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Internal affairs: understanding challenges low-income college students face in unpaid entertainment industry internships

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Internal affairs: understanding challenges low-income college students face in unpaid entertainment industry internships

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Internal Affairs: Understanding Challenges Low-Income College Students Face in Unpaid
Entertainment Industry Internships
by
Caroline Fraissinet

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

August 2022

© Copyright by Caroline Fraissinet 2022
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Caroline Fraissinet certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Eric Canny
Douglas Lynch
Lawrence Picus, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2022

iv
Abstract
The purpose of the research was to understand the challenges low-income college students face
in gaining entertainment industry experience due to the prevalence of unpaid internships in the
field. Unpaid internships are a key means by which students build entertainment experience prior
to graduation; as low-income college students may not be able to afford to work for free for
extended periods of time, they are often put at a disadvantage in gaining sufficient entertainment
industry experience compared to higher-income peers. The conceptual framework for the study
was based upon Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Bordieu’s social capital theory.
The methodology included a survey and interviews with current low-income college students and
alumni who identified as low-income college students when completing coursework. The
findings established that low-income college students are in need of more supplemental financial
support and that more formalized educational structure is necessary in internships themselves as
well as in internship credit courses. The study generated concrete recommendations for practice
to improve financial and educational support for low-income college students to ensure that
access and inequality issues related to unpaid internships within entertainment are addressed.
Keywords: entertainment, internship, low-income college student, career development,
ecological systems theory, social capital

v
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my chair, Dr. Lawrence Picus, for his guidance and good humor
throughout the dissertation writing process, as well as my dissertation committee, Dr. Douglas
Lynch and Dr. Eric Canny. It has been a joy to work with you and you helped me to take the
process one step at a time knowing that I had support along the way.
Next, I would like to thank my husband, Luis Silva, for his kindness, patience,
thoughtfulness, and above all, unfailing love. I joked throughout the process that you earned a
doctorate by proxy just listening to me think out loud, and I stand by that statement! Thank you
for always listening when I had ideas to work through, and keeping our two cats, Tintin and
Cheddar, at bay when I needed to work late into the night. Words cannot fully express how
fortunate I feel that you are my person—I am so proud of you and am grateful always that you
are by my side. You are the best Doctor’s Companion of all, and my forever dude.
Third, I would like to thank my gent of honor, Maggie Farley. You and I have been
friends since we were both film school students and faced a lot of the challenges that I write
about here. Our ongoing conversations starting from over a decade ago shaped this research, and
your insights during the early stages of formulating research questions for the interviews helped
take the research in the right direction. I admire your strength and persistence, and how you stand
up for yourself and others when challenges came your way in the entertainment industry.
Fourth, I would like to thank my parents, Donna and John Fraissinet. You are the best
parents anyone could have asked for, and your support over the years is what got me here today.
You taught me to persevere and to be competent—after all, it was my birthright to be
hardworking with both of you for parents. I love you to the moon and back.

vi
Table of Contents
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ ix
Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1
Context and Background of the Problem .......................................................................... 1
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions ................................................................ 3
Importance of the Study ................................................................................................... 3
Overview of Conceptual Framework and Methodology ................................................... 4
Definitions ....................................................................................................................... 5
Organization of the Dissertation .................................................................................... 10
Chapter Two: Literature Review ............................................................................................... 12
Definition of Internships ................................................................................................ 12
History of Internships .................................................................................................... 15
Value of Internships....................................................................................................... 19
“Breaking Into the Business:” History of Entering the Entertainment Industry ............... 26
Challenges Low-Income Students Face With Unpaid Internships................................... 33
Problems With Unpaid Internships ................................................................................ 41
Conceptual Framework .................................................................................................. 56
Summary ....................................................................................................................... 60
Chapter Three: Methodology ..................................................................................................... 62
Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 62
Overview of Design ....................................................................................................... 62
Research Setting and Participants .................................................................................. 65

vii
The Researcher .............................................................................................................. 66
Data Sources.................................................................................................................. 67
Validity, Credibility and Reliability ............................................................................... 73
Ethics ............................................................................................................................ 74
Chapter Four: Findings.............................................................................................................. 76
Participants .................................................................................................................... 76
Survey Results ............................................................................................................... 82
Interview Results ........................................................................................................... 96
Summary of Results..................................................................................................... 127
Chapter Five: Recommendations ............................................................................................. 129
Discussion of Findings ................................................................................................ 129
Recommendations for Practice..................................................................................... 134
Limitations and Delimitations ...................................................................................... 146
Recommendations for Further Research....................................................................... 148
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 149
References .............................................................................................................................. 151
Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview Protocol .................................................................... 183

viii
List of Tables
Table 1: Fact Sheet #71: Six-Factor vs. Seven-Factor Comparison 14
Table 2: Data Sources 64
Table 3: Breakdown of Survey Participants by Ethnicity 78
Table 4: Summary of Interview Participants 81
Table 5: Overall Internship Satisfaction for current Students and Alumni 82
Table 6: Participant Responses to Likert Scale Statements About Unpaid Internships 83
Table 7: Comparison of Funding Sources Between Current Students and Alumni 86
Table 8: Comparison of Assistance from Employers Between Current Students and Alumni 87
Table 9: Comparison of Assistance From Universities Between Current Students and Alumni 88
Table 10: Overall Challenges Faced While Completing Unpaid Internships 89
Table 11: Overall Suggestions for Assistance From Employers 91
Table 12: Overall Suggestions for Assistance From Universities 94
Appendix A: Survey Protocol for Study 178
Table B1: Interview Protocol 183

ix
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework for Study 57
Figure 2: Breakdown of Current StudentSurvey Participants by Gender 79

1

Chapter One: Introduction
The study focuses on the challenges low-income college students face in entering the
entertainment industry after graduation due to the prevalence of unpaid internships. Internships
have been proven to offer several benefits for career development; these include but are not
limited to improved understanding of a field through combining theory and practice,
opportunities to network with professionals, and greater overall salaries and chances of being
offered a job after graduation (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Cuyler et al., 2013; Daniel & Daniel,
2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Frenette, 2013; Jung & Lee, 2016; Margaryan et al., 2019; Thompson et
al., 2020). In entertainment, internships are one of the main ways students can make industry
contacts and build experience in a field that is otherwise difficult to enter (Allen et al., 2013;
Bathmaker et al., 2013; Honrubia, 2017; Klein & Weiss, 2011; Ro et al., 2020; Tucci, 2012).
However, low-income college students may not be able to take on unpaid internships due to
financial barriers (Bergman, 2014; Curiale, 2010; Hora et al., 2020). As a result, low-income
college students may graduate with less industry experience and at a considerable disadvantage
than their peers who have more financial support (Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010; Klein & Weiss,
2011; Petersen, 2021; Silva, 2020). These circumstances lead to inequality in the entertainment
industry, as low-income people may not be able to afford to invest the time needed to be seen as
qualified for entry-level roles (Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Fink, 2013; Hora et al., 2019; Lee,
2011; Randle et al., 2014; Sweich, 2016; Tucci, 2012).
Context and Background of the Problem
The professional field of focus is the entertainment industry. For the purposes of this
study, the entertainment industry will refer to the combined fields of film, music, theater,
television, animation, media production, and games. However, as the entertainment industry has
2

expanded to encompass emerging fields in recent years, entertainment has been seen as an
umbrella term that has been difficult to define fully over the 130 years in which moving picture
technology has been developed (Bordwell et al., 2020).
From nearly the beginning of the emergence of entertainment as an industry, the field has
experienced an oversupply of talent as the entertainment industry is seen as a field with flexible
work hours, a means to express one’s creativity, and can be financially lucrative if one’s projects
are successful (Bille et al., 2013; Dumford & Miller, 2015; Frenette & Ocejo, 2018;
Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Lindemann et al., 2016; Lindemann et al., 2017; Steiner & Schneider,
2012). Entering the entertainment industry has become exceedingly difficult as companies can
easily hire high quality candidates to meet their needs for very little money (Bridgstock &
Cunningham, 2015; Comunian et al., 2010; Corrigan, 2015; Frenette, 2013; Hesmondhalgh &
Baker, 2009; Honrubia, 2017; Oakley, 2011; Skaggs, 2018; Steiner & Schneider, 2012; Sweich,
2016). The most common way of establishing experience within entertainment in recent decades
is to work internships at entertainment companies (Honrubia, 2017; Hunt & Scott, 2018;
Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016). As most internships within entertainment are unpaid, low-
income college students face challenges acquiring experience as they may not be able to afford
to work for free for extended periods of time (Banks & Oakley, 2015; Capek et al., 2017;
Discenna, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Einstein, 2015; Fink, 2013; Perlin, 2012;
Steffen, 2010). As a result, students who come from higher-income families are put at an
advantage for necessary work experience because they are more able to manage financial
expenses with added family support (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010;
Durrant, 2013; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Silva, 2020; Smith, 2010; Tucci, 2012).

3

Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of the project is to understand the challenges low-income college students
face in gaining entertainment industry experience due to the prevalence of unpaid internships.
The study will include interviews and surveys with current low-income college students who are
looking to enter the entertainment industry, as well as alumni who identified as low-income in
college who took entertainment industry internships while at their university. Gaining a
perspective from current low-income college students is important to understand the current
issues they face in gaining entertainment industry experience so that universities and employers
may address any difficulties in access. Additionally, alumni who were low-income college
students that completed entertainment internships may give insights into specific challenges they
faced, how they addressed them, and if the experience helped them in pursuing a career in
entertainment. The research questions are as follows:
1. Do students and alumni perceive unpaid entertainment internships as being helpful to
making career progress?
2. What challenges do low-income college students face in completing unpaid
entertainment internships?
3. What interventions can support systems (including employers and universities) within
low-income college students’ lives take to better support their career progress in
entertainment?
Importance of the Study
The entertainment industry has been criticized over the years, but particularly recently
with movements including #OscarsSoWhite and #PayUpHollywood, for a lack of diversity and
paying employees too little without wage increases to account for inflation (DiRienzo, 2016;
4

Fortmueller, 2021; Gutiérrez, 2020; Sweich, 2016). The problem is exacerbated because industry
employers value unpaid internship experience to the point of making this experience an
unwritten requirement for entry-level work (DiRienzo, 2016; Discenna, 2016; Frenette, 2013;
Frenette et al., 2015; Hart, 2014; Hora et al., 2019; Petersen, 2021; Shade, 2014; Siebert &
Wilson, 2013; Tucci, 2012). As low-income college students may not be able to afford to work
for free for extended periods of time, they may lose the opportunity to build valuable
entertainment career experience by graduating without or with very limited internship experience
(Banks & Oakley, 2015; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Sweich, 2016). If the problem is not
addressed, equity problems will persist in the entertainment industry, as the opportunities to gain
experience will be open only to those already privileged with either personal connections who
can assist with obtaining work, or sufficient financial capital to withstand the financial
challenges of working an unpaid internship (Banks & Oakley, 2015; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013;
Frenette & Tepper, 2016; Perlin, 2012; Sweich, 2016).
Overview of Conceptual Framework and Methodology
The conceptual framework for the study is based upon Bronfenbrenner’s (1979)
ecological systems theory and Bordieu’s (1986) social capital theory. The ecological systems
theory posits that an individual is surrounded by a series of systems that interact and influence
each other to create effects on the individual’s development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). These
systems vary, from those with which the individual has direct access, up through those that affect
society as a whole with which the individual does not interact but can create ripple effects that
create specific outcomes for the individual (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). With the context of low-
income college students, a lack of access to key career development opportunities (in this case,
unpaid entertainment internships), due to circumstances such as lack of family support, need to
5

work or taking out excessive loans, can lead to negative effects on their ability to progress in the
entertainment industry over time. As social capital is a primary currency by which people access
career opportunities within entertainment with its focus on networking and personal connections,
unpaid internships – a primary way in which college students can acquire social capital within
entertainment – become especially important for low-income college students because they do
not have access to other forms of social capital through family and professional connections that
higher-income college students may more easily be able to gain (Bordieu, 1986; Honrubia, 2017;
Hunt & Scott, 2018; Perlin, 2012; Shaginian, 2015; Steffen, 2010; Sweich, 2016).
The methodology will consist of interviews and a survey with current low-income college
students and alumni who identified as low-income in college. Both groups will have completed
at least one unpaid internship in entertainment. The surveys will capture data regarding what the
unpaid internship entailed, how students and alumni felt about the experience, and suggestions
on how both employers and universities can improve support for low-income college students
completing internships. The interviews will capture qualitative data about the lived experience of
low-income college students and alumni who completed unpaid internships to understand the
unique challenges they faced in gaining experience within the entertainment industry.
Definitions
Below are definitions relevant to the study for additional context:
Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) is an umbrella term to refer to Black,
Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC, 2021). The term gained prominence to acknowledge
that Black and Indigenous people may be especially impacted by systemic racism (Clarke, 2020).
Many low-income college students may also come from BIPOC backgrounds (Nuñez &
Sansone, 2016; Tucci, 2012). BIPOC people are also underrepresented within the entertainment
6

industry (Allen et al., 2013; Conor et al., 2015; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Frenette & Tepper,
2016; Gill, 2014; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Lauzen, 2021; Lee, 2011; Lindemann et al.,
2016; Randle et al., 2014; O’Brien et al., 2016; Oakley, 2011; Oakley et al., 2017; Shade, 2014;
Sweich, 2016; Zilvinskis et al., 2020).
Entertainment industry, for the purposes of this study, will be used to broadly define the
film, television, music, theater, animation, media production, and games industries. However, the
entertainment industry evolved considerably in the past 130 years and continues to be redefined
on a constant basis (Bordwell et al., 2020).
Fact Sheet #71, established in 2010, are the current legal guidelines in place related to
unpaid internships based upon the six-factor test established in Walling vs. Portland Terminal
(see “Walling vs. Portland Terminal” below for more information). The test was revised to a
seven-factor test in 2018. These rules specifically relate to for-profit companies; government and
non-profit companies are exempt from these rules, as unpaid interns would be considered
volunteers in those contexts (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), originally passed in 1938 and as set forth by the U.S.
Department of Labor, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay,
recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector
and in Federal, State, and local governments. Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to
a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Overtime pay at
a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40
hours of work in a workweek” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
7

FLSA defines an employee as “any individual employed by an employer,” and
employment as “to suffer or permit to work” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). Interns are not
considered employees under FLSA, and Fact Sheet #71 was established to specifically address
whether trainees should be considered employees or another type of worker not subject to FLSA
(U.S. Department of Labor, 2018; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is a 2013 lawsuit between Eric Glatt and Fox
Searchlight Pictures taken to the Second Circuit Court in which Eric Glatt, an intern on the film
Black Swan, sued Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for back pay as he believed he was a
misclassified employee due to the menial nature of tasks and the lack of educational value (Glatt
vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2013). The Second Circuit Court determined the 6-step test in the
2010 version of Fact Sheet #71 did not accurately account for the realities of a modern
internship; instead, a more flexible primary beneficiary test was used for the purposes of the
ruling (Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2013). The
determination considered all potential ways each side both Glatt and Fox Searchlight Pictures,
Inc. benefited from the work arrangement; in the end, the court determined that Fox Searchlight
Pictures, Inc. benefited from the arrangement more than Glatt, and he was ruled a misclassified
employee entitled to back wages (DiRienzo, 2016; Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2013).
Hope labor is a concept meaning one makes an investment of time within a certain line of
work or with a specific company, often for no or low wages, with the hopes that the work they
have contributed will lead to potential benefits in the future. Hope labor is common within the
entertainment field, and taking an unpaid internship is a specific way in which students can
participate in hope labor (Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013).
8

Internships vary across industries, which has led to problems defining a uniform model
(DiRienzo, 2016; Hora et al., 2017; Jung & Lee, 2016; Lawton & Potter, 2010). The National
Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) created the following definition:
An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory
learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a
professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied
experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career
paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent” (NACE, 2018).
Internships also provide a means for students to try working in industries prior to
graduation and to network with employers who may in turn offer them employment after
graduation – an outcome that is common and often idealized by both students and employers but,
according to Fact Sheet #71, should not be expected (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Brudney, 2019;
Daniel & Daniel, 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Frenette, 2013; Hope & Figiel, 2015; Hora et al., 2019;
Lawton & Potter, 2010; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018; Zhao & Liden, 2011). For the
entertainment industry, internships are seen as a means of building social capital within the field
by meeting entertainment industry employers who may be able to recommend them for future
work (Corrigan, 2015; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Frenette, 2013; Honrubia, 2017).
Low-income college student, for the purposes of this study, refers to a low-income
college student broadly refers to a student enrolled in a higher education university whose
combined family income is lower than national averages. For the study, the income limit would
correspond to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) definitions; this
would equate to the student’s family income being no more than 80% of the median family
9

income for the region in which the student lives while in college (HUD, 2021). Low-income
college students can also be from other marginalized groups (see “BIPOC” definition).
Paid internships compensate the interns with money (Shaginian, 2015). Paid internships
function similar to part-time work and are less restrictive in terms of what tasks can be asked of
students. Payment can be given either on an hourly basis or as a stipend for the semester. Paid
internships have become more common after the Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures decision,
which determined that Eric Glatt, a former unpaid intern with Fox, was a misclassified employee
entitled to wages (DiRienzo, 2016; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Honrubia, 2017; Shaginian, 2015;
Sweich, 2016). To protect against lawsuits, some entertainment companies have converted
unpaid internships to paid internships (Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Hart, 2014;
Pryjmak, 2017; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
Social capital is a term first coined by Pierre Bordieu in 1986, social capital refers to a
resource an individual or group develops through connections with others that “entitles them to
credit” that can provide benefits within society (p. 21). These include but are not limited to
access to jobs and opportunities that are not readily available to those who have not developed
social capital with certain individuals. Social capital can also be “guaranteed by the application
of a common name” by a relative or close friend, thereby granting an individual access to the
same societal benefits of the person who originally developed the connection (Bordieu, 1986, p.
248).
Unpaid internship: an internship that does not offer wages for an intern’s work
(Shaginian, 2015). Many unpaid internships are taken in conjunction with a course at an
accredited educational institution (DiRienzo, 2016; Salamon, 2015). They typically offer flexible
hours when students are actively taking classes but can be up to full time (Hunt & Scott, 2018;
10

Lawton & Potter, 2010; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). Most internships within the
entertainment industry are unpaid (Honrubia, 2017; Hunt & Scott, 2018; Shaginian, 2015;
Sweich, 2016).
Walling vs. Portland Terminal was a legal case in 1947 between a plaintiff who
participated in an unpaid railroad shipyard week-long training program and the Portland
Terminal organization. The court determined that, as trainees knew they would not be paid and
the program was primarily supervised educational training rather than completing actual work
for the company, a six-step test to determine trainee validity with regards to FLSA should be
created (Reid, 2014; Shaginian, 2015; Tucci, 2012; Walling v. Portland Terminal, 1947). This
test was used to find that the trainees were not considered employees under FLSA and thus were
not entitled to wages (Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Walling v. Portland Terminal, 1947).
Walling vs. Portland Terminal’s six-step test was used as the basis for Fact Sheet #71 in 2010,
the current legal internship guidelines (Reid, 2014; Shaginian, 2015; Tucci, 2012).
Organization of the Dissertation
Chapter One serves as an overview of the study, giving context to the issue of low-
income college students, the research questions, importance of the study and an overview of the
theoretical framework and key definitions. Chapter Two reviews the literature surrounding
internships, including perspectives on the history of legal definitions, challenges low-income
college students face, and contextualizing the typical means by which entrants into the
entertainment industry gain experience; an overview of legal, equity-based and entertainment-
based issues with unpaid internships is then reviewed. Chapter Three defines the methodology
used for the study and the research design. Chapter Four reviews the findings from the study
methods (specifically, surveys and interviews with low-income college students and alumni) for
11

each research question. Chapter Five concludes the study and highlights recommendations for
practice.

