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[Urist McScoopbeard]

Nyello,

Let me give it to you straight. I'm sending a semester in a different city as part of a university program. My internship has ended up being, not terrible, but very lackluster.

It seems to me that my office isn't really in need of interns, and while I understand odds and ends and busywork IS the life of an intern I also expect opportunities to learn and follow people whose jobs are similar to my own qualification. That has not been the case. It is early days, but so far everything is fairly close-doored and everyone seems to be quite content to do their work alone. I am essentially a secretary's assistant, which was not really what was advertised at all.

So, I'm not really sure if I'm being a little bitch and I should just suck it up? Or if I should start looking for somewhere else while there's still feasibly a couple of weeks where I could land something else? I don't know, my internship supervisor is pretty chill and not overly attached to the company, but I feel like there's basically nothing she can do if I were to bring my concerns to her.

Any ideas?

EDIT: And yes, if you are curious, I passed over several now much-better internships to pursue this one and I feel like a huge idiot.

EDIT2: More details: It's unpaid, and I'm paying a bunch to be out here.

tl;dr I love writing, hate the entertainment industry. Too stressed out, need something a little slower-paced. Go to latest page for more details.

[nenjin]

Well I think as an unpaid intern, you have to push to get yourself included in things that will be educational for you. It's nice when a business goes out of its way to find something for you to do and learn from, but my feeling is most businesses require interns to define and demand their own level of involvement.

Teaching people takes time, which is why most paid employees aren't going to offer up a learning opportunity.

You should request stuff like:

-Can I quietly sit in on meetings and absorb what's being said?
-Can I sit in quietly on phone calls with clients so I can see what business/client interactions look like in a professional workplace?
-Can I be given anyone else's lower level work that actually pertains to the company's business and isn't like, photocopying stuff or grabbing people coffee?

And definitely start looking for other internships, especially ones that heavily promote practical experience as part of the deal. You can have two types of companies: ones that need staff and ones that don't really.

The ones that need staff and are willing to let interns take on some of the work load are the places where you can end up with more work than you're comfortable with. Businesses that don't need staff may offer internships as part of a talent hunting operation, cooperation with universities because those relationships look good and can be beneficial, or straight up because they like having unpaid labor around to dump trivial BS on so it doesn't cost their hourly/salary employees valuable time.

What's the industry, anyways? Depending on the kind of industry you're in, situations for interns may be very different than in another kind of industry.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Entertainment Industry, so it's quite rocky for interns. And I am starting to get a very bad feeling about my continued chances of employment here.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Shit, I've just had a long conversation with my internship supervisor about the expectations for this internship and honestly, it's looking like I will be parting ways with the company, it seems that this really wasn't what I thought it was. Hoodwinked, I suppose.

[nenjin]

Entertainment Industry, so it's quite rocky for interns. And I am starting to get a very bad feeling about my continued chances of employment here.

Oof. Good luck. If this were tech I'm sure there are about 100 things any given tech company could find you to do that would give you some job experience. Entertainment industry though, I'm sure, is a wholly different ball game.

Shit, I've just had a long conversation with my internship supervisor about the expectations for this internship and honestly, it's looking like I will be parting ways with the company, it seems that this really wasn't what I thought it was. Hoodwinked, I suppose.

Curious what he said to you.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

He said that I lacked initiative and showed disinterest towards company projects. Which is blatantly false, considering I've researched every bit of content they've produced and cared to showcase and also have been working on a project since day one for one of the employees.

But then he came back and said I seemed unhappy and that he'd rather not waste either of our times, which I kind of agree with.

[nenjin]

Sometimes bosses say shit like that just to put it back on you. Kind of the benefit of having an unpaid employee, you can always just claim they're not doing enough work that they aren't getting paid for.

Also, sometimes being an intern is code for "your job is to take as much shit as we deal you and not say anything about it." Typically people only put up with that when they know they're going to get something out of it, like actual experience or a paid position though. Otherwise you can kill yourself and bend over backward to accomplish things, and many companies will happily let you do that up until they day they let you go.

Sounds like you know it's a shit show though.

