Comments on: Gen Y and global health: Not a match made in heaven

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:45:57 +0000

I came to the same conclusion after being in DC for a year. I just think there should be a better way to to have a learning experience in the workplace without it costing so much money. After all, college is not cheap!

By: socialbutterfly4change

socialbutterfly4change — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:42:45 +0000

Vanessa,

Great post! I think the ‘unpaid internship’ is often abused. Now that I live in DC, it is more and more clear to me that as a country, I don’t think we’d be able to operate unless we had unpaid interns that were willing to work. There are so many interns (across industries) in DC, that it astounds me!

I didn’t know the severity of it in public health. In journalism, I know it’s rampant as well. And then entry jobs are in the 20s (or less!) in uber expensive places to live too. And Brandon does bring up a good point, that in PR/Advertising, people are right around the corner, just waiting to take that spot. Such the toils of the new professional =)

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:16:54 +0000

Yes there will be 10 million more jobs, but many of them will be concentrated in occupations like nursing rather than popular industries such as global health or public relations. I wonder when the standards change without some external pressure threatening the sustainability of the industry as Alanna alluded to.

By: Brandon Carlos

Brandon Carlos — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:21:26 +0000

I’m not agreeing with the harships interns have to endure, but there’s no denying the difficulty of a career in health.
In PR, anyone looking to get into the entertainment industry faces similar struggles. You are expected to intern for free in city’s with a sky-high cost of living. It’s wrong, but the line-up of folks waiting to fill that spot perpetuate this practice.
Eventually standards will have to change. It’s predicted that in 2010 there will be 10 million more jobs in North America than available bodies to fill them.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:42:55 +0000

Brandon – I don’t think that unpaid internships are the appropriate use to test the level of passion. Many other industries seem to do just fine finding passionate employees who they also pay for their passion and expertise. I think what global health has is an abuse of power that disadvantages people my age trying to break into the field.

By: Brandon Carlos

Brandon Carlos — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:26:40 +0000

Employment in health care is a special case; if you compare the entry-level hardships to the ROI, it’s difficult to wonder why people consider to pursue that career path– unless it’s in your heart.
The truth is that CEO’s of hospitals, those in health care, communicators and other professionals in not-for-profit’s– these are all professionals who are far underpaid in comparison to similar roles in different fields. There is a reason: PASSION.
If one is willing to endure these hardships, it’s obvious that the reason they are there is because they want to be. In something as essential as health care, loving your job is a matter of life or death.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:51:08 +0000

Jessica – It’s great that she didn’t have to move. You know things are not working well when there is a year-long waiting list for an unpaid internship!

Alanna – I would have to agree with you about the unsustainability. I wonder when the pressure, external or internal, will be great enough to make changes. The closest analogy that I can think of is the situation with financial aid at Ivy League universities. For years, you would have needed both scholarships and financial aid if your family did not have enough money to pay to attend the school. Things have become more open with recent changes that allow students with a parental income under a certain level. Universities realized they kept accepting the same middle and upper class students and made a change that enabled socioeconomically qualified people the opportunity to attend.

By: Alanna

Alanna — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:53:38 +0000

I think that employers in international health, and international development, are losing a lot of good people through these kinds of barriers to entry. Culling your prospects to only those with the money to work for free reduces your options to a degree which I think will be unsustainable.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:35:02 +0000

I have a friend getting into health care (dietary specifically) and she had to pay $6,000 for her year long unpaid internship, but it was the cheapest of her multiple options. After over one year on a waiting list she finally got it and is having issues dealing with the situation you’re talking about. She didn’t even have to move!