12

Chapter Two: Literature Review
The literature review will provide context on issues low-income college students face
entering the entertainment industry because of unpaid internships. The review begins with the
definition and history of internships, and an overview of the value of internships for employers,
students and universities. The history of how employees have gained experience in
entertainment, including the importance of networking and “paying your dues” is then offered to
illustrate how unpaid internships are used to evaluate candidates (Perlin, 2012; Rensin, 2003;
Salamon, 2015; Shade & Jacobson, 2015; Sweich, 2016). The discussion then turns to the
primary subject of the research–low-income college students—and addresses challenges they
face entering industries that use unpaid internships as the primary tool for gaining experience.
The review then explores problems with unpaid internships, including legal, equity-based and
entertainment industry-based challenges that create an environment that excludes low-income
college students. The review concludes with the conceptual framework for the study, based upon
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and Bordieu’s social capital theory (Bordieu, 1986;
Bronfenbrenner, 1979;). The conceptual framework expresses that the experiences low-income
college students face earlier in their career can have ripple effects on their career many years
later; these effects are magnified if they lack access to key social capital to make connections
early.
Definition of Internships
The definition of an internship varies across industries, which has led to problems with
enforcing a uniform internship model (DiRienzo, 2016; Hora et al., 2017; Hughes &
Lagomarsine, 2015; Jung & Lee, 2016; Lawton & Potter, 2010). As stakeholders have differing
objectives for what an internship should accomplish, the interpretations can vary depending on
13

whether the definer is a student, an employer, or a university (Gerken et al., 2012; NACE, 2018;
Narayanan et al., 2010; Rowe et al., 2012). The lack of clarity on what defines an internship has
created discrepancies in enforcing uniform internship standards (Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015;
Klinger, 2016; Pryjmak, 2017).
The NACE, the leading organization in higher education career development programs,
recommends the following definition:
An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory
learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a
professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied
experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career
paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent. (NACE, 2018,
para. 7).
The United States Department of Labor and the FLSA defines a 7-factor primary
beneficiary test under Fact Sheet #71 to determine internship validity; the test defines whether an
intern should legally be defined as an intern or an employee (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
The seven factors are listed in Table 1.

14

Table 1
Fact Sheet #71: Six-Factor vs. Seven-Factor Comparison
Fact Sheet #71, six-factor Seven-factor version
The internship, even though it includes actual
operation of the facilities of the employer,
is similar to training which would be given
in an educational environment;
The training, even though it includes actual
operation of the facilities of the employer,
is similar to that which would be given in a
vocational school;
The internship experience is for the benefit of
the intern
The training, even though it includes actual
operation of the facilities of the employer,
is similar to that which would be given in a
vocational school;
The intern does not displace regular
employees, but works under close
supervision of existing staff
The training is for the benefit of the trainee;
The employer that provides the training
derives no immediate advantage from the
activities of the intern; and on occasion its
operations may actually be impeded;
The trainees do not displace regular
employees, but work under close
observation;
The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job
at the conclusion of the internship; and
The employer that provides the training
derives no immediate advantage from the
activities of the trainees and on occasion
the employer’s operations may actually be
impeded;
The employer and the intern understand that
the intern is not entitled to wages for the
time spent in the internship.
The trainees are not necessarily entitled to a
job at the completion of the training period;
and
The employer and the trainee understand that
the trainees are not entitled to wages for the
time spent in training

Note. Adapted from “America’s New Glass Ceiling: Unpaid Internships, the Fair Labor
Standards Act, and the Urgent Need for Change” by J. L. Curiale, 2010, Hastings Law Journal,
61, 1531–1560. and Fact Sheet #71: Internship programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act by
U.S. Department of Labor, 2018. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/71-flsa-
internships)

15

Internships exist in two forms: paid and unpaid (Shaginian, 2015). Unpaid internships
must meet all requirements in Fact Sheet #71 and are often taken in conjunction with an
internship course at an educational institution (DiRienzo, 2016; Salamon, 2015). Approximately
1.5 million internship programs are held each year, with about half being unpaid (Reid, 2014;
Rothschild & Rothschild, 2020). NACE (2017) reports that since 2013, at least 60% of college
students complete at least one internship; this figure has held static each year since then.
In the entertainment industry, the primary industry of this review, internships are usually
unpaid and require students to register for a university-level course in conjunction with the
experience (DiRienzo, 2016; Hunt & Scott, 2018; Lawton & Potter, 2010). Frenette et al. (2015)
found that 69% of arts alumni who graduated between 2009 and 2013 completed at least one
internship, either paid or unpaid. It is estimated that 40–50% of entertainment industry entrants
will complete at least one unpaid internship (Siebert & Wilson, 2013). Interns typically work
between 8–20 hours per week in semesters where students are taking regular classes and can be
up to 40 hours per week in the summer (Hunt & Scott, 2018; Lawton & Potter, 2010). The types
of assignments that students complete on their internships vary depending on the individual
company (Honrubia, 2017; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Nicholes, 2014).
History of Internships
The modern-day internship has its roots in the Middle Ages with apprenticeship programs
(Burke & Carton, 2013; Perlin, 2012). The experience was seen as a way to enter a particular
industry by combining theory and practice (Frenette, 2013; Perlin, 2012). However, internships
build upon the concept of hands-on learning by incorporating concepts learned in the classroom
with real-world experience in a business within the industry the student studies (Frenette, 2013;
Perlin, 2012). The term internship first emerged in the early 20
th
century to refer to medical
16

doctors in training, who worked under the supervision of more experienced doctors in hospitals;
the term is still used today for first-year medical residents, but has expanded to a much wider
range of industries across virtually all sectors (Perlin, 2012; Wildenhaus, 2019).
In the United States, the FLSA was passed in 1938. The purpose of the FLSA was “to
insure that every person whose employment contemplated compensation should not be
compelled to sell his services for less than the prescribed minimum wage” (Brookhouser, 2015,
p. 756; U.S. Department of Labor, 2021). Employees are defined as “any individual employed by
an employer,” and employment as “to suffer or permit to work” (U.S. Department of Labor,
2021; Pryjmak, 2017). Employees cannot waive their right to pay, and employers must pay the
employee or face legal action (Brookhouser, 2015; U.S. Department of Labor, 2021; Pryjmak,
2017). As interns are not considered employees, the FLSA rules do not apply to internships;
however, as interns often complete assignments and tasks that would otherwise be considered
work for employees, further definition was necessary to delineate rules for internships
(Brookhouser, 2015; Honrubia, 2017; Pryjmak, 2017; Reid, 2014; Tucci, 2012).
The main standard for evaluating internships is based upon a 1947 legal case entitled
Walling v. Portland Terminal. In this case, the plaintiff completed an unpaid railroad shipyard
week-long training program and wanted to be paid for his work; the court determined that as the
trainees were aware of the fact that they would not be paid for the weeklong training and the
program was primarily supervised educational training rather than actual work, the trainees were
not considered employees under FLSA and not entitled to wages (Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo,
2016; Walling v. Portland Terminal, 1947). Walling v. Portland Terminal was the first legal
precedence for determining whether trainees could be considered employees or a different
category of worker (Reid, 2014; Shaginian, 2015; Tucci, 2012).
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In 2008, what is now termed the Great Recession occurred; lack of regulation within the
financial sector and the collapse of housing markets led to bankruptcies, stock market drops and
layoffs, and an increase in earnings inequality (Perri & Steinberg, 2012; Petersen, 2021; Scheuer
& Mills, 2016). As a result, many employers could not afford to hire new staff due to economic
circumstances and began to offer more unpaid internships (Frenette, 2013; Honrubia, 2017;
Perlin, 2012; Tucci, 2012). Desperate for experience, more people in the job market (particularly
recent college graduates) were eager to apply for unpaid internships with the hope that it would
build experience and positive connections with employers (Collidge, 2015; Frenette, 2013;
Frenette et al., 2015; Nicholes, 2014; Perlin, 2012; Shade & Jacobson, 2015). The influx of
unpaid internship programs created a need for legal guidelines on internship programs
(Brookhouser, 2015; Honrubia, 2017; Pryjmak, 2017; Reid, 2014; Tucci, 2012).
In 2010, a six-factor test based upon the findings in Walling v. Portland Terminal was
established by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hours Division, titled Fact Sheet #71
(Frenette, 2015). Fact Sheet #71 was used as a means of determining whether an internship
qualifies to be unpaid or whether the intern or trainee in question is a misclassified employee
entitled to wages. The six factors in the 2010 version of Fact Sheet #71 are listed in Table 1. The
six-factor version of Fact Sheet #71 was restrictive, meaning all factors needed to be met for a
trainee to be legally considered an intern; if any one factor was unmet, the trainee would be
considered an employee and entitled to wages (Bacon, 2011; Frenette, 2015). The guidelines set
forth are applicable only to for-profit organizations; non-profit organizations and government
organizations can allow unpaid internships as they would be considered volunteers (Collidge,
2015; Durrant, 2013; McTorry, 2014; Tucci, 2012).
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As the definitions for what constituted internships were only legal guidelines, lawsuits
emerged in the early 2010s relating to whether interns were misclassified employees
(Brookhouser, 2015; dePeuter, 2014; Hughes & Lagomarsine , 2015; Sweich, 2016). However,
circuit courts across the United States split on their rulings, which led to even less clarity on how
internships should be defined (DiRienzo, 2016; Honrubia, 2017; Pryjmak, 2017). The most
influential of these cases is Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures. In this case, Eric Glatt worked as
an intern on the film Black Swan between 2009–2010; as his duties primarily included menial
tasks with no educational value, the lawsuit argued that Glatt was a misclassified employee
entitled to wages (DiRienzo, 2016; Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2013). The Second Circuit
Court determined that the six-factor test in Fact Sheet #71 was too rigid and did not accurately
reflect the modern internship; instead, a more flexible primary beneficiary test was adopted
(Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2013). The
determination by the Second Circuit Court was that, in considering all the potential ways that
each side benefited from the internship arrangement, Fox Searchlight Pictures benefited more
significantly than Glatt and he was ruled a misclassified employee (DiRienzo, 2016; Glatt vs.
Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2013).
Fact Sheet #71 was updated in January 2018 to a seven-factor test that added a stipulation
regarding the length of time in which an intern could work with a company. The updated seven-
factor test is listed in Table 1. The seven-factor test is more in line with the primary beneficiary
test set forth in Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). The test
makes it easier for companies to legally offer unpaid internships as all factors do not need to be
met (Rothschild & Rothschild, 2020; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018; Wildenhaus, 2019).
These requirements are again applicable only to for-profit organizations; non-profits and
19

government agencies can still legally offer unpaid internships (Collidge, 2015; Durrant, 2013;
McTorry, 2014; Tucci, 2012; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
The seven-factor test is still the current test by which internships are evaluated as of 2021.
However, other circuit courts have continued to use varying methods of determining internship
validity beyond the seven-factor test since 2018 to determine whether an intern is a misclassified
employee; as a result, the understanding of applicable internship laws has become harder to
determine (DiRienzo, 2016; Honrubia, 2017; Hughes & Lagomarsine , 2015; Pryjmak, 2017).
Value of Internships
Internships have become common career development practice within the past few
decades. Internships have been described as a “win-win” arrangement for students, employers,
and universities, with advantages for each group (Coco, 2000; Hora et al., 2017). This section
addresses perspectives from scholars in the field on positive aspects of internships for the
primary stakeholders involved in internship relationships: students, employers, and universities.
For Students
Internships offer a way for students to gain experience in a field prior to graduation
(Cuyler et al., 2013; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Hurst et al., 2012; Jung & Lee,
2016; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Thompson et al., 2020; Woo et al., 2017). The ability to see
companies from the inside allows students to understand the nuances of industries that cannot be
taught in a classroom (Coco, 2000; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; Hora et al., 2020; Jung & Lee, 2016;
Lawton & Potter, 2010). When combined with the experience students gain in the classroom, the
student can gain a holistic understanding of a particular industry that is more complex than if
they had simply taken a course or worked in the field (Cannon & Geddes, 2019; Crowell, 2015;
DiRienzo, 2016; Narayanan et al., 2010; Tucci, 2012). Evidence suggests that meaningful
20

assignments on internships can be valuable in helping students to understand work they may be
engaged in within the industry and to connect theories they learn in class to practice (Binder et
al., 2015; Coco, 2000; Corrigan, 2015; D’Abate et al., 2009; Hurst & Good, 2010; Narayanan et
al., 2010).
Interning allows the student an opportunity to try working in a career to determine
whether they like or dislike working in a particular industry (Coco, 2000; Crain, 2016; Odio et
al., 2014; Thompson et al., 2020; Woo et al., 2017; Zhao & Liden, 2011). Internships help the
student to make a more informed decision about their remaining coursework, career directions,
and types of positions they may apply for after graduation (Coco, 2000; D’Abate, 2010; Nunley
et al., 2016; Zhao & Liden, 2011). Understanding the field’s work prior to job seeking can save
students time and money by ensuring they seek out jobs that they will be inclined to stay in for
longer amounts of time (D’Abate et al., 2009; Hurst & Good, 2010; Narayanan et al., 2010; Zhao
& Liden, 2011). There is also evidence to support that internships lead to higher starting salaries;
Guarise and Kostenblatt (2018) found that salaries for students who had completed internships
prior to graduation average $2,082/year higher than students who have not completed
internships. Margaryan et al. (2019) also found that completing an internship is linked with about
6% greater overall salary earnings for graduates, and lower rates of unemployment.
Studies have also shown that a positive relationship with an internship supervisor can be
influential on career direction and interest (Corrigan, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Goia (Agoston) et
al., 2017; Nghia & Duyen, 2018; Odio et al., 2014; Woo et al., 2017; Zhao & Liden, 2011). A
good relationship with a supervisor can lead an intern to have more interest in applying to the
specific company where they interned upon graduation, or a similar company in the same
industry (Klein & Weiss, 2011; Liu et al., 2011; Hurst et al., 2011; Narayanan et al., 2010;
21

Nicholes, 2014; Rose et al., 2014; Zhao & Liden, 2011). Feedback is crucial in a positive
supervisor-intern relationship; feedback on what the student does well on the internship can
increase self-efficacy, and feedback on what can be improved can help interns understand areas
of development (Crain, 2016; D’Abate et al., 2009; Hurst & Good, 2010; Liu et al., 2011;
Narayanan et al., 2010; Rogers et al., 2021; Thompson et al., 2020; Zhao & Liden, 2011).
Finally, networking is an important benefit that internships provide for students. Students
become acquainted with many professionals on internships; their supervisors, other employees,
or even other interns may expose the intern to useful information, or may provide references for
the intern they may use to help them find work after graduation (Bathmaker et al., 2013;
Brudney, 2019; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Frenette, 2013; Hope & Figiel, 2015;
Hora et al., 2019; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Zhao & Liden, 2011). Networking is particularly
important for students interested in working in entertainment, as the obtaining work in the
industry is primarily through personal referrals (Daniel & Daniel, 2013; Eikhof & Warhurst,
2013; Fine, 2017; Frenette, 2013; Frenette et al., 2015; Randle et al., 2014). The benefits, while
numerous, are not just limited to students; the next section addresses some of the specific
benefits that internships offer employers.
For Employers
Employers value internship experience and see it as analogous to an understanding of the
industry; as a result, internship experience is seen as desirable in potential candidates for entry-
level roles (Hart, 2014; Humphreys, 2013; Jung & Lee, 2016; Nunley et al., 2016; Rigsby et al.,
2013). Baert et al. (2021) found in a field experiment of sending 1,248 college graduate resumes
to job listings that resumes including internship experience were 12.6% more likely to receive a
job interview request from employers than those without internship experience; the rate was even
22

higher for female candidates, at 14.3% more interview requests. Additionally, Jung and Lee
(2016) found that internship experience can lead to a shorter job search period upon graduation.
In some industries, particularly in entertainment, internships being seen as analogous industry
experience goes even further to be made prerequisite experience both formally and informally
(Allen et al., 2013; Chillas et al., 2015; Discenna, 2016; Durrant, 2013; Einstein, 2015; Hora et
al., 2019; Mirrlees, 2015; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016; Ortner, 1998; Petersen, 2021; Shade &
Jacobson, 2015; Sweich, 2016; Yamada, 2016). Frenette et al. (2015) note that in an analysis of
68,000 arts alumni, about 66% of students who completed internships found jobs within 4
months of graduation and 86% found jobs within a year of graduation, compared to 57% and
77% for each respective statistic for students who did not complete internships in college.
Employers also value internships because they are a proven, albeit informal, method of
evaluating potential employees on a trial basis (DiRienzo, 2016; Hurst et al., 2011; Jung & Lee,
2016; Klein & Weiss, 2011; Nicholes, 2014; Rose et al., 2014 Zhao & Liden, 2011). Employers
can see how the intern works with other members of the team and assess their progress in their
role; if at the end of the internship the intern is interested in working at the company, the
employer can be more informed on the intern’s eligibility based on months of experience already
working with the candidate (D’Abate et al., 2009; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Klein
& Weiss, 2011; Narayanan et al., 2010; Nicholes, 2014; Rose et al., 2014; Zhao & Liden, 2011).
Employers also note interns can be helpful in gaining an outside perspective that can be
beneficial to developing new business practices and insights (Daniel & Daniel, 2013; Degravel et
al., 2012; DiRienzo, 2016; Hurst & Good, 2010; Narayanan et al., 2010).
Internships save companies money in multiple ways. Internship programs can save
money in the recruitment process by using the program to convert interns into employees (Coco,
23

2000; Cuyler et al., 2013; D’Abate et al., 2009; Goia (Agoston) et al., 2017; Nicholes, 2014;
Siebert & Wilson, 2013; Thompson et al., 2020; Zhao & Liden, 2011). NACE (2013) found that
between 2012–2013, 56.7% of participating employers across multiple industries offered full-
time employment to former interns with their respective companies. Internships also serve as
good word-of-mouth for companies to recruit candidates, as students who have positive
experiences with the company are likely to recommend the program to their friends; as a result,
employers can save money on recruiting by intern referrals (Hurst & Good, 2010; Woo et al.,
2017). Finally, internships save companies money because they often can pay interns less than
they would pay an employee, even if the intern is paid, as they do not need to pay them benefits
such as health or unemployment insurance (Coco, 2000; Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016;
Durrant, 2013; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Narayanan et al.,
2010). While employers do need to invest significant time in training interns, the savings
frequently can outweigh the time investment, particularly if the employer chooses to hire the
intern as an employee (Coco, 2000; Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Perlin, 2012).
Employers reap many benefits from internships; however, internships also offer several notable
benefits to universities, as will be discussed in the next section.
For Universities
Internships help students to link theory they learn in the classroom with the practice they
experience in a workplace (Cannon & Geddes, 2019; Hora et al., 2020; Narayanan et al., 2010;
Nghia & Duyen, 2018). Universities, then, benefit by offering an opportunity for students to
broaden their skill sets and to be more prepared for work beyond graduation (DiRienzo, 2016;
Hora et al., 2020; Jung & Lee, 2016; Trolian et al., 2018). Evidence shows that experiential
learning opportunities leads to students who are more prepared and confident to enter the work
24

world; however, studies have consistently shown that internships prove to be one of the most
effective and valued means of experiential learning across activities (Coker & Porter, 2016;
DiRienzo, 2016; Jackson & Bridgstock, 2020). Furthermore, Binder et al. (2015) found in a
study of 15,000 students, completing internships was linked with a 2.4% increase in student
academic grades across all fields of study.
Regarding entertainment opportunities, Martin and Frenette (2017) found that interning
while in college is a significant way to increase the odds of obtaining work after graduation, with
an 82% increase in odds of relevant work experience likelihood in one’s first job among arts
alumni. NACE highlights core competencies on an annual basis that are considered desirable by
employers in potential employees and encourages universities to develop these skills in their
students within their career services departments and departmental curriculum; in 2021, the core
competencies included career & self-development, communication, critical thinking, equity &
inclusion, leadership, professionalism, teamwork and technology (NACE, 2021). Internships
have been linked with all the listed competencies. There is considerable overlap in these
competencies for internship evaluation – for example, DiRienzo (2016) found that employers
looked for problem-solving, independence, good interpersonal skills and teamwork in their
students when considering them for internships. As a result, internships are valuable for
universities because they help to supplement the classroom experience to prepare students for
careers (DiRienzo, 2016; Narayanan et al., 2010; Nunley et al., 2016).
Additionally, as students often either need or want to receive course credit for
internships, offering internship credit courses create a revenue stream for universities through
tuition (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hart, 2014; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin,
2012). Internship credit courses often do not require as much of a time commitment for
25

professors or an investment of resources that a traditional in-person course may require (Hart,
2014; Perlin, 2012). As a result, the university gains a revenue stream by simply granting credit
for internships without the typical investment of time and effort that a traditional university
course may require (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hart, 2014; Perlin, 2012). Tuition
charged for internship credit courses can cause hardship for students who would need to pay for
the opportunity to work an unpaid internship, and as a result has generated controversy as many
of the internship credit courses are not as academically rigorous as traditional university courses;
however, the ability for the university to generate income from course credit is a benefit for the
university from a financial standpoint as the generated income can help them to pay for
additional program offerings (Corrigan, 2015; Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards &
Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin, 2012).
Internships can also be a productive means by which universities can partner with
employers in the community, and build goodwill for their students and alumni for potential
careers (Coco, 2000; Hora et al., 2017; Narayanan et al., 2010; Thompson et al., 2020).
Universities can guide employers on proper internship program structure to ensure they are
providing a positive learning experience, so that employers and students can have a beneficial
working relationship (Gerken et al., 2012; Goia (Agoston) et al., 2017; Narayanan et al., 2010;
Rowe et al., 2012; Thompson et al., 2020). Employers may also gain insights into the student
population from working with a university’s students as interns; if they have positive
associations with the experience, employers may be more inclined to look for potential intern
and job candidates within the university’s student and alumni community (DiRienzo, 2016;
Narayanan et al., 2010). The benefits and value of internships have been documented across
multiple stakeholder groups; the next section will follow the history of how people have started
26

