UW–Madison’s Matthew Hora recently shared his expertise with Bloomberg for their story, “From pepperoni math to nepo babies, summer is for interns.”
Hora is an associate professor of adult and higher education with the Division of Continuing Studies and with the School of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies. He is also co-director of UW–Madison’s Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT).
In the story, a variety of professionals speak about their experiences as interns during and after college.
“I’m pretty immune to workplace turbulence and reorganization, since my budget of shock is pretty much used up from my summer as an intern,” one person says. Another adds: “I was supposed to be paid in experience, although experience doesn’t pay the bills.”
Interns have a history of being mistreated through lack of payment, organization, direction, and more. However, completing an internship is still a common step to transition between college and the workforce for many students.
“Internships are one of those weaselly, wiggly, gray areas in higher education,” Hora tells Bloomberg. “Unfortunately, internships can be opportunities for exploitation or abuse.”