Is it just me or have internships become devalued?
William Grosso @ July 18, 2008
From craigslist today. Since that ad will expire, here’s the entirety
Exciting startup in downtown Palo Alto is seeking a motivated, smart computer science graduate or student who has a passion for Ruby on Rails. We are looking for the following skills:
• Expert in Ruby language
• Expert in Rails 2+ framework
• Good knowledge of in Prototype, Script.aculo.us libraries
• Very good knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Has used Subversion or Git for version control
• Good understanding of SQL using mySQL database
• Knowledge of caching schemesFlexible hours, compensation negotiable.
Now compare and contrast that with the traditional definition of an intern (taken here from Yahoo)
A student or a recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training.
It’s a startup, so there’s not a lot of people, and they’re all working too hard, so mentoring is out of the question. They’re expecting the “intern” to already know the basic tools of the trade (subversion, git) and to have mastered (”expert” level knowledge) the software and frameworks they use.
Why would a computer science graduate student, who has this level of knowledge, not just do some contracting or consulting? What distinguishes this from that, except for the fact that “intern” means “little or no pay”
If this were an isolated ad, I’d ignore it. But the number of “internships”, by which I mean “startups using the word ‘intern’ when they’re not offering an internship, but simply looking to get top-notch talent on the cheap” is scary overwhelming.
Three possible conclusions:
- A lot of startups have no money left and are trying to squeak by on borrowed labor.
- There are no unemployed developers left in Silicon Valley and people are trying anything.
- A blended combination of the above.
None of these are particularly palatable conclusion.
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