careers in the entertainment industry, and how internships have become a common way for
students to gain experience in the field prior to graduation.
“Breaking Into the Business: ” History of Entering the Entertainment Industry
The entertainment industry as it is currently known emerged in the late 1800s with the
development of moving picture technology (Bordwell et al., 2020). By the late 1910s, film
production companies began to form to meet the increasing demand for motion pictures from a
global audience; these companies formed the roots of many of the film and television studios that
dominate the field today, including Paramount, Warner Bros., and Universal (Bordwell et al.,
2020). From nearly its inception to today, the entertainment industry has become a desirable field
to work in as it offers a means to not only express one’s creativity but to potentially make a good
deal of money; studies also suggest that the flexibility and autonomy in entertainment work may
make job satisfaction comparatively higher than those who work in other industries (Bille et al.,
2013; Dumford & Miller, 2015; Frenette & Ocejo, 2018; Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Lindemann et
al., 2016; Lindemann et al., 2017; Steiner & Schneider, 2012). As a result, the entertainment
industry quickly became a difficult field to enter due to a wealth of applicants for limited roles,
creating an oversupply of talent (Bridgstock & Cunningham, 2015; Comunian et al., 2010;
Corrigan, 2015; Frenette, 2013; Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009; Honrubia, 2017; Oakley, 2011;
Skaggs, 2018; Steiner & Schneider, 2012; Sweich, 2016). Lindemann et al. (2017) found that
over 130,000 visual and performing arts students graduate from universities throughout the
United States every year; as this does not capture many more students that major in other topics
but still have interest in working within entertainment after graduating, the true number of
entertainment hopefuls is even higher.
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There are several themes within the culture of starting one’s career in entertainment that
will be covered within this review. First, the competitive nature of recruiting in entertainment
leads to a culture of “paying one’s dues” to be considered worthy of upward mobility (Perlin,
2012; Randle et al., 2014; Salamon, 2015; Shade & Jacobson, 2015; Sweich, 2016). A way in
which potential employees have traditionally distinguished themselves was to participate in hope
labor, or working for low or no pay to provide value to a company with the hopes it leads to
more desirable work later (Conor et al., 2015; Corrigan, 2015; Gill, 2014; Hesmondhalgh, 2010;
Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013; Mirrlees, 2015; Petersen, 2021; Rodino-Colocino & Berberick, 2015;
Smith, 2010). Second, networking is important for career progress in entertainment and personal
connections are valued in being given opportunities within the field (Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013;
Fine, 2017; Frenette, 2013; Randle et al., 2014). Having a network of people who are willing to
advocate on one’s behalf becomes a powerful form of social capital that can lead to tangible
career rewards; lacking this network can lead to stagnation in career progress (Blair, 2001; Lee,
2011; Randle et al., 2014). The review then will consider a case study on one path entertainment
professionals take to start careers – the talent agency mailroom. Finally, the review will end with
a discussion of the current internship system.
Having What It Takes: Hope Labor and Oversupply
The history of starting one’s career in entertainment is based on a history of proving
oneself; new employees were expected to “pay [their] dues” and prove to their potential
employer that they not only desired the work but would go above and beyond to fulfill their
duties with the hope that it could lead to upward mobility (Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Honrubia,
2017; Perlin, 2012; Rensin, 2003; Salamon, 2015; Shade & Jacobson, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
Expectations on entry-level employees are high in entertainment as there are few opportunities
28

for a large pool of applicants creating an oversupply of talent (Bridgstock & Cunningham, 2015;
Comunian et al., 2010; Corrigan, 2015; Frenette, 2013; Honrubia, 2017; Oakley, 2011; Sweich,
2016). Those looking to enter the entertainment industry must work hard to even be noticed, and
even harder to keep their jobs, as the threat of being replaced is high (Corrigan, 2015;
Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009; Honrubia, 2017; Rensin, 2003).
Kuehn and Corrigan (2013) discuss hope labor as a concept, meaning one is willing to
work for no or low wages in the hopes that it will lead to potential benefits in the future. Hope
labor is common in entertainment, as applicants must distinguish themselves from each other by
providing more incentives for employers to want to hire them for roles; the pressure mounts as
the industry grows increasingly precarious even at high levels with the prevalence of freelance
and temporary roles (Conor et al., 2015; Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009;
Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013). In earlier years within the entertainment industry, this often meant
simply paying low wages for demanding work; however, with the commonality of unpaid
internships in the past few decades, hope labor increasingly means working for extended periods
of time without pay (Figiel, 2013; Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013; Siebert &
Wilson, 2013). Siebert and Wilson (2013) estimated that 40%–50% of entertainment industry
professionals spend at least some time in unpaid internships. As a result, those who look to enter
the entertainment industry must invest significant time and money to enter the field (Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; Hora et al., 2019).
However, once one gets their first job, the path to success in entertainment is circuitous
and unclear (Fine, 2017; Frenette, 2013; Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009; Shade & Jacobson,
2015). As countless individual stories of entertainment professionals attest, there is no one path
for success in entertainment (Frenette, 2013; Rensin, 2003). As a result, many aspirants into the
29

entertainment field take work they think may help their career, or at least put them in proximity
to people who may be able to help them succeed, with little concrete evidence that their work is
going to progress their career (Conor et al., 2015; Frenette, 2013; Jacobson & Shade, 2018;
Shade & Jacobson, 2015). Eagerness of inexperienced workers can be exploited by employers,
with vague promises of offering them good references if they complete tasks that may be
unrelated to entertainment or even their assigned job (Chillas et al., 2015; Corrigan, 2015;
Durrant, 2013; Frenette, 2013; Mirrlees, 2015; Rensin, 2003; Siebert & Wilson, 2013; Thomas et
al., 2014). The next section discusses how for success in entertainment, particularly in the
beginning of one’s career, social capital and networking are key.
It Is About Whom You Know: Networking and Social Capital
Social networks are crucial to success in entertainment, to the point that a common
expression is that the industry is “about who you know” (DiRienzo, 2016, p. 65). Networking
and a foundation of people who can advocate for a potential candidate is a primary determinant
of who obtains opportunities (Comunian et al., 2010; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Frenette, 2013).
In Grugulis and Stoyanova’s qualitative study on the film and television industry, they found that
most of the 86 entertainment employees interviewed obtained their first jobs through friends or
family, and then obtained higher quality work by access to higher quality contacts made on
projects (2012). Similarly, Lee (2011) notes that 70% of the freelancers he interviewed obtained
first jobs through personal contacts, and 38% completed unpaid work during their careers.
Several studies also note that given the temporary nature of work in entertainment,
recruitment procedures are often informal as hiring managers may not have time to invest in
formal recruitment or may be overwhelmed with too many applications from potential candidates
(Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Skaggs, 2018; Steiner & Schneider,
30

2012). As a result, hiring managers in entertainment often ask for personal recommendations
from individuals they have already worked with instead of using formal recruitment methods
(Blair, 2001; Conor et al., 2015; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Lee, 2011; Randle et al., 2014).
Having a well-connected personal contact often sets one at an advantage over others, to the
degree that nepotism is common (Blair, 2001; Boulton, 2015; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Lee,
2011). It is not uncommon within entertainment to find individuals who follow the same
department head on discrete productions as they are more likely to be hired if they follow the
same well-connected individual, and generations of individuals who are given opportunities in
entertainment due to goodwill built by their relatives (Bechky, 2006; Blair, 2001; Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Rensin, 2003; Randle et al., 2014).
Social capital theory is useful in understanding the dynamics of progressing in the
entertainment industry. Bordieu (1986) defines social capital as a resource developed by an
individual or group through social connections that “entitles them to credit” which can provide
societal benefits, including access to jobs and opportunities by one group that are not offered to
those outside of the group (p. 21). This capital can also be “guaranteed by the application of a
common name,” such as through a family member; this allows the individual the same social
capital benefits granted to the family member through goodwill they may have established with
the group (Bordieu, 1986, p. 248). Social capital theory is relevant to entertainment industry
career building because individuals often gain social capital through connections with others who
have established themselves as trustworthy (Bechky, 2006; Blair, 2001; Bordieu, 1986; Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Rensin, 2003; Randle et al., 2014). Grugulis and
Stoyanova (2012) reinforce this notion by noting that advantages useful for obtaining work in
entertainment could be derived from “inherited” reputation from family and friends (pp. 1322).
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For those who do not have personal connections, their first opportunities in the industry
are extremely important in establishing a network of professionals who can serve as references
for future jobs (Brook & Comunian, 2018; Klein & Weiss, 2011). Internships are seen as a main
avenue by which those who are looking to enter the entertainment industry can build their social
networks (Allen et al., 2013; Bathmaker et al., 2013; Honrubia, 2017; Klein & Weiss, 2011;
Perlin, 2012; Ro et al., 2020; Tucci, 2012). As a result, many students take internships with the
hopes they will make a good impression on the employer, so that they will hire them or can serve
as a reference for their next work opportunity (Corrigan, 2015; Cuyler & Hodges, 2016; Eikhof
& Warhurst, 2013; Petersen, 2021). DiRienzo (2016) found that in a study of 79 students looking
to enter the entertainment industry after graduation, 77 felt internships were necessary in gaining
entry-level work, with 35 stating internships are necessary to developing professional contacts.
To illustrate the importance of one’s first position in entertainment, the next section will discuss
just one route entry-level candidates take to gain their first work experiences in the entertainment
industry – the talent agency mailroom, now often referred to as agent training programs.
Case Study: The Agency Mailroom Route
To illustrate the nature of how starting one’s career in the entertainment industry is built
on hope labor and distinguishing oneself from others, just one path for entry is considered – the
talent agency mailroom (Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013; Rensin, 2003; Sweich, 2016). As this was a
path used by many now-prominent industry professionals into a difficult-to-enter industry, a
reputation of mailroom jobs and, as they were later termed, agent trainee programs, being “an
incubator for baby moguls” emerged (Rensin, 2003, p. xxi).
David Rensin interviewed over 200 entertainment industry professionals who started off
working as mailroom agent trainees in various talent agency mailrooms; though they worked in
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these companies over a wide range of time periods (the earliest worked in a mailroom in 1931
and the most recent in 1999), many stories are similar (2003). Obtaining a job interview alone
was difficult; many of the professionals interviewed mention that relatives of prominent
entertainment industry figures were often the ones offered roles over those without connections
(Rensin, 2003). Agent trainees worked long hours and completed menial tasks, often unrelated to
the entertainment industry; they were often given mundane and sometimes embarrassing tasks to
test how committed they were to the job, with constant reminders they could be replaced
(Rensin, 2003). Trainees were paid little, and wages did not rise with cost of living; as many
talent agencies are based in metropolitan areas including Los Angeles and New York City, one
needed to have considerable resources to be able to work on low pay (Allen et al., 2013; Durrant,
2013; Honrubia, 2017; Hora et al., 2019; Rensin, 2003; Sweich, 2016). The main way for
trainees to be promoted to an assistant job was to befriend or ingratiate themselves with agents;
the value of building a strong network of contacts able to advocate for one’s promotion is
important even today (Frenette, 2013; Rensin, 2003; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Randle et al.,
2014; Sweich, 2016). As a result, trainees who did not network either moved up slowly, were
never promoted, or left the company (Rensin, 2003).
From Mailroom to Internship: Current Pathways
While the mailroom route is still sometimes employed by neophytes looking to start
careers in entertainment, internships have become more common in recent years (Honrubia,
2017; Hunt & Scott, 2018; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016). Most internships are unpaid for
school credit, and students work on average 8–20 hours per week (DiRienzo, 2016; Salamon,
2015). However, beyond those basic guidelines, tasks interns complete on their internships vary
considerably from meaningful and directed, such as completing capstone projects and
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participating in panel discussions and educational programs, to the mundane of running personal
errands and fetching coffee (Brookhouser, 2015; Burke & Carton, 2013; Coco, 2000; Corrigan,
2015; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; Discenna, 2016; DiRienzo, 2016; Durrant, 2013; Frenette, 2013;
Frenette et al., 2015; Hart, 2014; Keleher, 2013; Nicholes, 2014; Salamon, 2015). The only true
similarities lie in the intent interns have in taking on internships: gaining valuable contacts who
can help them progress in their careers (Corrigan, 2015; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Frenette,
2013; Honrubia, 2017). The fact that regulations are vague in terms of what constitutes an
internship also takes much of the responsibility for programs offering students meaningful
learning opportunities off the employers and back onto the interns, who may simply not know
what they do not know in terms of whether what they are being asked to do is appropriate or not
(Brookhouser, 2015; Chillas et al., 2015; Frenette, 2013; McTorry, 2014). Universities also
struggle with striking a balance between offering enough internships to meet demands and
ensuring opportunities are meaningful, leaving interns to enter internships without knowing if the
program will offer sufficient educational benefit (Burke & Carton, 2013; Cuyler & Hodges,
2016; DiRienzo, 2016; Goia (Agoston) et al., 2017; Hora et al., 2017; Steffen, 2010). While
unpaid internships are valued as being analogous to industry experience within entertainment,
they present specific challenges for low-income students; the next section will address some of
the common challenges these students face with regards to unpaid internships.
Challenges Low-Income Students Face With Unpaid Internships
The focus of this study is on low-income college students looking to enter the
entertainment industry. Low-income college students are increasing in numbers on college
campuses; a 2019 Pew Research Center study found in an analysis of 1996 and 2016 National
Postsecondary Student Aid Studies that students within the in-poverty, near-poverty and lower-
34

middle income brackets have increased across college campuses to 54% of dependent and 81%
of independent enrolled undergraduate students in 2016, compared to 47% and 72% respectively
in 1996 (Fry & Cilluffo, 2020; López, 2018; Hoxby & Avery, 2012). While low-income college
students come from a variety of backgrounds, many come from groups that are also more likely
to be of lower socioeconomic status and underrepresented in higher education including BIPOC
populations (Nuñez & Sansone, 2016; Tucci, 2012). First-generation college students also are
more frequently low-income, and they face further challenges in that they may be less familiar
with the higher education system and the ways in which college students often connect with
employers (Martin, 2013; Nuñez & Sansone, 2016; Parks-Yancy, 2012; Stephens et al., 2012).
Some low-income college students may also be undocumented; Enriquez et al. (2019) note that
of the 508 undocumented students surveyed, 64% came from households that made less than
$30,000 annually. Low-income college students can study at either an undergraduate or graduate
level, and may be non-traditional, including those who may be older than the typical age of
degree completion or may have dependent family to support; all of these factors unique to
individual students may add additional layers of complication that make unpaid internships
challenging from both a time and financial standpoint (Hora et al., 2019; Hughes &
Lagomarsine, 2015; Lawton & Potter, 2010; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016; Thompson et al.,
2020).
Furthermore, low-income students are at a disadvantage due to the lack of affordability of
internships; several studies have found that BIPOC and first-generation college students
participate in internships less frequently, and that students who identify as low-income often cite
the fact that they need to work for wages instead of taking an internship as a primary reason for
not obtaining internship experience (Eaker & Marks, 2019; Frenette et al., 2015; Ro et al., 2020).
35

In order to understand the challenges low-income college students face in gaining entertainment
industry experience due to the prevalence of unpaid internships, it is important to understand the
financial and social capital challenges that low-income college students face. This review
considers these challenges in the two sections that follow.
Financial Challenges for Low-Income College Students
Low-income college students often work to support themselves and manage expenses in
higher education; depending on individual course loads, the need to work can make time
management difficult (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Figiel, 2013; Hawzen et al., 2018;
Hora et al., 2019; Nuñez & Sansone, 2016; Ro et al., 2020; Thompson et al., 2020). A low-
income college student would need to consider carefully how to divide their time to manage
coursework, paid work, and an internship at the same time; combined with other commitments,
including extracurricular activities or family responsibilities, their time could be significantly
limited (Figiel, 2013; Hawzen et al., 2018; Hora et al., 2019; Hora et al., 2020; O’Connor &
Bodicoat, 2016). They may also have other commitments, including dependent family to care
for, or may work full-time to support themselves; both factors are particularly true of graduate
and non-traditional students (Hora et al., 2019; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Lawton & Potter,
2010; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016; Thompson et al., 2020). Studies have shown that students
who work more than 20 hours per week often have lower grades, as they do not have sufficient
time to dedicate to studying or managing their energy (Carnevale & Smith, 2018; McCormick et
al., 2010; Kalenkoski & Pabilonia, 2008; Trolian et al., 2018). As a result, low-income college
students may simply not have the time to add an internship into an already busy schedule or
would have to make significant sacrifices to complete the internship; thus, gaining the experience
needed to be considered eligible for entry-level work in entertainment through internships may
36

be at the expense of their academic performance (Carnevale & Smith, 2018; Hora et al., 2019;
Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Kalenkoski & Pabilonia, 2008; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016).
Eaker and Marks (2019) found in their study of a paid internship program that
socioeconomic status was a significant factor in students’ decision to participate, as many
students had wanted to participate in internships but did not have the financial means; a non-
financial outcome cited by many of these students who participated in the program was that they
could spend more time on coursework. Furthermore, Hora et al. (2019) found that in a survey of
1,549 students, 64% of those who did not take internships had wanted to but could not due to
financial circumstances. In a later study, Hora et al. (2020) also found that in a study of 1,129
students, of those who did not take internships, 58% cited the need to work at a current paid job
and 54% cited a heavy course load as reasons why they did not take on internships.
Another route that low-income college students use to manage expenses is to take out
additional loans so that they do not have to work as many hours. While this may afford them
time in the short-term by not needing to take on additional paid work, taking out additional
student loans can put low-income college students into a more precarious financial position after
graduation (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hawzen et al., 2018; Hughes & Lagomarsine,
2015; Huelsman, 2015; Steffen, 2010; Tucci, 2012). Low-income students also tend to borrow
more in student loans than higher-income students – in an analysis of three U.S. Department of
Education surveys of bachelor’s recipients with debt over 2011–2013, 84% of Pell Grant
graduates (allocated to low-income students with exceptional financial need) graduate with
student loan debt, with many of those students being BIPOC (Huelsman, 2015; Jackson &
Reynolds, 2013). Students who have a significant amount of student debt often look for jobs that
37

will pay highly after graduation so that they are more able to pay back their loans (Durrant, 2013;
Hawzen et al., 2018; Huelsman, 2015; Rothstein & Rouse, 2007).
As entertainment positions typically (and historically) have paid lower salaries compared
to other industries, the need to pay back loans may discourage people otherwise interested in
working in the industry from pursuing work in the field (Comunian et al., 2010; Frenette &
Ocejo, 2018; Huelsman, 2015; Steiner & Schneider, 2012; Sweich, 2016; Throsby & Zednik,
2011). Frenette and Tepper (2016) found that Black and Hispanic arts alumni were more likely to
report student debt and lacking professional networks as barriers for their careers, with 40.4% of
Black and 43.6% of Hispanic alumni citing debt as having a “major impact” on their decisions
(p. 16). Frenette and Dowd (2020) later found in a study of arts alumni that those who have large
amounts of student debt were more likely to leave careers in the arts. Furthermore, Lindemann
and Tepper (2012) found that while 61% of about 13,500 employed arts graduates in the United
States are working in jobs related to their fields of study, 39% are not working in the arts.
As the entertainment industry is based primarily upon precarious work environments with
its preponderance of temporary work and labor systems, graduates are not offered a guarantee
they will be able to earn sufficient pay to make the investment worthwhile (Frenette & Ocejo,
2018; Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009; Jahoda et al., 2014; Skaggs, 2018). As a result, low-
income college students may not have the incentive to pursue work in the entertainment field
long-term if they would meet significant financial challenges in paying back student loans
(Frenette & Dowd, 2020; Lindemann & Tepper, 2012). Comunian et al. (2011) further note that
arts graduates often struggle to find work related to their majors after graduation, making it
unclear whether an arts degree is helping them to obtain work in the field or whether an arts
degree is valued sufficiently by employers (Banks & Oakley, 2015; Jahoda et al., 2014; Oakley
38

