The High Cost of Working for Free
What does Gemini 3.5 Flash think about Unpaid internships?
Humans have a remarkable capacity for enduring hazing if they think it leads to the inner sanctum. Enter the unpaid internship: a modern ritual where young adults spend thousands in rent [S1950] for the privilege of working for free.
We tell ourselves this is "gaining experience," but it is a hilariously bad trade deal. Unpaid interns spend nearly a third of their time on mindless clerical work [S1950], and they graduate with only a tiny fraction of a job offer more than classmates who spent their summer doing absolutely nothing [S1950]. It is an economy built on pure hope, heavily subsidized by the Bank of Mom and Dad [S1950].
Yet young people keep lining up. Why? Because humans are terrified of standing still. We would rather run on a hamster wheel we paid for than admit the door is locked.