A while back I posed a similar question to the Ecolog community and found that many were skeptical and bothered by the prevalence of unpaid internships, but were only willing to post their skepticism privately. There were a voluble few who posted publicly and vehemently defending the internship system.
I'll be interested to see what replies you recieve, especially in light of some of the class action suites surrounding this issue in the journalism profession. On Thursday, August 15, 2013, Mitch Cruzan wrote: > Hi John, > I'm glad you brought this up because we see a wide range of internships > advertised on ecolog and it is difficult to tell which ones are going to be > the most beneficial for students. For example, there are some non-profit > organizations in the tropics and elsewhere that offer internships, but is > unclear whether there are mentors available with adequate training and > background to make these optimal education experiences. I share many of > these posts with a large number of students here in the PNW via forwards to > our "Biology Opportunities" email listservice, so It would be good if there > were a rating system or feedback forum on these different organizations - I > would like to know that these are actually valuable education experiences > for students and not just a mechanism to get cheap labor. > Mitch Cruzan > > On 8/15/2013 9:41 AM, John Gerlach wrote: > >> I've been researching opportunities to gain experience in new areas in >> order to qualify for a wider range of jobs. A common theme is the "pay for >> experience" "careerships" and internships and receive training and some >> form of certification. One example is coral reef survey work and SCUBA >> certification with stays of at least 4 to 8 weeks and PADI Advanced Open >> Water or Dive Master certification. There are a plethora of these on Koh >> Sdach Island adjacent to Cambodia's Botum Sakor National Park that seem to >> be mostly British non-profits and private companies. >> >> I'd appreciate information and advice about these kinds of programs in >> general as well as those on Koh Sdach and other reef areas in particular. >> >> Thanks, >> >> John >> > -- Neahga Leonard *There is not just a whole world to explore, there is a whole universe to explore, perhaps more than one.* http://writingfornature.wordpress.com/