et al., 2017; Skaggs et al., 2017; Skaggs, 2018). While financial matters are an important
challenge for low-income college students, there are also social capital challenges they face in
gaining experience; the next section will address some of these social capital-related challenges.
Social Capital Challenges for Low-Income College Students
As low-income college students often come from marginalized groups who may have less
experience with higher education, these students may lack social and cultural capital to
understand how to approach internships and in entering an industry as focused on social
networks as entertainment (Lehmann, 2013; Stephens et al., 2012). Bordieu (1986) described
cultural capital as being cultural norms seen as valuable to a particular group that are often
passed down from families to children; cultural, as well as social, capital through personal
connections accrued by the individual or through their group membership can be converted into
tangible social rewards including access to better work opportunities.
For low-income college students, lack of social and cultural capital manifests in multiple
ways. Low-income college students may not be exposed to certain middle-class cultural norms
until they reach higher education, including networking for career opportunities (Allen et al.,
2013; Jack, 2015; Lehmann, 2013; Parks-Yancy, 2012). As a result, low-income college students
may not know to enact social capital building norms, including engaging with recruiters at
campus events or establishing relationships with professors outside of class (Bathmaker et al.,
2013; Jack, 2015; Parks-Yancy, 2012; Ro et al., 2020; Stephens et al., 2012). Parks-Yancy
(2012) found in a study of 58 low-income, first-generation African American students, many did
not interact with professors or career services professionals outside of class, though both are
useful in helping students to build social capital and recommending students for internships.
Complementing this observation, Jack (2015) notes that students from low-income backgrounds
39

who had more experience with middle-class norms through private secondary schooling fared
better in accessing social capital because they are more comfortable engaging with adults in
positions of authority who may be helpful in connecting them with internship opportunities.
Low-income college students may also overemphasize other aspects of their education,
including class performance, and underemphasize supplementary activities such as internships
(Bathmaker et al., 2013; Jack, 2015; Martin, 2013; Stephens et al., 2012). Bathmaker et al.
(2013) note that low-income and working-class students may focus more heavily in maintaining
grades than supplementary activities such as internships, causing them to play by “the old rules
of the game” in industries that value internships more highly than grades (p. 736). In
entertainment, where interns are often hired based on personal recommendations, low-income
college students may be unaware of how to find an internship let alone succeed while on an
internship (Blair, 2001; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Parks-Yancy, 2012; Ro et al., 2020).
Many studies have found that interns derive much of their support both financially and
personally from their families (DiRienzo, 2016;Frenette et al., 2015; Kalenkoski & Pabilonia,
2008; Shade & Jacobson, 2015). Frenette et al. (2015) found that in an analysis of 68,000
responses from arts alumni, 67% received support from their parents for college; among students
who interned, the statistic is 8% higher at 75%. However, low-income college students’ families
may not be able to financially support them (Lawton & Potter, 2010; O’Connor & Bodicoat,
2016). Shade and Jacobson (2015) noted in their qualitative study of 12 young women working
unpaid internships in the entertainment industry that many acknowledged they were privileged in
that their families were able to help support them financially while they worked unpaid
internships. For low-income college students, the ability for their families to give financial
support may not be feasible; conversely, low-income college students may be expected to
40

contribute to family expenses (or in some cases may be the primary income earner with
dependent children at home), which may necessitate obtaining additional work for pay (Hora et
al., 2019; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Lawton & Potter, 2010; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016;
Thompson et al., 2020).
Additionally, low-income college students may not be encouraged by their families to
take on unpaid internships for several reasons. First, families may encourage another aspect of
their college education to be put as the primary priority over internships, such as maintaining
high grades (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Nuñez & Sansone, 2016; Parks-Yancy, 2012). However,
focusing on one aspect over another may not help them in the long run, particularly in a field
where social capital is so valuable, such as entertainment (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; Lee, 2011). Second, families may understand that internships are valuable, but
may need the financial support of the low-income college student to cover family expenses; as a
result, the student may need to either only look for paid internship opportunities or for a part-
time job that can generate income (Hora et al., 2019; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016; Thompson et
al., 2020). Given the specifics of the entertainment industry, paid internships do exist but are
rarer; as a result, these opportunities tend to be very competitive and often granted to students
with more social capital who may have a relative or friend that recommends them for the
opportunity to the hiring manager directly, rather than an outside applicant as a low-income
college student is likely to be (DiRienzo, 2016; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Hora et al., 2019;
Frenette et al., 2015; Martin & Frenette, 2017; Parks-Yancy, 2012; Randle et al., 2014). With the
understanding that low-income college students face specific challenges with unpaid internships,
the next section will address broader problems that unpaid internships present with regards to
legal, equity and entertainment-specific lenses.
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Problems With Unpaid Internships
This section considers the problems unpaid internships perpetuate within industries.
Legal considerations, including the lack of clarity with regards to internship guidelines and
potential repercussions for employers related to legislation, is considered, followed by concerns
for equity. Finally, the review contextualizes issues with unpaid internships within the
entertainment industry, with particular attention on the typical internship structure for many
entertainment companies and how internships help to address unique challenges within the field.
Legal Considerations
A key issue with regards to unpaid internships is that the laws governing internships are
not well defined. In fact, it is often difficult for agencies to come to a consensus legally on what
constitutes an internship (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a; Klinger, 2016; Pryjmak, 2017).
Fact Sheet #71 is labeled as guidelines for employers on structuring internship programs rather
than specific and enforceable laws; as a result, legal standards for internships are too broad to
offer sufficient guidance for many employers (Curiale, 2010; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez,
2010a; Klinger, 2016; Pryjmak, 2017; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). A lack of clear policy
with regards to internships makes enforcing standards on internships difficult if not impossible
(Curiale, 2010; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a; Klinger, 2016; Pryjmak, 2017; Quigley,
2016). Below, several of the legal issues surrounding unpaid internships are outlined.
First, as interns are not considered employees, they lack the rights employees are
protected by within FLSA on a federal level (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a; Klinger,
2016; Schwartz, 2013). These rights include protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, which protects employees from discrimination “on the basis of race, color, national origin,
sex or religion” (Civil Rights Act, 1964; Nicholes, 2014; Ortner, 1998). O ’Connor vs. Davis, a
42

1997 case in which Bridget O’Connor, an unpaid intern for the Rockland Psychiatric Center,
brought a case against her supervisor for sexual harassment, set legal precedence on the matter
(Nicholes, 2014; O’Connor vs. Davis, 1997). The Second Circuit Court ruled that O’Connor was
not protected under Title VII because she was not considered an employee (O’Connor vs. Davis,
1997). Several lawsuits that occurred after O ’Connor vs. Davis have been determined similarly
in cases with unpaid interns who brought sexual harassment suits against employers, including
Wang vs. Phoenix Satellite TV US, Inc. in 2013, where LiHuan Wang, an intern at Phoenix
Satellite TV US, Inc., was unable to sue her employer for sexual harassment because she was not
considered an employee (Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Nicholes, 2014; O’Connor vs. Davis,
1997; Ortner, 1998; Wang vs. Phoenix Satellite TV US, Inc., 2013).
Interns are already a vulnerable population in terms of discrimination and harassment in
the workplace due to their low status; a lack of legal protection can put them into an even more
vulnerable position (Brudney, 2019; Burke & Carton, 2013; Durrant, 2013; Edwards & Hertel-
Fernandez, 2010a; Johnson & Baker, 2018; Nicholes, 2014; Ortner, 1998; Prasad, 2018;
Sullivan, 2017; Sweich, 2016). This lack of protection is particularly concerning in the wake of
the #MeToo movement, which started as early as 2006 and reached widespread prominence in
2017; more attention has been brought to widespread attention to sexual harassment and
discrimination in the entertainment industry (Jaffe, 2018; Prasad, 2018; Smith, 2020). The lack
of protection under Title VII also makes it easier for hiring decisions to be made without
consideration of protected status and to further encourage nepotism (Nicholes, 2014; Ortner,
1998). While several states added protections for interns similar to those set forth by Title VII,
the Federal Intern Protection Act of 2017 was the first serious federal effort to prohibit
43

workplace discrimination; the bill has not passed the Senate since 2017 and is still pending as of
early 2022 (Federal Intern Protection Act, 2017; Rothschild & Rothschild, 2020; Smith, 2020).
Second, Fact Sheet #71 states that internships are considered valid “to the extent to which
the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with
beneficial learning” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). However, it is unclear what constitutes
beneficial learning, and to whom (Bacon, 2011; Brookhouser, 2015; Discenna, 2016; Hacker,
2016; Reid, 2014). Narayanan et al. (2009) and D’Abate et al. (2009) found that a strong link
between knowledge connection from the classroom to the workplace on an internship can lead to
greater satisfaction and stronger learning while on an internship. However, given the shorter time
limit of internships, many employers are reluctant to give interns meaningful tasks as they will
only be with the company for a short period of time; as a result, interns are often given simple,
mundane tasks to complete as they are the easiest to explain and deploy by employees that may
already have too many tasks to complete themselves (Figiel, 2013; Frenette, 2013; Hora et al.,
2019; Rutschow & Taketa, 2019). The lack of clear definition on what constitutes “beneficial
learning” and what is “to the benefit of the employee,” then, makes it difficult for employers to
determine how internship programs should be structured (Brookhouser, 2015; Hacker, 2016;
Klinger, 2016; Reid, 2014; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
Third, Fact Sheet #71 states that internships are valid to “the extent to which the
internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational
environment” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). However, students are often drawn to
internships because they are not similar educational training, but instead give them a sense of
how it is actually working in a particular field (Coco, 2000; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; Honrubia,
2017; Hora et al., 2020; Jung & Lee, 2016; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Reid, 2014; Shaginian,
44

2015). Internships are seen as analogous experience to industry work for many employers, which
is why they are so valued for entry-level candidates (Allen et al., 2013; Frenette et al., 2015;
Gerken et al., 2012; Honrubia, 2017). Additionally, many employers do not have the bandwidth
to train interns in the same way that they would be trained in an educational environment; the
fact that they have hired interns suggests that they may need further assistance with the tasks
they must complete, which leaves little time for training (Allen et al., 2013; Daniel & Daniel,
2013; Gerken et al., 2012; Hora et al., 2019; Rowe et al., 2012; Shaginian, 2015). As a result, the
guideline set forth in Fact Sheet #71 fundamentally misunderstands the key advantage of
internships – to provide real-world experience for students to supplement their educational
program – and creates further confusion for employers on how programs should be structured
(Brookhouser, 2015; Honrubia, 2017; Klinger, 2016; Narayanan et al., 2010; Reid, 2014;
Shaginian, 2015).
Fourth, Fact Sheet #71 stipulates internships are valid “to the extent to which the intern’s
work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing
significant educational benefits to the intern” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). Beyond the
issues with educational benefits as discussed above, the surge of unpaid internships in the past
10–15 years is related to the economic downturn of the Great Recession (Nicholes, 2014;
Petersen, 2021; Pryjmak, 2017; Tucci, 2012). As companies lost money and were unable to pay
full-time employees, they turned to unpaid internships to stay afloat rather than needing to close;
as a result, employers may have had no choice but to give interns work that would otherwise be
given to a paid employee (Allen et al., 2013; Eaker & Marks, 2019; Lawton & Potter, 2010).
However, as the guidelines to determine what constitutes displacement or educational value are
not well defined, employers can continue to offer programs that displace employees regardless of
45

whether or not they can now afford to pay because they have not been given sufficient guidance
as to what would qualify as appropriate internship activities (Brookhouser, 2015; Edwards &
Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a; Klinger, 2016; Pryjmak, 2017; Reid, 2014).
Fifth, a lack of a definitive legal precedence may discourage employers from even
hosting internships (Brookhouser, 2015; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Pryjmak, 2017; Reid,
2014; Shaginian, 2015). While Glatt vs. Fox Searchlight Pictures offered some insight into how
litigation on internships could be handled, circuit courts across the United States incorporated
multiple tests to determine individual cases; these determinations range from strictly interpreting
Fact Sheet #71’s guidelines and invalidating internships that do not meet all guidelines, to more
interpretive in considering the totality of the circumstances or which party was the primary
beneficiary between the intern and employer (Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Edelman,
2014; Pryjmak, 2017; Reid, 2014). As the rulings differed greatly from each other, some
employers have made the decision to completely suspend internship programs for fear that they
may face lawsuits (Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a;
Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Klinger, 2016; Rodino-Colocino & Berberick, 2015; Sweich,
2016). As internships are one of the most established means to gain industry experience in
entertainment, eliminating internship programs altogether can prove detrimental to students as
the few opportunities that would exist may become even more competitive (Brookhouser, 2015;
Edelman, 2014; Honrubia, 2017; Klinger, 2016; Pryjmak, 2017; Reid, 2014; Rodino-Colocino &
Berberick, 2015; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
Sixth, although several interns have won legal cases against employers for owed wages,
few interns have sufficient incentive to take legal action (Bacon, 2011; Durrant, 2013; Edwards
& Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a; Keleher, 2013; Fink, 2013; Hacker, 2016; Hughes & Lagomarsine ,
46

2015). As interns are looking to make good impressions on their employers, they often do not
want to run the risk of jeopardizing potential employment (Bacon, 2011; Durrant, 2013; Fink,
2013; Hacker, 2016; Hughes & Lagomarsine , 2015; Keleher, 2013; Webb, 2015). This fact is
even more true of industries that have a surplus of applicants, such as entertainment; with
increased competition for roles in the industry, they may not want to risk losing an opportunity
that may have already been difficult to obtain (Durrant, 2013; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez,
2010a; Hart, 2014; Honrubia, 2017; Hughes & Lagomarsine , 2015; Rodino-Colocino &
Berberick, 2015). Additionally, the time and financial cost of bringing a lawsuit against a
company may outweigh actual wages earned, leaving an even more decreased incentive for the
intern to take legal action (Webb, 2015). Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are also commonly
used to limit how much individuals can speak about their work at entertainment companies; for
interns and lower-level employees that are already more vulnerable to workplace harassment and
discrimination, NDAs could prove a disincentive for filing legal action against a company
(Nicholes, 2014; Ortner, 1998; Prasad, 2018; Smith, 2020). Thus, while interns have won legal
cases related to internships in the past, the risks often outweigh the rewards and lead to continued
confusion on legal precedence (Brookhouser, 2015; Fink, 2013; Sweich, 2016).
Finally, the test upon which Fact Sheet #71 is based upon is from a ruling in Walling vs.
Portland Terminal in 1947. The ruling was made based on a weeklong training program for
railroad workers, and the trainees were determined not to be employees primarily because they
were not working with Portland Terminal for a long enough period of time (Brookhouser, 2015;
Edelman, 2014; Walling v. Portland Terminal, 1947). The modern internship is structured very
differently from the program in Walling v. Portland Terminal; interns are embedded within
companies for longer periods of time, and the training programs are not as simplified (Bacon,
47

2011; Hacker, 2016; Reid, 2014; Siebert & Wilson, 2013; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016). As
such, determining the legal validity of internship programs based on a legal case about a short-
term training program over 70 years ago does not reflect the current realities of internships
(Bacon, 2011; Burke & Carton, 2013; Hacker, 2016; Reid, 2014; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich,
2016). Adjustments to reflect the current realities of internship programs would be advantageous
to interns, employers and universities to manage expectations (Brookhouser, 2015; Honrubia,
2017; Klinger, 2016; Pardoe, 2016; Reid, 2014; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
Equity Issues
Unpaid internships present a considerable number of challenges in terms of equity. The
first is that unpaid internships favor those who are already privileged; as students who can more
easily access financial support are often the ones who have the bandwidth to work for free for
extended periods of time, they are more often the candidates considered for unpaid internships
(Bathmaker et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Fink, 2013;
Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Randle et al.,
2014). In terms of candidates, these are usually students who come from higher-income families
that can rely more easily upon family to support their financial needs should they take an unpaid
internship (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010; Durrant, 2013; Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; Silva, 2020; Smith, 2010; Tucci, 2012). Conversely, students who are low-
income or can otherwise not afford to work for free for extended periods of time are unable to
access these opportunities, because they cannot commit to the necessary time an internship
would require without pay (DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010a; Hora et al.,
2019; Randle et al., 2014; Rutschow & Taketa, 2017; Shade & Jacobson, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
48

Equity problems are further exacerbated when considering the costs to the student that
interning requires, which can include transportation, food, tuition for the internship course credit,
and cost of relocation if they are interning outside of their home city; students, then, are not only
not being paid for their work, but need to invest money to be able to even take on the opportunity
(Corrigan, 2015; Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b;
Hart, 2014; Hora et al., 2019; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin, 2012; Rutschow & Taketa,
2017; Shaginian, 2015; Thompson et al., 2020; Tucci, 2012). Interns are often required to
register for course credit, which can cost thousands of dollars; many of these courses are not
structured as formally as traditional university courses, making the educational value weaker and
reducing the experience to simply paying to work (Burke & Carton, 2013; Cuyler & Hodges,
2016; Einstein, 2015; Perlin, 2012; Rogers et al., 2021; Senat et al., 2020; Steffen, 2010;
Yamada, 2016). In entertainment, those who have internship experience are favored for roles
over those who do not have internship experience, to the point that a lack of internship
experience may be seen as analogous to a lack of interest in the field (Allen et al., 2013; Randle
et al., 2014). Therefore, students who are already privileged tend to get the necessary experience
because they can more easily withstand the challenges unpaid internships present by having
more financial security (Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010; DiRienzo, 2016; Durrant, 2013; Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016; Petersen, 2021; Randle et al., 2014; Silva, 2020;
Tucci, 2012).
For low-income college students who take on unpaid internships and do not have
financial support from their families, they are often met with two options that can have negative
effects: take on extra work to manage financial expenses, or take on extra student loans to cover
costs (Bergman, 2014; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hora et al., 2019;
49

Perlin, 2012; Petersen, 2021). As discussed in the prior section, students who work additional
jobs while in school may have less time to dedicate to their studies and may suffer performance
problems with their grades (D’Abate et al., 2009; DiRienzo, 2016; Kalenkoski & Pabilonia,
2008), and students who take on additional debt may have long-term negative effects on their
financial status that are difficult to manage upon graduation (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez,
2010b; Huelsman, 2015; Jackson & Reynolds, 2013). The prevalence of unpaid internships
perpetuates a cycle of low-income college students needing to make more difficult decisions in
order to get necessary career preparation than high-income college students (Hora et al., 2019;
McTorry, 2014; O’Brien et al., 2016; Thompson et al., 2020; Tucci, 2012). The circumstances
create a lack of equitable circumstances that favors students who are more flexible – and often
more financially secure (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010; DiRienzo, 2016;
Lawton & Potter, 2010; Petersen, 2021; Ro et al., 2020; Silva, 2020; Tucci, 2012).
Additionally, evidence suggests that paid and unpaid internships may have more
differences than similarities. Several studies note that unpaid interns tend to complete more
clerical work and less activities directly related to their studied profession than paid interns
(Burke & Carton, 2013; Fink, 2013; Frenette et al., 2015; Hora et al., 2020; McHugh, 2016).
Fisher and Eaker (2019) suggest that pay can cause both employers and students to take the
experience more seriously, which can increase perceived value of the internship for both
stakeholders. Paid interns also can focus more on their work while on the internship as their
attention is not as splintered between paid work and their studies; as they are paid on their
internships, they may not need to take on additional paid work and may have more mental
bandwidth (Perlin, 2012; Rutschow & Taketa, 2019). Additionally, several studies have found
that students who were paid in their internships found the opportunities to be more organized,
50

have more structured mentoring opportunities and are more connected to their field of study; this
suggests that students may be more engaged on internships if they are compensated (Crain, 2016;
Frenette et al., 2015; Hora et al., 2020; Hunt & Scott, 2018; McHugh, 2016). Cuyler (2015)
noted that a diversity-specific paid internship program in arts management helped
underrepresented students to learn more about the field and make valuable connections without
sacrificing time or money. Frenette et al. (2015) also found that while internships in general help
arts alumni to find work after graduation, paid internships improve the odds of obtaining work
within a year of graduation, with 89% of students completing paid internships finding a job
compared to 77% who only completed unpaid internships. However, as more internships in
entertainment are unpaid than paid, paid opportunities often go to candidates with more social
capital as they tend to have more networking connections (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; Martin, 2013).
While some forms of social capital can be cultivated in higher education institutions by
all students, including relationships with professors and other classmates, the students who
already have a strong reserve of social capital from their family connections often fare better in
obtaining internships (Allen et al., 2013; Bathmaker et al., 2013; Fine, 2017; Fink, 2013; Frenette
et al., 2015; Klein & Weiss, 2011; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Martin, 2013; Martin & Frenette,
2017; Parks-Yancy, 2012). Further, many students often find internship opportunities through
family or friends; many internship opportunities are not posted widely for application,
particularly in industries noted for social networks such as entertainment (Allen et al., 2013;
Fink, 2013; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Martin, 2013; Parks-Yancy,
2012; Randle et al., 2014; Zilvinskis et al., 2020). In some cases, parents have even paid private
companies to find internships for their children for a significant fee (Bacon, 2011; Edwards &
51

Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; McTorry, 2014; Steffen, 2010). By choosing candidates for internships
purely on social capital through personal connections and recommendations, industries
encourage nepotism by giving only those who are already privileged an opportunity to build
experience (Banks & Oakley, 2015; Boulton, 2015; Fink, 2013; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Martin
& Frenette, 2017; Perlin, 2012; Petersen, 2021).
Past studies suggested several solutions to make unpaid internships more equitable for
students, including additional government subsidies, encouraging universities to allocate more
scholarship and donor-based funding towards covering students’ expenses, and to revamp
financial aid packages to better assist low-income college students (Edwards & Hertel-
Fernandez, 2010b; Einstein, 2015; Huelsman, 2015; Johnson & Baker, 2018; McTorry, 2014;
Rutschow & Taketa, 2017; Senat et al., 2019; Steffen, 2010; Wildenhaus, 2019). Particularly in
recent years, many universities have added additional financial aid options, including
scholarships and fellowships, to help low-income college students to complete unpaid internships
(Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Zilvinskis et al.,
2020). While scholarships and additional aid structures are useful in addressing some of the
financial challenges low-income students face, these forms of aid often do not cover all the costs
that low-income students may have on unpaid internships (Corrigan, 2015; Cuyler et al., 2013;
DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hart, 2014; Hora et al., 2019; Hughes &
Lagomarsine, 2015; Johnson & Baker, 2018; Nuñez & Sansone, 2016; Perlin, 2012; Rutschow &
Taketa, 2017; Shaginian, 2015; Steffen, 2010; Tucci, 2012). Furthermore, these solutions do not
solve the root problem – unpaid internships favor the privileged, and it stems from the employers
not paying interns for their work (Banks & Oakley, 2015; Capek et al., 2017; Discenna, 2016;
Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Einstein, 2015; Fink, 2013; Perlin, 2012; Steffen, 2010).
52

As a result, the highest portion of the price of the work falls upon the shoulders of low-
income college students to make ends meet by either sacrificing their time or their financial
security, either in the short- or long-term (Capek et al., 2017; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez,
2010b; Guarise & Kostenblatt, 2018; Hora et al., 2019; McHugh, 2017). The reliance on unpaid
internships devalues the cost of labor by driving down operating costs; as the oversupply of
workers willing to work for free makes the cost of labor lower, the economy of entertainment is
damaged by making it possible for the work in entertainment to become increasingly more
precarious and under-valued (Bennett, 2009; Bridgstock & Cunningham, 2015; Brudney, 2019;
Collidge, 2015; Comunian et al., 2010; Corrigan, 2015; de Peuter, 2014; Einstein, 2015;
Frenette, 2013; Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009; Honrubia, 2017; Oakley, 2011; Perlin, 2012;
Skaggs, 2018; Steiner & Schneider, 2012; Steffen, 2010; Sweich, 2016; Yamada, 2016).
Entertainment-Specific Considerations
In considering the unique circumstances and realities within the entertainment industry,
several more issues related to the prevalence of unpaid internships emerge. Glatt vs. Fox
Searchlight Pictures caused shockwaves through the entertainment industry as unpaid
internships were seen as a norm within working in the field; it was and often is seen as common
practice for newcomers to work unpaid internships before they were promoted to low-paid entry-
level employees (DiRienzo, 2016; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Honrubia, 2017; Shaginian, 2015;
Sweich, 2016). With the ruling determining that Glatt was an employee entitled to wages, many
entertainment companies took action to protect themselves from lawsuits (Brookhouser, 2015;
DiRienzo, 2016; Klinger, 2016; Rodino-Colocino & Berberick, 2015; Sweich, 2016). Some
entertainment companies chose to pay their interns, while others ended their internship programs
altogether; however, the majority continue to operate their unpaid internship programs without
53

absolute certainty that they will be able to avoid lawsuits (Brookhouser, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016;
Hart, 2014; Pryjmak, 2017; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016). While adding more paid internships
has helped to address some of the financial concerns, the elimination of unpaid internships
altogether by some companies has created significant competition for fewer roles in a field
already experiencing oversupply problems (Honrubia, 2017; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
Thus, the entertainment industry faces significant challenges as eliminating internships
altogether could create more inequality in the industry by making fewer opportunities available,
but continuing to operate so many in an unpaid format could continue to contribute to the same
social capital-related problems persisting by making the opportunities primarily available only to
those who can afford to work for free (Honrubia, 2017; Shaginian, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
Additionally, while some entertainment companies are multi-billion-dollar corporations,
the larger percentage of companies within the field are small businesses; in 2014, the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA) estimated that 87% of the almost 99,000 companies it
represents employs less than 10 people (Brudney, 2019; MPAA, 2018; Sweich, 2016). Many
small businesses cannot afford to pay additional staff, so they turn to internships as a means of
support (Brookhouser, 2015; Durrant, 2013; Eaker & Marks, 2019; Malik, 2015; Sweich, 2016).
As such, many entertainment industry internships would not have passed the original iteration of
Fact Sheet #71 which restricted eligible internships to ones that met all six criteria; while the
current iteration of Fact Sheet #71 is more flexible, there is still enough uncertainties to make
most entertainment internships at least questionably valid under federal labor laws (Brookhouser,
2015; Burke & Carton, 2013; Honrubia, 2017; Sweich, 2016; Yamada, 2016).
Furthermore, while internships are touted as a primary means of gaining entertainment
industry experience for college students looking to enter the field after graduation, the links
54

between obtaining an internship and gaining entry-level work are still not always directly
correlated (Einstein, 2015; Frenette, 2013; Jacobson & Shade, 2018; Petersen, 2021; Rodino-
Colocino & Berberick, 2015; Shade & Jacobson, 2015). While many interns work at companies
they would like to be hired at after graduation, evidence suggests that few entertainment
companies hire the interns after graduation (Einstein, 2015; Frenette, 2013; Jacobson & Shade,
2018; Shade & Jacobson, 2015). Additionally, many interns string together many internship
opportunities in the hopes that it will strengthen their resumes, as an internship is seen as an
unwritten requirement for entry-level work (DiRienzo, 2016; Discenna, 2016; Frenette, 2013;
Frenette et al., 2015; Hart, 2014; Hora et al., 2019; Petersen, 2021; Shade, 2014; Siebert &
Wilson, 2013; Tucci, 2012). Jacobson and Shade (2018) refer to these repeat interns as
“stringterns,” as they take on multiple internships in an effort to make themselves more
competitive candidates after graduation (p. 320). Furthermore, Curiale (2010) notes that if low-
income graduates do not have the internship experience seen as a prerequisite for entry-level
work, they may be stuck longer in lower-level jobs to gain enough experience to progress.
However, NACE (2013) and Guarise and Kostenblatt (2018) note that while paid
internships show a strong correlation between job offers after graduation, unpaid internships
offered only a slight edge over candidates who had not interned at all. Pisko (2015) also found
that unpaid interns earn about $16,000 less in their first year of work than paid interns, and only
about $1,300 more than graduates who had not interned at all. While long-term results are more
promising – a study found that while former paid interns make more initially, there was no
significant difference in salary between the two over a longer span of time (Guarise &
Kostenblatt, 2018) – the fact remains that interns invest a significant amount of time and effort
making a good impression on a company with little concrete rewards (Frenette, 2013; Jacobson
55

& Shade, 2018; Perlin, 2012; Shade & Jacobson, 2015). As entering the entertainment industry is
already a difficult task, the lack of clear rewards for internships can discourage low-income
college students from pursuing the field (Hora et al., 2020; Keleher, 2013; Petersen, 2021).
The entertainment industry has been criticized for a lack of diversity and a propensity to
pay too little; while the entertainment industry has traditionally paid entry-level employees very
little and not adjusted wages to reflect inflation due to an oversupply of talent since the industry
was founded 130 years ago, movements including #OscarsSoWhite and #PayUpHollywood are
just two within the past 7 years addressing a lack of diversity and low wages for entry-level
positions (Bridgstock & Cunningham, 2015; DiRienzo, 2016; Fortmueller, 2021; Gutiérrez,
2020; Rensin, 2003; Sweich, 2016). Women and BIPOC people are both significantly
underrepresented in the entertainment industry – both of which are groups that are more likely to
be paid less for their work in the entertainment industry (Allen et al., 2013; Conor et al., 2015;
Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Frenette & Tepper, 2016; Gill, 2014; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012;
Lauzen, 2021; Lee, 2011; Lindemann et al., 2016; Randle et al., 2014; O’Brien et al., 2016;
Oakley, 2011; Oakley et al., 2017; Shade, 2014; Sweich, 2016; Zilvinskis et al., 2020). Women
and BIPOC students are also most likely to obtain unpaid internships out of any other group
(Brudney, 2019; Hora et al., 2017). Martin and Frenette (2017) found in a study of 16,659 arts
alumni that being female was associated with a 21% increase and being non-White with an 18%
increase respectively in longer job searches immediately after graduation in the entertainment
field compared to White men. Unpaid internships contribute to both diversity and low pay
problems because they systematically exclude large populations of people who would otherwise
try to start careers in the field (Banks & Oakley, 2015; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Sweich, 2016).
As unpaid internships create a system by which the advantaged continue to be more advantaged,
56

diversity problems will persist if internships continue to be unpaid (Banks & Oakley, 2015;
Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Frenette & Tepper, 2016; Perlin, 2012; Sweich, 2016).
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework for this study is based upon Bronfenbrenner’s ecological
systems theory. Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) outlines how changes affect an individual on
multiple environmental levels. These layers, called systems, are interrelated and influence each
other, which can lead to specific results and outcomes on an individual’s development
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). There are five layers: the microsystem comprises people with which the
individual has direct contact, including parents, teachers and peers; the mesosystem includes the
interconnection of the microsystems, demonstrating that systems are connected and influence
each other; the exosystem incorporates social structures with which the individual is not directly
involved but still exert power over the person (e.g., neighborhoods, workplaces, media, etc.); the
macrosystem comprises cultural elements including socioeconomic status, ethnicity and laws
that may contribute to an individual’s beliefs and perceptions; and the chronosystem consists of
environmental changes over the course of time, which can include historical events and life
changes for the individual or their families (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Figure 1 illustrates all these
interconnected systems and outlines how they are to be understood for this study.

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Figure 1
Conceptual Framework for Study

For the purposes of the study, the individual is represented by a college student who is
interested in gaining entertainment industry internship experience. The microsystem comprises
people with whom low-income college students have direct contact; this can include their
families, professors, career advisors, classmates and anyone within a company they may be
interning with whom they have a direct relationship while on an internship (recruiters,
supervisors, etc.). The mesosystem represents the interconnected relationship of these groups
(ex. the relationship between career advisors and individual employers, or between families and
58

the university professionals they may interact with, etc.) and the power they exert on each other
in relation to the individual. The exosystem is made up of formal and informal systems with
which the individual may not have direct contact, but influence their development and choices in
relation to obtaining experience in entertainment; this includes the location where they are
interning and/or attending college, companies within the entertainment industry and the trends
within their hiring practices that may impact their hiring decisions, and media representations of
the importance of internships. The macrosystem is broader and is comprised of cultural elements
that influence the individual’s perceptions and beliefs; in the context of the study, this includes
socioeconomic status, ethnicity, laws and guidelines related to internships, previous perceptions
and attitudes on work from any other experience they may have, and so on. Finally, the
chronosystem represents changes for the individual over the course of time; this includes
historical changes including the evolving role of internships in gaining experience in the
entertainment industry, or life changes including graduating from school and progress on career
advancement depending on how employers perceive the individual’s experience.
The concept behind the study is that an individual’s progress in gaining entertainment
industry experience and progressing in the field is dependent on multiple factors both within and
beyond the individual’s control. For example, if a student has a strong relationship with a parent
who encourages them to take on an internship and attends a college that has a well-established
relationship with an employer who offers quality internship programs in the field in which they
are interested, they are more likely to obtain an internship and perceive the experience to be
positive. From there, they may gain the experience necessary to be taken seriously for entry-level
positions in the field and have greater positive development in gaining industry experience after
graduation. Conversely, if students have weaker relationships with individuals within their
59

microsystems (ex. a parent discourages them from taking on an unpaid internship), or may have
a negative association with internships due to factors within their macrosystem (ex. they are
forced, because of their socioeconomic status, to focus more upon money in the short-term than
long-term experience gains that unpaid internships can provide, and ultimately forego the
experience), their development is impacted with regards to career advancement because they
may face more challenges in gaining experience in the field.
This study also draws on Pierre Bordieu’s theory of social capital. Social capital is a
means of power within society through establishing networks of individuals who can advocate
for one’s group membership through built relationships and goodwill (Bordieu, 1986). Social
capital is important to gaining experience in entertainment, as candidates are often hired based
on personal recommendation rather than traditional recruitment processes (Blair, 2001; Eikhof &
Warhurst, 2013; Hesmondhalgh & Baker, 2009; Siebert & Wilson, 2013). The main two ways to
use social capital to gain experience as an entry-level candidate in entertainment are to have
personal relationships that could lead to recommendations (often through friends or family), or to
work with professionals who can recommend the candidate to other employers (Allen et al.,
2013; Bordieu, 1986; Grugulis & Stoyanova, 2012; Hora et al., 2019; Lee, 2011; Randle et al.,
2014). These forms of social capital are more easily obtained by higher-income students as they
are more likely to either have personal connections or financial support to pursue unpaid
internships and gain social capital (Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010; Klein & Weiss, 2011; Petersen,
2021; Silva, 2020). For low-income college students, social capital is often limited as they may
not have family or friends established in entertainment; thus, gaining social capital through
internship experience becomes extremely important (Allen et al., 2013; Bathmaker et al., 2013;
Honrubia, 2017; Klein & Weiss, 2011; Ro et al., 2020; Tucci, 2012). The primary currency by
60

which the individual can access opportunities in entertainment is social capital; if social capital is
harder to access for low-income students, equity problems will persist in entertainment as
opportunities will continue to be accessible only to the already privileged (Eikhof & Warhurst,
2013; Fink, 2013; Hora et al., 2019; Lee, 2011; Randle et al., 2014; Sweich, 2016; Tucci, 2012).
Using the ecological systems and social capital models, the study will examine the specific
challenges low-income college students face and ways that a student’s support system (including
employers, universities and families) can help to address those challenges more effectively.
Summary
The literature review followed the history of internships, and how U.S. law continually
shapes the definitions of internships. The value of internships for students, employers and
universities was explored, along with research that suggests internships are important
experiential learning opportunities that help students to set themselves up for career success after
graduation. The entertainment industry’s relationship to internship programs and the history of
gaining career experience was discussed, giving context to why low-income college students
looking to enter the entertainment industry face greater challenges in gaining experience than
their higher-income peers. The greatest of these challenges in entertainment is a lack of social
capital as the field is heavily networking-based, as well as a lack of financial capital needed to
invest the time necessary to gain experience in unpaid internships.
The review then explored problems with unpaid internships. Legally, internship
guidelines are vague, which makes enforcing and understanding guidelines difficult
(Brookhouser, 2015; Curiale, 2010; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Klinger, 2016). From an
equity lens, low-income college students are put at a financial disadvantage by needing to either
jeopardize their performance or long-term financial security to intern; adding into this the fact
61

that many unpaid interns in entertainment are hired based on personal connection, the current
system of recruitment favors those who can afford to work for free and often already possess
personal connections (Bergman, 2014; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b;
Hora et al., 2019; Kalenkoski & Pabilonia, 2008; Perlin, 2012; Petersen, 2021). The current
system of unpaid internships discourages diversity in entertainment and serves as a means of
obtaining labor companies cannot afford to pay for, disrupting an intended goal of internships to
lead to better job prospects after graduation (Brookhouser, 2015; Perlin, 2012; Sweich, 2016).
Finally, the review concluded with an outline on the conceptual framework for the study.
Based upon Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological model and Bordieu’s (1986) social capital
theory, experiences low-income college students face early in their careers have ripple effects on
their careers if they do not have sufficient support; as social capital is a form of currency by
which entrants to the entertainment field advance in their careers, internships in the field become
a critically important experience for low-income college students. If they lack access due to
either a lack of social capital or financial means, diversity will continue to be a problem in the
entertainment industry. The next section will outline the methodology for the study.

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Chapter Three: Methodology
This section outlines the methodology for the study. The purpose of the study is to better
understand the challenges low-income college students face gaining entertainment experience
due to the prevalence of unpaid internships in the field. This section will offer an outline of the
research questions, overview of the design and research setting. A brief description of the
researcher, data sources, and strategies to address validity and reliability as well as ethics will
then be offered. The section will end with a discussion of study limitations and delimitations.
Research Questions
The research questions for the study are as follows:
1. Do students and alumni perceive unpaid entertainment internships as being helpful to
making career progress?
2. What challenges do low-income college students face in completing unpaid
entertainment internships?
3. What interventions can support systems (including employers and universities) within
low-income college students’ lives take to better support their career progress in
entertainment?
Overview of Design
The study was conducted using qualitative research methods. Qualitative research studies
systematically investigate topics with a focus on rich description and open-ended questions
(Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Qualitative research methods are
appropriate for this study because intervention methods depend on individual student and
program circumstances, and an understanding of unique circumstances is critical.
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The transformative paradigm of inquiry is used in this study as an inquiry strategy. The
transformative paradigm of inquiry addresses confronting inequality issues (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). The transformative paradigm of inquiry is appropriate to this study as the lack
of inclusion of low-income college students due to the prevalence of unpaid internships leads to
inequality in the entertainment industry as people may be excluded by virtue of socioeconomic
status if the main accepted means of gaining experience is through unpaid work. Qualitative
research can provide a foundation for supportive solutions by gaining knowledge from the
stakeholders most affected by the problem – specifically, current and former low-income college
students who participate in the study.
The methodological design consisted of a series of interviews and a survey of both
current low-income college students and alumni who identified as low-income in college who
completed at least one unpaid internship in the entertainment industry. Table 2 addresses the
research questions and how the methods will be used to answer the questions. Low income is
defined as having a combined family income that corresponds to the U.S. Department of HUD
definitions as low-income; this equates to no more than 80% of the median family income for the
region in which the student lives while in college (“Income Limits,” 2021). The study utilized
qualitative methods to gain detailed information about the lived experiences of low-income
college students and alumni who identified as low-income in college with regard to unpaid
entertainment industry internships.
The survey captures data regarding internship structure, feelings students and alumni had
of their experience, and any suggestions they may have on how employers and universities can
better support low-income college students on their internships. The interviews with a smaller
number of participants capture more detailed qualitative data the targeted populations to
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understand their challenges in gaining entertainment industry experience with specific focus on
their internships, as well as their thoughts on improvements universities and employers can make
to better support similar populations in the future.

