

Buying internships - jmtame
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123310699999022549.html?mod=article-outset-box

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iuguy
I have a startup idea, we take interns on for a small fee and then bid for the
scummiest jobs on elance.  Then we get the slaves^H^H^H^H^H^Hinterns to deliver
the goods and pocket the extra cash. 

Do you think I could get some funding for this?  Who's with me? 

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utnick
haha I think that would work and the best thing is you don't need funding,
just put up some flyers at your local university cs department. 

I remember back when I had the dreaded 0 years of professional experience I
would have done anything to have a programming job on my resume. 

Getting that first programming job is the most frustrating thing. 

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likpok
I'm not so sure about internships.  There are a lot of technical companies, and
a lot of internships.  If you go looking, you can find one (especially if you
wait until sophomore year or so). 

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Eliezer
Paying to work?  Oh, this is not good. 

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RiderOfGiraffes
No, it's paying to learn.  Interns are not necessarily net producers.  There is
a cost to the "employers" to have an intern, even if you pay them nothing. 
They take time from existing employees, and use resources. 

This is not to say that interns are a bad idea.  They're not.  They're an
excellent idea, but internships are a part of education.  They are one of the
most valuable, useful and effective parts of education. 

Paying for them is not stupid.  Assuming employers will continue to pay for
them in the current climate is questionable. 

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Tichy
Wouldn't it be easier to simply learn by doing some project over the summer? 

I am thinking "paying for internship" == "loser for life", to put it bluntly
:-( With that attitude, people are always going to be sucking up to the big
guys, waiting for their turn that will never arrive. 

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RiderOfGiraffes
In short - no.  That only works if you're doing something that can be learned
by yourself.  Not everything can, and some things are much, much slower.  The
insights you get from other people's ways of working and code can be
incredibly valuable. 

It's for this reason that graduates are advised to change institution to do
post-grad work.  You need the breadth that comes from working with other
people. 

This all assumes it's a _good_ internship.  In practice, that's not a given. 

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Tichy
I agree it might be possible to learn a lot from experienced people, but
getting such an internship might be _really_ hard?  What do you think are major
things one can't learn by oneself, by jumping into the cold water? 

In any case, it seems to me if one pays to get an internship, it is unlikely
that the internship will be any good.  The company probably doesn't really need
anybody and doesn't care, otherwise they would look for the best person
available, not for the highest bidder. 

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eru
Indeed.  So paying for the consultant to help you style your CV might be
better. 

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ramchip
I study at an engineering uni and finding an internship is the easiest thing
ever... nearly every professor doing research is looking to hire more students
for his projects.  This includes computer/software engineering.  It's paid work
(if you have decent grades anyway), and you get a chance to publish articles. 

Don't forget to look inside the school itself! 

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andr
Great way to bootstrap your startup :)

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chris11
This might be worthwhile if it was something like that capitol hill program,
which guarantees an internship on capitol hill.  But otherwise, it's probably a
waste of money.  Every single internship I have gotten was through people I
knew.  I'd really question the value of an unpaid internship in something like
engineering and computer science.  While I would be willing to volunteer at the
internships I have gotten, everyone of them either paid me or said that it
would be paid in the interview.