[nogoodnames]

I would suggest talking to whoever coordinates internships in your University program. As I understand it, any internship (especially an unpaid one) is required to demonstrably provide you with relevant work experience. If they haven't done that then they aren't holding up their end of the bargain. At the very least, voicing your concerns to your coordinator could save future interns from the same shitty experience.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

I mean I don't know what to do now! Apparently, the internship has contacted my school and said god knows what to my internship advisor. I haven't heard anything negative from either my on site advisor or my actual school advisor, but I didn't get the first word in with them apparently. So this is turning into a real fucking mess. Goddamnit. I passed over a really good internship from elsewhere for this shit.

I would suggest talking to whoever coordinates internships in your University program. As I understand it, any internship (especially an unpaid one) is required to demonstrably provide you with relevant work experience. If they haven't done that then they aren't holding up their end of the bargain. At the very least, voicing your concerns to your coordinator could save future interns from the same shitty experience.

I certainly will say something, I have already initiated conversation with my university. I don't know what they think now though.

[nenjin]

Sounds like you got under someone's skin at your internship and they're deciding to tax you for it. Welcome to the working world, where actual work that needs to be done and personalities of the people involved intersect.

I'd just make sure to speak to your internship advisor so they have your side of the story. Remain calm, don't talk down about your bosses, keep it focused on the lack of opportunities in the position as the reason for your unhappiness.

But also remember, because you are/were an intern, people do expect you to take a certain amount of crap without complaining. It is treated as a test of character, and in some ways it is. (Like, working as a full-time employee in a restaurant kitchen, there can be a lot of hazing from other employees just to see where your breaking point is, and when you finally snap, people will give you shit about snapping over the stuff they were deliberately doing to you just to get a rise out of you.)

But other times it's a chance for people to abuse your relative lack of power or authority when it suits them. It's kind of why I was never motivated to do internships in college; it's like, either you're not motivated enough and/or are not a team player, or you're reaching above your station and someone feels the desire to slap you down....and therefore you're not a team player. It's damned if you do, damned if you don't a lot of the time.

There's a fine line to tread between humility and standing up for what's best for you in the working world. I guess put this one in your book of life lessons.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Well... I don't really know what to think right now. I've worked much shittier jobs and loved them, I spent a long time at CVS and really enjoyed it.

Everyone seemed very nice here, I just... it felt off? I mean, I certainly expected some bitch work, but I didn't do anything else. I don't know if I fucked up or it was a legitimately bad situation. I was literally just the secretary when my internship forms clearly stated production and creative support duties. I was done by 5pm and sat around until 6pm. It was a very closed doors kind of environment, no one really wanted to involve me in their going ons.

I mean... I seriously am at a loss. I don't know if this is my fault or not.

Haha, I suppose it is going in the life lessons category, but I just don't know what to think about it all? It wasn't very taxing, but at the same time it was the shittiest job I've worked.

[nenjin]

Well, more things may shake out over time. I'd just put your energy toward securing another quality internship rather than worrying too much about what happened at this one. Institutional culture at jobs are very much a thing and you're never quite sure what kind of culture you're walking in to.

Or if you can actually secure a paying job in the industry I'd try that, even if it's a mean low-level entry job. Probably tough in the entertainment industry though.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Ya, at this stage, I can't really get a job. Also I need the internship for the semester. But no worries, I'm going to finesse this hard.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Updooten: School is not mad. New job secured. Panic over, mostly.

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Update. I probably have a new internship, but this program just sucks. Damn, I'm in LA and I have to say I fucking hate it--for the first time in a long time, I just feel so demotivated to work in the entertainment industry.

Honestly... I'm not even sure I can finish this semester. Problem is it's already several weeks in. I guess I can try and see if they'll let me back out with as few financial penalties as possible and have my advisor special register my courses? I could go to class over the summer, but my family is expecting my to graduate NOW. Like there's tons of time, money, and plans at stake here and I'm rethinking my whole career path.

Fuck. What do I do? Now I feel like I'm trapped between a rock and a hard place.

EDIT: And to top it all off, if for whatever reason I have to stay here and DON'T get an internship I get booted off the program with god knows what kind of punishments.