Table 2
Data Sources
Research questions Survey Interview
RQ1: Do students and alumni perceive unpaid entertainment internships
as being helpful to making career progress?
X X
RQ2: What challenges do low-income college students face in completing
unpaid entertainment internships?
X X
RQ3: What interventions can support systems (including employers and
universities) within low-income college students’ lives take to better
support their career progress in entertainment?
X X

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Research Setting and Participants
To understand the issue of low-income college students facing challenges in gaining
entertainment industry experience due to unpaid internship prevalence, the study focuses on
current students at 4-year universities who identify as low-income as well as alumni from 4-year
universities that identified as low-income when they were in college. All participants have
completed at least one unpaid entertainment internship while students at their respective college;
alumni specifically must have graduated from their program of study at least 5 years prior to
their participation in the study, so that they can comment more fully on their career progress
since completing the internship. Current low-income students are helpful as participants as they
will be able to identify challenges they currently face in completing unpaid internships. Current
students may also have ideas on specific interventions employers and universities could take that
could help them to better succeed on their internships. Alumni who identified as low-income
college students when they were completing their college studies are also be useful participants
to include as they will be able to better identify specific interventions that would have helped
them when they were in college to better set themselves up for success. Alumni also have the
benefit of having more career experience and time to reflect on their internships to articulate
whether any specific benefits or drawbacks came from their internship experiences within their
current careers, particularly since they would have completed the internships at least 5 years
prior to their participation in the study.
Participants were recruited from entertainment industry programs from across the United
States by e-mail and social networking platforms. As issues of equity within the entertainment
industry persist throughout regions of the United States, the locations of the individual
participants were kept broad. The main criteria for inclusion is combined family income being
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lower than the national average for the region in which the student went to college; however, as
many low-income college students are also often part of marginalized groups within university
populations, the study also benefits from having a wide range of participants from different
ethnic backgrounds, genders and regions of the country to understand specific challenges that
individual groups may face.
The Researcher
This section gives an overview of me, Caroline Fraissinet, and my relationship with the
issue, positionality, and relationship to the participants.
My relationship to the issue is twofold: I was once a student looking to enter the
entertainment industry after graduation and took several unpaid internships in the field, and I am
now director of internships at the University of Southern California (USC) Dornsife College of
Letters, Arts and Sciences, where I see many students who want entertainment internships but
cannot afford to complete them as they are low-income. I attended Drexel University and
majored in Film and Video Production during my undergraduate education. My intention was to
work in the entertainment industry after graduation. A major reason I chose Drexel University
was because of their co-op program, which built 6 months of full-time work into the curriculum.
When I started to look for my co-op, I found I had two options: take an unpaid entertainment
internship, or paid work unrelated to my major. I did not feel that the support in place for finding
entertainment internships neither through the university nor in the entertainment industry was
sufficient, so I wound up working as the office manager of Drexel’s Writing Center for 6 months
instead to complete the co-op requirement. I did find the experience to be valuable in that I enjoy
working in higher education; however, needing to make the decision at an early point in my
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career development helped me see the challenges unpaid entertainment internships present to
students.
I was privileged in that my parents could have supported me financially had I taken an
unpaid internship, but I work with students who simply cannot work for free. My position as a
White and Middle Eastern, able-bodied woman of upper-middle socioeconomic status gave me
career development options others do not have. I saw firsthand through my undergraduate
experience how unpaid internships in entertainment can shape career choices rapidly; however,
others face many challenges I did not, which makes research crucial to understand how to help
others to have better career choices in entertainment. As a researcher, I am aware that my
experiences and positionality may cause me to have certain unconscious assumptions and biases.
I plan to mitigate this by recording all sessions and to ask for further clarification from all
participants when necessary to ensure their words and thoughts are captured as accurately as
possible, to limit misinterpretation and maintain the intent of all that the participants choose to
share with me. I also plan to only interview and survey students with whom I do not have a
working relationship and do not currently study within the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts
and Sciences, so that they may not feel compelled to respond in a specific way due to my role as
director of internships within the university.
Data Sources
Below is an overview of the methods utilized for the study. Specifically, a survey for
both students and alumni was utilized to get an overview of how a typical internship is
experienced by the population, in addition to more in-depth 45–60 minute interviews with
specific low-income students and alumni who identified as low-income in college to understand
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lived experience more completely. The survey and interviews will be conducted over a period of
several months.
Method 1
Method 1 for this study is a survey circulated to current students and alumni who
completed at least one unpaid entertainment internship. The purpose of the survey is to gain a
broad perspective on entertainment internship experiences and possible areas of improvement for
both entertainment employers and universities in assisting low-income college students to
complete internship programs.
Participants
The survey was made available to current low-income college students and alumni who
identified as low-income while in college who graduated at least 5 years prior to participation;
both students and alumni must have completed at least one unpaid entertainment internship. The
survey was distributed via e-mail, social networking tools and to individual entertainment
industry university program administrators to distribute to students and alumni of their programs.
I also utilized snowball sampling methods by identifying those who would meet the criteria who
can refer others who may also qualify (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Instrumentation
The survey instrument was developed using Qualtrics and consists of 18 questions.
Utilizing a tool such as Qualtrics allows for easier data analysis and ensures that responses are
kept secure and confidential (Pazzaglia et al., 2016). Questions 1–5 captures basic demographic
information to sort the responses into appropriate groups for specialized data analysis, including
their combined family income to ensure they meet the definition set forth from the survey as
low-income. Questions 6–7 captures information on the number of internships the participant has
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participated in and whether they were paid, unpaid or a combination of both. Questions 8–11
asks the participant questions about their most recent unpaid entertainment internship experience
and for an assessment on the value they felt the internship provided in terms of learning
opportunities. Questions 12–13 asks the participant more clarification questions in terms of how
they supported themselves financially while on the internship experience. Questions 14–17 ask
the participant to evaluate ways that both the employer they interned with and their university
could have better supported them while working an unpaid internship. Question 18 is an optional
field to enter the participant’s email address if they are interested in being contacted for an
interview during the interview phase. Qualtrics also captures information on where the survey
participant completed the study, which helps in assessing what region of the United States the
participant is from as either a current student or alumnus. The survey protocol is provided in
Appendix A.
Data Collection Procedures
The survey was distributed through e-mail, social networking tools, snowball sampling
and to individual university entertainment program administrators in spring 2022. Snowball
sampling was encouraged by any participants who may know of other candidates who would fit
the correct targeted audience; the link was made shareable for 120 days to facilitate easier
sharing to multiple participants. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete based
on pilot tests. The survey was tested by peer review and pilot testing to ensure that the platform
functioned properly, the survey did not take an excessive amount of time to complete, and that
all questions were easy to understand (Salkind & Frey, 2019).

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Data Analysis
The survey responses were analyzed using Qualtrics and Microsoft Excel to understand
responses and any specific trends that occur among demographics. Of particular interest was
socioeconomic status and number of unpaid internships the participant has completed, to ensure
that all participants qualified. Responses to questions 8–11 were analyzed to understand value of
internship experiences, and 12–17 were analyzed to understand the specific interventions
participants took to manage the financial challenges unpaid internships present and how
employers and universities intervened, if at all. If participants were interested in being
considered for the interview phase of the study, they could also indicate that in question 18. The
survey sought to gather general information and experiences that may later provide insight for
the interview phase of the study. The results of the survey, in combination with the results of the
interviews, will be analyzed in Chapter Four to create recommendations in Chapter Five of this
study.
Method 2
Method 2 for this study is a series of 45–60 minute interviews with current low-income
college students and alumni who identified as low-income college students while completing
their university work. Six interviews with current students, and six interviews with alumni were
completed as part of this study, for a total of 12 interviews. As with the survey, the primary
qualifications for the interviews were completing at least one unpaid entertainment industry
internship, and status as a low-income college student at the time when they completed the
internship. Additionally, for alumni, participants must have completed their internship at least 5
years prior to their participation in the interview so that they could speak to their industry
experience after the internship. The purpose of the interviews was to gain more insights on the
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lived experiences of low-income college students working unpaid internships, to understand how
they felt about their internships and to understand ways that they felt their employers and
universities could better support low-income college students, as they would have firsthand
experience with the situation. The interviews helped to gain more in-depth information to
supplement the broader information about a larger group of people in the surveys.
Participants
Current low-income college students, or alumni who identified as low-income while in
college who completed at least one unpaid entertainment internship are eligible for the interview
phase of the study. For the interview, alumni should have completed their internship at least 5
years prior to their participation in the interview. Similar to the survey, interview subjects were
recruited using a brief screening survey shared via e-mail, social media tools and to
administrators for university entertainment programs to distribute to students and alumni of their
programs. Additionally, snowball sampling methods by identifying individuals who meet the
criteria who can refer others they may know who qualify were utilized to identify additional
participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In the survey phase, there was also an option in Question
18 for participants to add their e-mail so they can receive information to participate in the
interview phase, which was a means in which a majority of the participants were recruited.
Instrumentation
The interviews were one-on-one conversations conducted over Zoom and lasted between
45–60 minutes in length. The sessions were recorded to ensure the participants’ thoughts were
captured exactly as they expressed them to reduce misinterpretation; Otter.ai, built into Zoom,
was utilized to obtain a transcript of the conversation to use for data analysis and coding after the
interviews have taken place (Fink, 2013; Maxwell, 2013). I conducted the interview in a semi-
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structured format. The questions, consisting of 12 in total, are qualitative in nature and encourage
the participants to respond about their feelings, thoughts and experiences while working unpaid
internships. This approach allows for participants to expand upon their thoughts in a more in-
depth manner than they would have in a purely written form through the survey alone. The
interviews took place over several months and were scheduled according to each participant’s
availability. All interview data was coded so that the participants’ identities were anonymized;
the codes for each individual participant were kept in a secure encrypted file, and destroyed upon
the completion of the research to protect the participants’ identities.
Data Collection Procedures
Similar to the survey, the interview screening questionnaire was promoted through e-
mail, social media tools, snowball sampling and individual university entertainment program
administrators in spring 2022. The interview takes between 45–60 minutes to complete based on
pilot tests; variance in amount of time depended on how detailed the participant is in their
responses. The interview questions were tested in two pilot interviews to ensure that the
questions were clear, the responses were in line with what I intended to target, and that the
technology functioned properly (Maxwell, 2013; Salkind & Frey, 2019). All interviews were
recorded, and Otter.ai, built into Zoom, was utilized to obtain a transcript of the session, to
ensure that I could review and capture the participants’ responses exactly as stated so that their
intent is properly accounted for in data analysis (Fink, 2013; Maxwell, 2013). The interview
protocol is provided in Appendix B.
Data Analysis
Data analysis took place after the interviews were completed at end of spring 2022. Data
was analyzed by reviewing the transcripts and recordings of the individual interviews. Zoom and
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Otter.ai were used to capture both audio and written transcripts and were reviewed for accuracy.
Atlas.ti was utilized to code the interviews for specific themes common to the interview
information; in combination with data analysis from the survey, specific trends in terms of
experience and suggestions for employer and university interventions to improve unpaid
internship experience for low-income college students were captured.
Validity, Credibility and Reliability
To ensure validity and credibility, the surveys and interviews were primarily based upon
opinions to reduce the risk of inaccurate information as opinions are unique to each individual
respondent (Fink, 2016). The survey was sent to a broad group of participants in multiple
locations to make the results more generalizable, and to encourage a higher rate of response
(Fink, 2016). Participants were selected both randomly (for surveys) and purposefully (for
interviews) which reduces selection bias and increases reliability (Krueger & Casey, 2009;
Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Incentives of gift cards no greater than $15 were
given to encourage participation in the interviews. To ensure credibility in the interviews, I will
record all sessions so that the intent and exact language behind the participants’ words is
maintained in the coding process (Maxwell, 2013).
To increase the reliability of the study, surveys and interviews were prefaced with
uniform instructions and clear directions, and participants were encouraged to participate with
minimal distractions in the place they take the survey or answer interview questions (Salkind &
Frey, 2019). All survey and interview questions were reviewed by peers and experts to ensure
the language and construction is clear, and the survey was administered to a test group to ensure
that the survey worked properly (Salkind & Frey, 2019). Prior to the surveys and interviews,
research steps and study limitations were communicated to participants to give them context on
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how their responses will be used (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). While I work for a university, no
participants were students with which I have worked directly to discourage any potential
influence over responses. The use of electronic tools also aided in the research process by
keeping data confidential and secure (Pazzaglia et al., 2016). Qualtrics was used to collect survey
responses and Zoom will be utilized for the interviews. All data from both the surveys and the
interviews were kept secure and all participants’ responses were anonymized in the final results.
These methods increase the likelihood that results may be generalized to other settings beyond
the scope of this study (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Ethics
The study must consider several ethical obligations to participants. The research serves
the interests of universities looking to better support low-income college students. The research
will likely benefit low-income college students who want to gain experience in entertainment.
The benefits may extend to entertainment industry employers looking to improve internship
programs so that they can better support a broader population of students, as well as the
participants as they reflect upon their experiences and gain more insight into their career
development. Should research reveal that current or former students experienced negative
treatment on internships, individual universities and entertainment internship programs may
experience some harm; additionally, recounting negative experiences on internships may cause
some harm to current and former students who have chosen to participate.
I must ensure ethical practices are maintained while conducting the research. Prior to
conducting intended research, I submitted the proposal and obtained approval from the USC
Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB review process ensures the researcher is minimizing
risk to participants and utilizing appropriate measures while conducting research (Creswell &
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Creswell, 2018). When conducting the study, I protected the participants’ privacy from potential
harms whenever possible (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). All study participants were notified of
informed consent and that their participation was voluntary; they were able to withdraw from the
study at any time without fear of penalty (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Glesne, 2014). While gift
cards of no greater than $15 were given as an incentive for participation, participants were not
compensated for their opinions beyond the stated incentive amount to avoid any issues of
reciprocity or validity (Glesne, 2014).
As I am the director of internships at USC Dornsife, I ensured that all participants are
provided with transparent information about my role and assurance that their information was to
be treated with confidentiality. All information was anonymized upon final dissemination so that
no answers can be linked back to the original participant. The selection of alumni rather than
current students, as well as selecting current students who are not affiliated with USC Dornsife
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, helps to manage any perceived power dynamics. The
results of the study will be optionally available to any interested participants (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018).

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Chapter Four: Findings
The purpose of the research study was to learn more about the challenges low-income
college students face completing unpaid entertainment internships by speaking directly to both
current low-income college students and alumni who identified as low-income when they were
completing their coursework. The qualitative study utilized a survey and 45–60 minute
interviews with students and alumni to capture their thoughts and feelings about their unpaid
entertainment internships as well as their beliefs on how well they were prepared for a career in
the entertainment industry. The research questions were as follows:
1. Do students and alumni perceive unpaid entertainment internships as being helpful to
making career progress?
2. What challenges do low-income college students face in completing unpaid
entertainment internships?
3. What interventions can support systems (including employers and universities) within
low-income college students’ lives take to better support their career progress in
entertainment?
Participants
All participants must have completed at least one unpaid entertainment-industry
internship, and all alumni must have graduated at least 5 years prior to completion of the study.
For the purposes of this research, current students could be either undergraduate or graduate
students.
Survey Participants
142 participants in total responded to the study survey. Of the 142 total responses, 32
were disqualified due to income requirements or not having completed at least one unpaid
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entertainment internship, and were removed from the data set; as a result, 110 responses were
used in the analysis. Fifty-eight were current undergraduate and graduate students, and 52 were
alumni. The breakdown of survey participants by ethnicity and gender is provided in Table 3 and
Figures 2 and 3.

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Table 3
Breakdown of Survey Participants by Ethnicity
Category Ethnicity Number
selected
Percentage
Current student
(undergraduate
and graduate)
Hispanic-American 19 32.8%
White (European origin) 19 32.8%
African American 7 12.1%
International with non-immigrant (F1)
visa
5 8.6%
Asian-American 4 6.9%
White (Middle Eastern origin) 3 5.2%
Other 3 5.2%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 2 3.4%
Native American 2 3.4%
Multiracial 1 1.7%
Total 58 100%

Alumni White (European origin) 29 55.8%
Asian-American 8 15.4%
African American 6 11.5%
Hispanic-American 5 9.6%
International 4 7.7%
White (Middle Eastern origin) 4 7.7%
Multiracial 3 5.8%
Prefer not to respond 2 3.8%
Other 1 1.9%
Total 52 100%
Total in survey 110 100%

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Figure 2
Breakdown of Current StudentSurvey Participants by Gender

Figure 3
Breakdown of Alumni Survey Participants by Gender

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Interview Participants
12 interviews were completed, six with current students and six with alumni. The
interviews were recorded on Zoom and a transcript was obtained using Otter.ai. Interviews
spanned 30–60 minutes in length. The table below summarizes information about the
participants. All participants’ names were changed to protect their identities. Two participants,
Siying and Fernanda, were also current graduate students at the time of their participation, but
for the purposes of the study were classified as alumni as they both discussed their undergraduate
entertainment internship experiences. A summary of interview participants is in Table 4.

Table 4
Summary of Interview Participants
Pseudonym Race Gender Industry U.S. region Class level
Time since
internship
Alba Hispanic Female Public relations West Coast Undergraduate student Past year
Jesse Black Male Music East Coast Graduate student Past year
Juan White Male Media West Coast Undergraduate student Past year
Leon Black Male Music East Coast Graduate student Past year
Mary White Female Film production West Coast Graduate student Past year
Xing Asian Male Film production West Coast Graduate student Past 2 years
Aaron Hispanic Male Sound East Coast Alumni 5+ years
Cate
Asian/
White
Female
Screenwriting/
producing
West Coast Alumni 5+ years
David White Male Sound East Coast Alumni 5+ years
Fernanda Hispanic Female Editing/directing East Coast Graduate student/alumni 5+ years
Josephine Asian Female Theater West Coast Alumni 5+ years
Siying Asian Female Screenwriting East Coast Graduate student/alumni 5+ years
81
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Survey Results
The survey consisted of 18 questions, both closed- and open-ended, to examine the
thoughts and feelings of current students and alumni on unpaid entertainment internship
experiences. The results are organized into key themes related to the research questions:
perceptions of internship career helpfulness, challenges, and suggestions for improvement.
Perceptions of Internship Career Helpfulness
Several questions in the survey were designed to gauge perceived value of internship
experience. The first question related to perceived internship value was, “Overall, how satisfied
were you with your internship?” The majority of the current students surveyed expressed that
they were either very or somewhat satisfied, at 60.7%. Alumni satisfaction was lower, with
54.9% expressing that they were either very or somewhat satisfied. The figures in Table 5
represent overall response breakdown, for current student and alumni participants respectively.
For the purposes of analysis, very and somewhat satisfied are combined into the satisfied
category, and very and somewhat dissatisfied are combined into the dissatisfied category.

Table 5
Overall Internship Satisfaction for current Students and Alumni
Current Students Alumni
Question Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied
Overall, how
satisfied
were you
with your
internship?
60.7% 17.9% 21.4% 54.9% 13.7% 31.4%

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Participants were then asked a series of Likert scale questions related to their individual
internship experiences, asking them to rank their satisfaction with their overall unpaid internship
experience. Participants were asked to evaluate statements on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being
strongly agree to 5 being strongly disagree. The results are listed in Table 6, organized into
current student and alumni responses. Strongly and somewhat agree and disagree were combined
into a single category of agreed or disagreed for the purposes of analysis.

Table 6
Participant Responses to Likert Scale Statements About Unpaid Internships
Current students Alumni
Question Agreed Neutral Disagreed Agreed Neutral Disagreed
My supervisor provided me
with enough support
while I was doing the
work.
55.3% 19.6% 25% 58.8% 19.6% 21.6%
My supervisor mentored
me during my internship.
62.5% 8.9% 28.6% 49.1% 15.7% 35.2%
While completing the
internship, I wanted to
remain at the
organization after the
work experience was
done.
50% 14.3% 35.8% 45.1% 9.8% 45.1%
My work duties were
meaningful.
51.8% 23.2% 25% 53% 17.6% 29.4%
I felt committed to the
organization because
they treated me well.
50% 28.6% 21.4% 45.1% 21.6% 33.3%
I really liked the
organization with which I
did the internship.
64.3% 12.5% 23.2% 56.9% 19.6% 23.5%
My internship taught me a
lot of things I never
60.7% 16.1% 23.2% 58.9% 15.7% 25.4%
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Current students Alumni
Question Agreed Neutral Disagreed Agreed Neutral Disagreed
would have learned in
the classroom.
My internship provided me
with a chance to learn a
lot about the field,
profession or business.
69.1% 12.7% 18.2% 68.6% 13.7% 17.7%
My internship helped me to
determine this was a field
I was interested in for a
career.
59% 23.2% 17.8% 51.0% 29.4% 19.6%
My internship required me
to use a number of
complex or high-level
skills.
44.6% 16.1% 39.3% 51.0% 15.7% 33.3%
My co-workers helped to
make this a good
experience.
66.1% 21.4% 12.5% 58.9% 19.6% 21.5%
The people I worked with
were friendly and
helpful.
73.2% 14.3% 12.5% 70.6% 25.5% 3.9%

The overall results from current students and alumni were comparable, with alumni
slightly more likely to express a neutral outlook or disagreement with the satisfaction statements.
Current students surveyed were more likely to agree with statements relating to feeling
committed to the company and desire to continue working with the company after they finished
their internship. Current students who participated were also more likely to agree with statements
related to feeling that their co-workers and supervisors mentored them and made the internship a
good experience; this suggests that the current students who participated may be receiving more
interpersonal support and direction in their internships than their alumni counterparts who
participated may have received.
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Conversely, alumni surveyed were more likely to agree that their internship had work
responsibilities that were meaningful and that their internships required them to use a number of
complex skills. As the alumni participants graduated at least 5 years prior to their participation in
the survey, it is possible that they may have used skills they first encountered on their internships
later that became useful to their work in entertainment; current students surveyed, in being able
to only apply their experience to their classroom experiences, may not yet be able to link certain
skills specifically to work in entertainment.
The survey results seem to indicate that participants do perceive internships as being
useful to their career development in entertainment, but there is significant room for
improvement with only 60.7% of current students and 54.9% of alumni agreeing that their
internship was helpful. Current students surveyed reported greater satisfaction with the level of
interpersonal support and mentorship on their internships than alumni, which could suggest that
the internships the student participants are working at are putting more of a focus on helping
interns to build networking skills than those their alumni participant counterparts worked
at.Alumni surveyed also reported greater satisfaction with finding meaning in the skills and tasks
they completed on their internship, which could suggest that the alumni participants may have
more of an opportunity to use skills learned on internships over time, or may be thinking of skill-
building more in the long-term than current student participants who have a more short-term
view of the value of certain skills built on the internship.
Financial Background
Survey participants were asked to give more context on how they were supporting
themselves financially while working unpaid entertainment internships. Participants could select
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multiple choices for this option, so they may have used multiple funding sources in order to
finance their unpaid internships. The results are listed 6 in Table 7.

