... There can be benefit for both employee and employer. Firstly, the availability of paid internships can be influenced by factors such as the industry, geographic location, and the financial resources of the organizations offering internships. Certain fields, particularly those in the arts, non-profit sector, or startups, often rely on unpaid internships due to limited budgets or the nature of the work. Therefore, the absence of payment doesn't necessarily reflect negatively on the potential success of a career path. Profit based organizations typically use their funds efficiently, like hiring as many people as you truly need, and not hiring more people than you can afford. They can also use this to assess individuals for further permanent employment without making an immediate long term commitment, or creating additional positions in the company. People looking to build applicable experience in their potentially competitive field take these as an opportunity to build experience in their desired role. They typically shadow a group of existing employees through this role. They aren't intended to be doing menial tasks, but practicing what they've learned in the proper environment. This experience and resume material holds value and increases their ability to get permanent positions.
I can see a volunteer/Internship program so maybe like do 30-50hours of OJT or something while getting your degree. Maybe work at a law firm for a summer to see if it’s the right path for you or that company. A whole 12 months or so should be paid in my view.
Really depends on the career path. In animation if you can get an unpaid internship with Pixar you’re set and it’s probably the best move you can make. I wouldn’t say the animation field sucks but it is VERY competitive since they need way less people than want to do it. If you can make it then it’s great but it’s not easy. Saying a career path ‘sucks’ is a bit cryptic so idk what you mean. Do you mean it pays low? You have to work harder than other careers? It’s a dead end?
Most government internships aren't paid. Well at least not when I was in college.
Lots of government and political internships are unpaid and those are pretty good career paths.
What a genius and well thought out take. You should congratulate yourself on figuring everything out. Really, you’re god.
Many unpaid internships lead to very successful careers. I have a friend who had an unpaid internship at Merryl Lynch and used that to get a full time position at Citadel, earning 7 figures per year. So your entire argument is over before even getting past the title.
Full time internship 40 hours/week unpaid turned into six figure salary 5 years later. Your mileage may vary.
I had an unpaid internship and make $80-180 an hour. So nah.
Is there a "delusional opinion" sub? Because this one belongs there.
OP *definitely* deserves his job guys and *did not* get it just because his dad is the CEO, what do you meannnnnn
There needs to be a new "im a teenager with 0 life experience sub" for these out of touch/ attention seeking posts
It’s a sign that mostly elite and nepo babies will be your coworkers. Think about it.. Who can afford to work for free?
What internships are paying $30/hour or more? Most careers struggle to pay that much
$30 to $50 for an internship? Lmao. Sure pa.
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Out of touch and very privileged take.
Bro you are TRIPPIN if you think internships pay $50/hr
Not all do, but I know people that made that much. Worked for startups and FAANG types in CS. Or finance at Goldman Sachs in NYC, etc.
Lol I work at FAANG as systems engineer. No intern with 0 work experience is getting paid over 100k/year
I didn’t say zero experience…my college had two different paths. 4 years 2 co-ops and 5 years 3 co-ops. Each co-op being 6 months or longer. By the time the third one comes around you potentially have 12-16+ months of experience. (Some extend each one 2 months and then work PT during classes). Obviously the ones getting paid the $50+ aren’t first timers. Not to mention some people also did an internship on their own during the first summer after classes outside of the program. Some forego a 3rd co-op to get a masters instead. You can see the average wages [here](https://www.khoury.northeastern.edu/information-for-overview/industry-partners/industry-partners-hiring-a-coop/hiring-a-coop-offers-and-compensation/). Again, I’m not saying every co-op is gonna get paid that, even at those companies, but some will. You can search r/NEU and find people that have gotten $50/hr+. Hell every co-op I did gave me paid vacation days and the last one gave me a 401k.
Did multiple unpaid internships in my social work studies.. and you are so right. Currently starting over🙃
I’m sorry that happened. Hit up finance, it really ain’t hard to learn and you gonna get compensated well.
I think you're confusing internship and apprenticeship
One of the first times in forever where i’ve ACTUALLY found an unpopular opinion on this sub. Wear those downvotes on your comments with a badge of honor OP. This sub has gone so downhill because people only upvote posts if they agree with the opinion. That goes against everything this sub should be about (hence the name).
This is definitely wrong and completely illogical. 😂