Table 7
Comparison of Funding Sources Between Current Students and Alumni
Type of funding Current students’ funding
sources
Alumni’s funding sources
Savings from previous
work/gifts/etc.
36.1% 48.1%
Parents provided financial
assistance
29.5% 48.1%
Part-time job 32.8% 36.5%
Scholarships/fellowships/grants 21.3% 32.7%
Financial aid 23.0% 23.1%
Additional loans 16.4% 11.5%
Federal work-study 23.0% 9.6%
Full-time job 8.2% 5.8%
Other 1.6% 1.9%

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The results suggest that current students who participated are more reliant on paid work
to supplement unpaid internships, with increased rates of current students reporting federal work-
study and full-time work as a funding source, compared to their alumni counterparts surveyed
who relied more heavily upon parental support and savings. Current student participants are also
more reliant on loans to support their unpaid internship expenses than their alumni participant
counterparts.
Participants were asked what types of support they received from their internship
employers and universities to supplement their finances. The results are in Tables 8 and 9

Table 8
Comparison of Assistance from Employers Between Current Students and Alumni
Type of assistance Current students receiving Alumni received
Free food/lunch 24.6% 13.5%
Gas or transportation
compensation
18.0% 11.5%
Stipend/cash gift 18.0% 9.6%
Free items/goods 13.1% 3.8%
Other 8.2% 1.9%

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Table 9
Comparison of Assistance From Universities Between Current Students and Alumni
Type of assistance Current students receiving Alumni received
Course credit 47.5% 63.5%
Financial aid 18.0% 13.5%
Scholarship/grant/fellowship 13.1% 7.7%
Free items/goods 8.2% 3.8%
Other 3.3% 0.0%

The results of the survey indicated that current student participants are taking internships
for course credit less frequently, and are also receiving more financial support from their
employers and universities than their alumni participant counterparts reported. It is possible the
conversion of many internships to paid programs in recent years accounts for the lower
percentage of students receiving course credit for their internships, but the survey results did not
specifically indicate this was the case.
Challenges and Suggestions for Improvement
Participants expressed their thoughts on the challenges they faced while interning, and
gave specific suggestions on what could have been improved. These questions were broken up
into two open-ended essay questions: one requested more information on how employers could
improve internship programs to better support low-income college students, and the other
requested information on how universities could better support low-income college students.
For these two questions, a total of 51 current students and 47 alumni answered the
questions for a total of 98 responses; the rest did not provide an answer to this question and were
left out of the final total. Many participants indicated multiple challenges; every challenge
mentioned was noted, rather than limiting the responses to one per participant. The results are in
Table 10.
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Table 10
Overall Challenges Faced While Completing Unpaid Internships
Challenge faced Current student Alumni
Need more financial support 50 25
Desire for more appreciation and direct application
from internship to career
12 3
Lacked networking opportunities with others on
internship
11 14
Structural issues with internship 10 12
Internship course burdensome 10 12
Needed additional support finding suitable
internships
7 17
Needed more support from university on general
internship and career development matters
3 5
No recommendations/was satisfied overall 6 5
Total reported responses 109 102

The total responses from current students related to challenges totaled 109 across all
coded categories, compared to 102 from alumni. Current student participants tended to report
multiple challenges, while alumni participants tended to report one in their responses, creating
the variance.
The largest challenge mentioned by both current student and alumni participants was a
need for additional financial support, with 45.8% of current students and 24.5% of alumni
responses mentioning financial challenges. Current students were more likely to report
challenges directly related to the internship, including structural issues with the internship (ex. A
lack of educational goals or lack of flexibility with their schedules), a desire for more
appreciation and clearer application from their internship to their career. Alumni reported these
challenges as well, but focused more heavily on issues with finding suitable internships during
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their time in college and a lack of networking opportunities. This may be in part because current
student participants, having completed internships more recently, may have a more short-term
view of the internship’s value on their ability to get a job after graduation, while alumni
participants may have more time to reflect on the lessons learned and how other microsystems
may have impacted their experience over time.
The actual suggestions for interventions were also organized into the most common
recommendations from both current students and alumni. The data will be discussed first with
regard to recommended employer interventions, then recommended university interventions.
Employer Suggestions
A total of 110 recommendations for employer improvements were collected across 59
responses from current students and 51 from alumni. The breakdown of the type of assistance
recommended and total responses from current students and alumni respectively are outlined in
Table 11. If participants indicated multiple suggestions, they were noted in each category rather
than one answer per participant.

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Table 11
Overall Suggestions for Assistance From Employers
Type of assistance Current student Alumni
Provide stipend for
food/transportation/housing/internship
course credit
15 12
Made the internship paid 9 8
More structured programs 7 7
Communicated with interns in a more
meaningful way
5 6
Provide clearer pathway to job after
internship
5 2
Free merchandise/non-monetary perks 4 0
Create more opportunities to interact
with other employees
3 6
More schedule flexibility 3 5
Provide more mentorship opportunities 3 2
Reduce busywork/tasks unrelated to
studies
3 1
No recommendations/was satisfied 3 2
Total responses collected 59 51

With regard to suggestions for improvement for employers, the primary suggestions for
improvement centered around additional financial support. Stipends and supplemental financial
support to cover food, transportation and housing costs were recommended most often by both
current students and alumni. Students and alumni also expressed often that they believe the
unpaid internship model needed to end and that all internships should be paid. With 40.6% of the
total current student responses and 39.2% of the total alumni responses centering around these
suggestions, it is clear that additional financial support from employers is considered necessary
by the participants surveyed.
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The second most popular category for suggestions centered around making internship
programs more structured and providing more educational benefit to the interns. Students and
alumni felt that their work on internships was not always clearly related to their studies, and they
were often left needing to make the most of their internship without specific direction from the
internship employer on what the learning objectives should be. Another major challenge was a
lack of meaningful tasks on their internships, which led students and alumni to recommend a
reduction of busywork and menial tasks and more of an emphasis on meaningful projects.
Similarly, some participants suggested that employers be more flexible with interns’ schedules,
as they faced challenges related to balancing coursework and other responsibilities. In total, 22%
of current student participants and 25.1% of alumni participants made recommendations related
to structural concerns on internships, indicating that internship programs should offer more
educational structure and should be tailored to fit the interests and needs of low-income college
students.
Many of the suggestions centered around interpersonal communication and more
effectively building networking skills. Students and alumni expressed that they wished that their
internship employers had communicated with them in a more effective manner, which made goal
clarity more challenging. Students and alumni also mentioned they would like to see more
opportunities to get to know others within the company, and to have more formal mentorship
opportunities. In total 18.6% of current students and 27.5% of alumni made recommendations
related to improved interpersonal relations between interns and employees within the internship
company. This figure suggests that both the student and alumni participants value opportunities
to network with others.
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To smaller extents, students and alumni recommended several other interventions. Eight
percent of current students and 4% of alumni would have liked to see a more direct pathway
from the internship to a job in the entertainment industry, with some suggesting more formal
internship-to-job pipelines within individual companies. Current students also mentioned that
gifts and small non-financial perks were appreciated, including free merchandise. The next
section will address university-related suggestions.
University Suggestions
University recommendations were not as frequently reported within the survey as
employer recommendations, with a total of 92 recommendations for university improvements
were collected across 50 responses from current students and 42 from alumni. Several of the
participants mentioned that they took the internship outside of their university (either not for
course credit or after they graduated), and thus did not have specific recommendations for
university interventions; these responses were left out of the final totals. The breakdown of the
type of assistance recommended and total responses from current students and alumni
respectively are outlined in Table 12.

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Table 12
Overall Suggestions for Assistance From Universities
Type of assistance Current student Alumni
Provide additional
grants/scholarships/funding
26 5
Reduce or remove the cost of
internship course credit
8 6
Discouraging unpaid internships 5 2
Provide more career
development/internship advising
3 5
Adjust course credit for specific
internships
2 2
Provide more assistance with finding
internships
1 8
Better vetting process for evaluating
internships
1 7
Provide free supplies for students who
are interning
1 0
Remove course requirement 0 3
Require employer to cover the course
credit fees
0 1
No recommendations/was satisfied 3 3
Total responses collected 50 42

The largest recommendation for student participants was to increase supplemental
funding from the university to support students working unpaid internships. Funding could
include scholarships, grants, specialized funding specifically for unpaid internships, and
additional financial aid. With 52% of the current student responses relating to increasing
supplemental funding, this was easily the most common recommendations that students had for
university support. Conversely, only 11.9% of alumni recommended increasing supplemental
funding. As current students also reported higher numbers of university financial support than
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their alumni counterparts, this suggests that funding at the university level is valued by
participants in being able to take on unpaid internships.
Many of the responses were related to the internship course that students are typically
required to take in conjunction with unpaid internships. The most common recommendation was
to reduce or remove the cost of the internship course; responses indicated the cost of tuition for
the internship course was prohibitive in taking unpaid internships. Several respondents also
recommended adjusting the course credit for specific internships to be either more or less
depending on the rigor of the student’s course schedule or the demands of the internship, and a
few alumni respondents also suggested removing the course requirement entirely for internships.
With 20% of the student responses and 26.2% of the alumni responses relating to university
internship course issues, the results suggest reforming the internship course would be considered
beneficial by participants to better assist low-income college students from both a financial and
educational standpoint.
The survey responses indicated students and alumni believed that the university had a
responsibility to better ensure that internships are worth the potential intern’s time. Participants
suggested universities discourage employers from posting unpaid internships and that they have
more thorough vetting processes for internship opportunities promoted through the university.
12% of the total current student responses and 21.4% of the total alumni responses related to
universities better evaluating internship opportunities before they are promoted to students. As
significantly more of the alumni population reported recommendations related to improved
vetting processes and overall discouragement of unpaid internships, the results suggest that
alumni participants in the survey believe the university should be responsible for advocating
against internships that lack value to students.
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The last major category of suggestions for universities to better support low-income
college students to take on unpaid internships was improved career development support.
Participants suggested universities provide more career readiness training and internship-specific
advisement so that students could make more informed decisions about internships and jobs, as
well as additional support during the internship search phase so that they could find more
suitable internship opportunities. Only 8% of current students had recommendations related to
career development resources from their universities, but 30.9% of the alumni responses related
to suggestions related to this category. The increased responses from alumni participants suggest
that the participants believed that universities should invest time training career development
skills within their students so that they are more prepared for the workforce when they are
alumni.
Overall, the survey suggests that while current students and alumni are finding value in
their internships overall, there are several areas of improvement. Additional financial assistance
was the most common challenge, and many recommended interventions centered around
providing additional financial support to low-income college students. However, structural issues
with internships, a lack of opportunity to learn valuable skills and network, and problems with
the internship credit course were also common challenges that participants noted. Interventions
related to restructuring internship programs and credit courses, as well as offering more
opportunities for students to learn skills and meet people who could help them with career
advancement, were recommended. The next section will explore the interview results.
Interview Results
The interviews consisted of open-ended questions to encourage participants to express
their feelings and perspectives on their unpaid internship experiences. The results are organized
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into key themes related to the research questions: perceptions of internship career helpfulness,
challenges and suggestions for improvement.
Perceptions of Internship Career Helpfulness
Several of the questions in the interviews were designed to ask for student and alumni
thoughts on their internships’ relevance to their career progress and goals. The first of these
questions focused on why students took internships in the first place. Participants were aware of
the value employers placed on internship experience, and factored employer perceptions into
their decision to take on unpaid internships. Leon, a current graduate student pursuing music,
simply stated that he “knows he has to do it” because he understood the value that employers
place on internship experience. Fernanda, an alumna who studied film production in her
undergraduate education, stated internships were emphasized as being important experience to
have prior to graduation to improve job prospects: “When I was in undergrad, I had always heard
that the proper way to exit was to get an internship because that would make it a lot easier to be
able to employment after you graduated.” Alba, an undergraduate student studying public
relations also commented on the need to set oneself apart from other applicants by having
internship experience: “I knew that internships would help me land a job after I graduate and
they also look good for resumes. I feel like if I wasn’t taking on internships I would get left
behind and wouldn’t be able to land a job of my dreams, as cliché as that sounds.”
For some participants, completing internships was a way to see how the skills they had
learned in the classroom could translate in a real-world environment. Aaron, an alumnus who
focused on audio engineering in his undergraduate education, felt interning would help increase
his skills in a larger market:
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I wanted to take internships to be able to get practical professional experience in an area
that I felt my classes weren’t covering and that I was really interested in. I kind of hoped,
initially, that it would help lead to a job, either at [the company I interned with] or would
help make me more marketable for a job once I graduated.
Some participants also commented on unpaid internships being an unwritten requirement
to obtain paid internships. Juan, an undergraduate student studying media, stated,
I knew that I actually want to do a bunch of internships, and I knew that my resume …
wasn’t looking the best. Didn’t have a bunch of experience in those fields, so I thought
that … my best option would be do an unpaid internship first to have some experience on
my resume. Then, if I got unpaid internship experience I could apply for paid internships.
… I didn’t think I would get a paid internship without any experience.
Most participants expressed that their internships directly supported what they learned in
the classroom, and that seeing how the skills they learned in the classroom in a real-world work
environment was useful to understanding the industry. When asked if his coursework was
relevant to what he experienced on his internship, David, an alumnus of an audio engineering
program, stated, “[My internship was] super relevant [to my coursework]. … I got to do audio
engineering work in a practical way with that media company doing … sound effects, mixing,
sound design. … I was applying the exact skill set I was learning in the classroom.” Jesse, a
current graduate student studying music, further expressed: “When you have been learning
everything in the [class]room, and you haven’t really had time to go out to the field and
implement it. … That’s an opportunity to show what you can do.”
The participants that expressed that their classroom and internship experience
contradicted each other tended to have less structured internship experiences with little to no
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concrete goals established by the program. Juan expressed frustration that his graphic design
internship did not relate to the skills he was building within class:
I would say [my cousework and internship experience] either wasn’t related or
contradicted. … I was taking graphic design classes … and we use industry standard
tools and software. … In this internship, they specifically wanted me to not use those
tools and use [another app]. I never saw myself applying what I learned in class in the
internship.
The overall structure of the internship program was, in fact, a major determinant on
whether the student found the internship to be useful in making career progress. Students and
alumni had mixed experiences with individual internships; when they expressed negative
feelings about their internships, their issues tended to stem from either frustration that the
internship lacked educational structure, or that the employer did not make enough of an effort to
understand their specific educational wants and needs. David articulated thoughts on the
mutually beneficial nature of internships, with students expecting to learn valuable industry
experience and employers expecting interns to provide work-based benefits to the company:
An internship is … transactional. … I’m going to come work for you and you’re going to
give me … experience and … industry connections, so if the business isn’t holding up
their end of the deal, if they’re not providing relevant experience and … a relevant
community, then they’re letting the interns down. Businesses … need to be intentional.
… Don’t just assume it’s going to happen. … Return the investment of your interns.
Many participants stated they would have appreciated the internship employers getting to
know their individual career interests more carefully so that the internship experience could have
been more tailored to their career goals. Alba expressed the following regarding her internship
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experience with a local film festival: “I was asked what I was majoring in but they didn’t really
place me in the position to work on assignments that sort of tailored to what I was majoring in.”
Josephine, an alumna who completed an internship with a non-profit specializing in theatrical
performance, worked at a newly formed internship program and stated the following:
I think with this particular internship [there] was a lack of knowing … where I stood with
the company because … this was their first time doing an internship and I think … they
didn’t really know what particular jobs they were ready to have me do. There was a very
big lack of structure there and it was a lot of figuring out on my own. … I wish I’d had
some more structure and more of a learning experience, rather than a “go figure it out
yourself” kind of experience.
Conversely, participants who did have a more structured educational environment on
their internships tended to state more frequently that they felt their internship was useful in
making career progress. Mary, a current graduate student studying film production, praised her
internship with an independent film production company for laying a good foundation for intern
learning and integration within the company:
I think [the company I intern with] does a really good model of supporting us where they
make us feel like contributing members of the company. They really build in a
curriculum that feels like taking it for credit isn’t just their way of not paying us. It
actually feels like there is some class structure to it. I think treating the internship as
much as a benefit to the company and an educational [experience] for us outside of just
learning by doing has been really lovely.
Skill building was seen as valuable, and even in internships with little to no structure,
most participants were able to point to at least one skill they developed after having completed
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the internship that proved useful later on in either their coursework or career in entertainment.
Jesse mentioned several skills he developed during his music marketing internship: “I developed
my marketing skills. … I know the right angles to push to … get people interested in what I have
to offer. I [also] really learned how to … work with everything practically, like larger equipment
and speaker sets so that was really nice.”
Alumni in particular mentioned that they learned more about how the entertainment
industry works on their internships. Fernanda reflected on her experience interning at a local
video production company leading to a clearer understanding of how production works: “I
learned about … deadlines [and] the whole process that they would have negotiating with their
own producers. … How they would handle notes. I also learned how to work in an office setting
[and] how to answer to your heads of department and employers.”
Aaron, who is in the process of starting several businesses of his own, noted how
interning for a small business helped him to determine he may be interested in entrepreneurship:
Understanding finances and understanding … the actual practicalities of running a
business … that’s something that’s not often talked about in an academic setting but it’s
something that I’m very conscious of now that I’m trying to run a couple businesses.
While I’m still working for somebody else, [now] … I feel like in that internship, because
it was a small business independent operator, that’s something that has inspired me to see
that as a lifestyle, and that’s the lifestyle I want to get into. It’s gonna take some time to
get there, but it’s something I feel like for me personally … fits me as a person better
than working for a large entity.
One of the other major determinants of an internship being seen as valuable to making
career progress was the opportunity to network with others and to develop meaningful
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professional relationships with the people they worked with. Students and alumni are aware of
the value of networking within the entertainment industry to improve their career outlook, and
often mentioned networking opportunities as a primary impetus for taking on internships. Xing
stated, “I know that in this industry … you need to know different people, you need to build
some relationship[s] with the industry and also [an] internship can … help me to know more
about real problems when you are on set because you need to work with different people.” David
also expressed that one of the largest benefits he received on his internship were professional
connections: “Just knowing those people, having them know me, it’s actually the bigger deal
[than the internship work itself]. … They know who I am, they’ve seen my skills that they have
recommended or can recommend me now to people they know.”
Some participants were able to build their internship connections into useful contacts
later in their career that had immediate benefit on their career path. Josephine currently works at
the non-profit with which she completed her internship, and mentioned that her relationship with
her supervisor was a major reason why she was later hired:
I put out my resume [after graduating] and I wasn’t getting any kind of response back. …
I figured, what the hell, I’ll send out my resume to the company that I had worked for as
an intern and I sent it through their portal e-mail. And my [former internship] boss
actually got back to me … and said, “You know I was gonna be the one to see this right?”
and I said no, but I’m glad you were here! She called me in for an interview, we went
through the interview process. She was actually looking … to create a new role of more
of an associate producer/executive assistant kind of thing. At first it was actually an
apprenticeship program. … Then, I moved on from the apprenticeship into a full-time
position with the company.
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Ultimately, all participants had at least some positive career outlook takeaways after
having taken an internship and learned more about the entertainment industry, regardless of their
overall feelings of the individual internship opportunity. For many, the internship was an
opportunity to learn that they may want to adjust their focus after having gained concrete
professional experience in a field. For some former interns, they learned quite simply they liked
– or did not like – particular parts of the industry, which shaped their decisions moving forward;
Juan, for example, learned through his internship that he did not enjoy working with social media
and did not want to pursue a role that heavily focuses on social media upon graduation.
For others, interning helped them to learn more about career paths they were not
otherwise aware of that they would be more interested in pursuing after graduating. Xing learned
that he wanted to broaden his focus from directing to other fields within film production:
I used to train to become a director, but when … I interned, … I realized that not
everybody can become a director. It’s not [always dependent] on your creativity [or if]
you’re talented. Most of the time you need to have good opportunities, you need to wait,
you need to know more about people, you need to build your relationship[s] with others
… to get that chance to direct your own film. … Sometimes, it takes even longer than 10
or 20 years. I learned … to achieve my dreams, I can do some camera … or some
production design jobs to support my life first, but I can also write scripts at the same
time. … I can also find some [financing] to … make a short film [to support my directing
dreams].
For Mary, her internship taught her that there were multiple ways to make a living within
entertainment beyond freelancing:
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“My breadth of financial opportunities and resources is not very big, so freelancing to me
has always been scary because you don’t really know when your next job is. These
internships have showed me that there is a way I could do a nine-to-five while still being
passionate and creatively fulfilled. I think that’s been one of my biggest and best
takeaways, that I don’t have to compromise financial insecurity with wanting to pursue
my passions and being able to kind of complement the two.”
For others, internships provided a more concrete view in understanding the difficulty of
starting a career in entertainment, and the challenges they were likely to face. Alba commented
on learning how difficult gaining career progress can be within the entertainment industry:
You need to work really hard in order for you to actually get to … the position you want
to be in. You have to climb a lot of steps, a lot of ladders. Because … I just realized that
after doing the internship there was kind of … a tier system within the industry. It did
also show me that this industry is more about making connections and networking [than
anything else]. I’m grateful that I have that experience, because now I have some
knowledge of … what it takes to get where you want to be.
It is important to understand that interns are often at the beginning of their career when
they take on an internship, and it is crucial to make the lessons and skills learned on the
internship translatable to future work. Aaron was asked to sign a non-compete agreement at his
internship which required him to not use the skills he learned at a different company for 5 years;
as a result, he felt that he learned a valuable skill set that he was not allowed to use:
I feel [the non-compete] hampered what I was able to do and how my career has been
shaped as a result, because the skill set is something that at that time not very many
people knew. It was a moment in the industry where if I had those skills and I was able to
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release things as a person with that extra skill set I had, I could have really distinguished
myself quite fast, but now the market has really exploded and it’s … harder to stand out.
Post-internship it really made me excited to want to do just exactly what I did in my
internship. And then post-graduation when I was trying to figure out what to do with my
life and try to settle into something and wanted to use that skill set, I was still under the
non-compete and I wasn’t able to. That’s something that really negatively impacted me as
a person. … It’s still something I find exciting, but it’s difficult to want to do it.
In summary, the interviews confirm that students and alumni do perceive unpaid
internships as being useful to making career progress in the entertainment field. However, they
are more likely to agree with this statement if they were involved in an internship program that is
well-structured with concrete learning goals, are given opportunities to build networking skills,
and were able to build skills that they could easily parlay into future work opportunities
immediately after graduation.
Challenges
All participants were asked what their specific challenges in completing their unpaid
internships entailed. The interviews helped to provide more nuance on the challenges that current
students and alumni face while interning, and are highlighted in this section of the results. The
responses below are organized into the primary challenges that were expressed by the
participants: financial management and lack of internship structure.
Financial Management
The largest challenges mentioned by participants while working an unpaid entertainment
internship were financial in nature. Working a significant number of hours per week without pay
was burdensome for low-income college students. Leon stated: “My number one difficulty I’m
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facing right now is financial stability.” Cate said simply, “I think … just not getting paid was
rough.” The largest financial pain points that participants mentioned were housing, food and
transportation. Fernanda mentioned several of these challenges on her internship: “It [was] …
hard to maintain that internship because it was unpaid. I didn’t have a car, … so I had to take
Uber rides there, I also had to stay at a place out[side] of campus and pay rent.” Jesse’s
internship did not offer much financial support, either; when asked about difficulties he faced on
his internship, he said: “[If you] run out of cash and then you have to … call someone to help
you because [the internship] is unpaid. The only thing I got from my most recent [internship]
was free parking. … That was it, and the experience, … but no cash, no payment, just nothing.”
These individual challenges were even more burdensome for students who completed
their internships in major metropolitan areas, as the cost of living was significantly higher; Cate
interned in a metropolitan area, and at first tried to avoid unpaid internships knowing that it
would be expensive; however, she found paid internships were competitive:
I realized that going to another city to be an intern was going to be very expensive, so I
knew I could only do it for one summer. I came in with the mentality that … I’m going to
do a paid internship because I’m not gonna … do an unpaid internship … and essentially
be a part of the problem by accepting one. But as time went on, I wasn’t getting any
responses to the paid ones so I said, “Okay, I will settle for an unpaid one.” I kept a grid
and … I applied to 100 places, I got interviews with 10 of them and then got two offers.
Interns, then, need to meet very significant expenses if they are even fortunate enough to
obtain an extremely competitive internship.
Another significant expense was the cost of school credit for the internship course
through their universities. Regarding paying for internship course credit, Mary said, “The very
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blatant, obvious, yet not talked about loophole with [unpaid internships] is that it’s not unpaid;
I’m paying for this internship, so that’s obviously always the downside.” Alba also expressed
frustration over the need to pay for internship course credit, as it was a requirement for
graduation at her university and she did not receive financial aid for the semester in which she
took the internship: “[The university] didn’t offer me financial aid for the summer because that’s
not available to us [for summer semesters], so I had to pay $1200 so that I can take on an unpaid
internship. That was mind boggling to me.” Combined with the cost of living in a (likely)
expensive city and managing consistent costs associated with their work, unpaid interns must
incur significant expense to make it possible to take on the opportunity.
When asked how they managed the finances of working the unpaid internship program
with which they participated, almost all participants mentioned some degree of family support.
Parents were the primary familial support that the participants cited as helping with expenses;
however, David and Alba both mentioned they were married at the time in which they completed
their internships, and that their spouses assisted with financial expenses. To supplement family
support, many participants saved up from some type of paid work, including paid part-time jobs,
work-study positions, or gig work. Still others had funding from other sources – for example,
Aaron mentioned that his family was awarded a lump sum settlement after the death of his father
in an automobile accident, and was able to use some of this money to cover expenses when he
worked his unpaid internship. A few also mentioned they got limited financial support from their
employer – Siying, for example, received a small meal stipend to cover lunch on the days that
she worked at her internship – but for the most part, participants did not receive stipends. Some
participants were able to receive some financial aid from the university with which they enrolled,
but this was not always guaranteed and was particularly difficult for international students.
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Several participants mentioned loans as a means of finding the money to work an unpaid
internship. Loans were primarily used in combination with family financial support, but for
students who are financially independent from their families, they became a more primary means
of funding their unpaid internship experiences. Mary is fully financially independent from her
family, but is using loans to finance her education and internships:
In my graduate degree, … I have a scholarship for $10,000 and everything else [through
my university] is through loans which is horrible and terrible, but also … just because I
don’t have the finances doesn’t mean I don’t want to [pursue a film degree] and that’s
sort of my attitude that I don’t mind being at an inconvenience … if it means I can pursue
my dreams. Ask me again in 2 years how I’m impacted by it but at the time it’s a little bit
like an educated guess … with Monopoly money that I’m just hoping will work out.
In summary, financial management was a significant challenge for participants when
completing internships as low-income college students.
Lack of Internship Structure
After financial challenges, the next most-often mentioned challenge that the participants
faced while completing internships was a lack of structure in the internship program itself. Many
of the participants discussed a desire for a more structured program so that they would have more
of an idea of what they should be learning. However, some received little to no structure from
the employers. Juan expressed dissatisfaction with the structure of his internship:
“When [the employer] advertised the internship, it [sounded] almost like a learning
experience, you will be assigned a mentor and you’ll learn all about marketing in the
entertainment industry and [make] advertisements and PR for … all of these brands. But
then when [I] initially started, I didn’t realize that was not the case. It was pretty obvious
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they just wanted an intern to do the work that nobody wanted to do and I ended up just
doing social media posts … that was not what I actually wanted.
In some cases, participants assessed learning opportunities with the intern employer and
made the decision to end the internship early due to a lack of structure and meaningful tasks.
David, for example, mentioned leaving an audio engineering internship before the end of the
academic semester because he felt the opportunity lacked learning potential:
There wasn’t a lot to do in [the] studio. I did a few … clerical tasks, just spreadsheet
stuff, collecting information online. And then … about halfway through the semester, I
sat in on a mix session for the first time since I had [started the internship] just to
see…how it works and after that session I realized that I had nothing left to learn. At the
… fundamental level, there was nothing surprising or interesting or unexpected about his
mixing process, so I decided to leave the internship.
Meaningful internship structure lacks not only on the employer side, but also on the
university side. Interns are often required to enroll in an internship credit course, which is often
intended to provide some structural clarity where the employers may not have the time or
resources to implement them; however, several participants mentioned structure was often
lacking. Alba expressed frustration that the internship course not only cost her money, but also
created more stress by adding course requirements that did not seem meaningful:
The only thing that [the university and internship course] did was make us attend these
orientations which … added stress on top of the stress we already had, because we had to
enroll and … pay $1200 to take an unpaid internship. And then, on top of that, we had
assignments to do, which [were primarily just] reflection papers. … I thought it was a bit
unnecessary … because it just seems so banal to write those papers.
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Mary similarly expressed that the course requirements for her internship course didn’t
reflect the effort a normal class at the tuition rate would entail:
The internship class that I’m taking for credit is three papers over the course of a
semester and I don’t really have any involvement [with the class or professor] other than
submitting [assignments], so it’s not like our credit units are going towards paying a
specific professor who needs to make X amount. I understand six units … when you have
10 professors, … but for this class we don’t really have a professor we directly relate to,
and it’s a financial risk to take something for credit.
With limited structure from either the employer or the university, having a meaningful
internship experience becomes dependent on the intern to manage; this creates an issue where the
most inexperienced stakeholder in the internship relationship is the primary one responsible for
making it a useful opportunity. As interns are often unfamiliar with typical protocols within the
industry, they often simply do not know whether what they are being asked to do on their
internship is appropriate or typical of the entertainment industry. Josephine explained that in her
internship, she was not always certain what she should be doing because the internship was not
structured and she lacked experience to know what was normal on an internship:
[My employer said], “Well, here’s your laptop. … I guess this is what you could be
doing,” and then I was just there for … 5 hours a day, 3 or 4 days a week. I should have
approached my boss and [said], “I would like more work” or “Is this something normal
where you kind of just [sit] there until someone gives you work?” It was really kind of
just knowing what the boundaries of what I can and can’t do as an intern.
Structuring internship programs to have more meaningful assignments and opportunities
to network with professionals was a significant recommendation from participants for
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improvement; this will be discussed in the section of this chapter focused on the third research
question.
Suggestions for Improvement
The participants were asked to provide feedback on ways internship experiences could be
improved based on their own personal experiences on their unpaid internships, with particular
focus on how employers and universities can better improve their offerings for low-income
college students. The results from the interviews are outlined below.
Employers
One of the specific questions within the interview dealt with suggestions for
improvement for internship employers in the entertainment industry. The primary suggestions for
improvement for the employers that hire unpaid interns included: moving away from the unpaid
internship model in general, providing additional supplemental financial assistance, structuring
programs more concretely to make educational goals clearer, and making more of a concerted
effort to get to know the wants and needs of the interns that they are hiring so that the experience
can be more tailored to their individual career goals.
Access Issues With Unpaid Internships. The interview participants showed an
awareness of the equity and access problems that unpaid internships create within society. This
awareness was particularly evident within the alumni population, who had more experience
working in the entertainment industry and thus had more insight into the ways in which
entertainment companies operate. Aaron reflected on how unpaid internships not only restricts
participation from low-income people but also creates additional challenges: “I think it’s an
exploitative practice. … Not only does it act as a barrier against people of low income but puts
immense strain on people of low income.”
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Siying noted the irony that a project she learned about through a classmate having to do
with low-income individuals hired unpaid internships – and that the individual who could
manage to work on the project had tremendous financial resources:
The [internship] was [for] … an Oscar-nominated director, … and the project [was] about
low-income class [individuals] in New Jersey. But the internship was unpaid, and in the
end … a classmate took the internship but he’s … super rich. If that’s the only kind of
person who [is] able to take on unpaid internships it’s just really unfair for others.
Cate acknowledged that unpaid internships restrict those who can participate and
perpetuates inequity within the industry:
The more I work in the industry, the more I realize that … the literal structure of it is
designed to keep people from certain backgrounds essentially out because … I don’t
know how it was 20 years ago but now [interning] is pretty much the only way you can
get a job at all [now]. But as of now, the industry still is a majority white upper class
people and they only tend to refer the people that also look like them. With unpaid
internships, not … a lot of people can afford to do that, and then, once you’re at that
assistant level, your starting salary is minimum wage. Depending on how many hours
you get, … you can’t really afford to do that. So I really think companies should start
paying their interns because I know they can afford to. I’ve seen the receipts.
Aaron, as an entertainment industry business owner himself, further reflected on the harm
that unpaid internships do to the labor market and recommended that entertainment employers
not engage in the practice of hiring unpaid interns:
“I will never in my life have an unpaid intern if I continue developing my business. My
mentality is, if you cannot run your business to where you cannot afford to pay someone
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minimum wage, which is already in our country not even a livable wage, … then you
[are] not in a place where you have the ability to [operate]. If I know of a company that
does unpaid internships, I will not do business with them because I don’t want to support
that social structure within our society.”
Many of the participants, then, recommended moving away from the unpaid internship
model entirely to better promote equity and access to internships not only as a means of better
supporting low-income college students, but for improvement in business practices.
Additional Supplemental Financial Support. As a suggestion for improvement on the
employers’ parts, the most common intervention offered by the participants was providing more
supplemental financial assistance. Stipends to assist with expenses directly related to the
internship, including lunch while working on the internship, transportation assistance to get to
and from the internship, and assistance with housing were among the main recommendations.
Aaron reflected on stipends being a useful offering for unpaid interns:
The easiest thing would be to provide housing and a food stipend. If you’re not going to
pay them, you can at least make it so they don’t have the two biggest recurring costs that
every person has: food and shelter. If those two things are covered and you’re not able to
pay them beyond that … that’s something that at least [takes] some financial burden off.
Fernanda also supported the idea of employers providing stipends to manage costs, and
brought up the challenges that transportation costs can create for interns:
I do feel there should definitely be some sort of a stipend to unpaid interns. I think
providing lunch … maybe a car ride would have definitely made it a lot easier [because] I
had to pay for my car rides there. I think at least if those things – food and transportation
– had been added to it, it would have made it a lot better.
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The participants also recognized that it was not always feasible for employers to
completely subsidize employees and generally focused on small, manageable expenses being
covered with stipends. Xing acknowledged that interns are not employees, but connected the
ability to recognize food, transportation and housing expenses with the potential for employers to
have better work from their interns as appreciation:
I know that it’s an internship, but I think the employers should consider … transportation
fees, meal fees and … rent. I think if [employers] can pay part of them for the [intern], …
[the interns] would work better for you. Maybe they would … [think] “Oh my God, this
company helped me a lot, and, … in return, I should do my best for them.”
Participants also recommended employers have broad awareness of expenses interns tend
to incur and to factor this into the activities planned on the internship. Aaron mentioned that
planning activities that do not put financial strain on a population with limited disposable income
can be useful in making certain interns feel included without putting them at a disadvantage:
I think a really big thing to be conscious of if you are employing unpaid [interns] is the
opportunity cost and monetary cost of almost every option that you present them. Let’s
say you’re the boss, and … you want to have an outing ... with people [to] go see a movie
and have some food. That will directly cost those interns to be able to have that social
opportunity to be able to connect with people. While it may just seem like, “Oh, yeah,
we’re gonna go have fun,” you’re putting additional burden on them. If you’re going to
present opportunities as an employer who has unpaid internships, you should drop as
many of those barriers as you can for them.
Josephine also recognized the opportunity cost that interns incur to work for free, and
further recommended supplemental monetary support as a means of acknowledging the time
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interns spend on their internships: “Any kind of stipend or monetary [support would be useful]
because you are giving time to a company that you could be using to make money, but you need
that experience to get into the industry you want to get into.”
In summary, interns incur significant costs to take on unpaid internships, both financially
and in terms of their time and effort. A small amount of supplemental financial assistance to
cover ongoing expenses – specifically, towards food, transportation and housing – was
mentioned as a specific suggestion for improvement for entertainment internship employers.
More Substantial Structure in Internship Programs. As was mentioned in the
previous section, a lack of structure was a major challenge for participants in completing unpaid
internships; conversely, more structure led to participants commenting more positively about
their internship experiences. As participants were at the time inexperienced with the industry,
they were sometimes unaware of how they should be behaving or whether their experiences on
their internships were typical. As a result, participants recommended creating more structured
programs so that interns can gain a better understanding of how the entertainment industry, and a
typical entertainment industry workplace, operates. Cate addressed ways that employers can
improve the structure of their programs:
I would recommend that [internship employers] come up with a preset agenda … [so]
that the students have a bit more of a guideline when they’re navigating their internship
because I was just … given … a summary and then they were like, ‘Oh, have at it.’ There
wasn’t a … formal program or a formal agenda [at my internship], so I felt kind of lost
about what I should or shouldn’t be doing while I was [an intern]. So I think if they had
[more structure] that would help their interns gain skills.
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Participants mentioned that employers gaining an understanding of the intern’s individual
career wants and needs is valued. As an internship is intended to be to the benefit of both the
employer and the intern, participants expressed appreciation if the employer tried to get to know
them and their goals so that the experience could feel more tailored. Jesse recommended
employers understand what their interns are passionate about so that they can be assigned to
projects that better fit their interests:
“[It would be helpful if employers] know [what their interns] love most and put them in a
particular aspect that some people might just be focused on. Maybe … you put them in
the business part of the company and it’s really not [the intern’s] passion. If there’s a
specific list where you can [fill out] the part which you’d like to work in and then they
[assign you there]. I think that’s better than just assigning them to anywhere they want.”
Conversely, participants expressed frustration if employers did not try to understand their
individual career interests. Alba discussed her internship being unrelated to her field of study and
suggested restructuring internships to be more educationally valuable to interns’ future plans:
I think [employers] can restructure the experiences for interns, and really develop
projects for us that tailor to what it is that we’re studying and going into. I don’t really
think that … I got a lot out of [my internship] and it’s unfortunate … if you’re going to
make [the internship] unpaid, at least have the students be able to walk away with
valuable skills that they’re going to use for their career.
Xing also brought up that if both employers and interns take the time to understand their
wants and needs from the internship prior to starting on a practical level, it may result in better
partnership for both stakeholders:
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I think when they [have] interviews, [both employer and intern] should be honest [with]
each other. I think it [would be good] if both … fill out a form … and write [what] they
need or want to get from [the internship]. [For the company it could look like] questions
like, ‘[would] you accept meal and transportation support from the company?’ but for the
[applicants] it may be like, ‘do you accept that … I leave [early some days] because they
would choose to live a little far away from the company … and when I work really late,
there’s no taxis right now?’ [Companies] need to know more about the interns before
they accept them.
While interns are willing to work and are eager to learn, some participants were
disappointed to find that the relationship between them and their internship companies wound up
being more one-sided; a major criticism of internships were if they were based primarily around
completing busywork, and participants were critical of internships that involved excessive
menial tasks. David mentioned that interns in unstructured internship programs often have a
considerable amount of down time:
Sometimes as an intern you don’t have anything to do. It sort of depends on how
accustomed the company is to having interns. In my cases, they didn’t regularly have
interns … so they didn’t always have stuff for me to do. And that can be disappointing. If
[companies] want to regularly have interns, they should spend a little bit of time
structuring those roles so that they can make the most of everyone’s time.
Juan suggested that employers give interns meaningful tasks so that they can learn
valuable skills before entering the workforce:
I think, first of all, that if [the students] are doing the internship [with their company], it’s
because they are passionate about that [part of the business], they want to learn. They
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want to possibly work in the field in the future so just keep that in mind, so you don’t
treat them like somebody to give … the things that the regular team doesn’t want to do.
Treat them like future professional individuals that may work alongside you.
Understanding the academic backgrounds of the students is also important to make the
opportunity more relevant to the students’ interests. A simple suggestion offered by some of the
participants was that employers should understand their interns’ course schedules so they have a
sense of when they were available in a given week. Mary summarized thus,
I think it makes a difference when your employers have a very rough estimate of your
class schedule. It’s a very simple element, but … of my four internships, only one …
actually asked me when I have class. That was really helpful because I didn’t have to
miss events, and … they knew when not to talk to me and when to talk to me if they
needed me to come in an extra day. I think that when the power dynamic is [such], you’re
a passionate career-driven intern, you want to say yes to everything but knowing what
your school requirements [are] … gives a little bit more of respected boundaries, as far as
being able to balance being a student and being an intern.
Alba, as someone who works full time and interns, also expressed that an understanding
of the intern’s schedule would help to make the opportunity less stressful for the students:
I think knowing more about their schedules and how flexible they need to be for interns
… that doesn’t really get asked, you state it [and] make it known … [but] sometimes if
you do make it known … they automatically cancel you out of the pool of applicants. I
think there needs to be more consideration for interns that need that flexibility because
unpaid interns … can get a bit discouraged in the process of trying to find something.
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Structured opportunities to work to others and network were also seen as valuable. Xing,
talked about how more experienced co-workers on his internship took the time to teach him
skills and welcomed him as part of the team, which enriched his experience by building industry
connections: “Experienced people … in this industry … taught me a lot about how to start out,
how to do location scouting … they didn’t treat me like [just an intern] … they [treated] me like
a friend … like we … [could] collaborate in the future, which makes me feel so happy.”
As a result, participants recommended more opportunities for interns to meet other
employees that they work with to ask questions and build professional contacts. Both Alba and
Juan mentioned that it was difficult to make connections at their internships because they were
working virtually and recommended more opportunities for interns to connect with employees so
that they would have been more integrated into the team. Cate also suggested employers “do
more to either connect [interns] to people that they know just so that their network expands and
the chance that they would get a job increases.”
Some participants were given formal opportunities meet senior leadership, which helped
to make the internship more worthwhile. Mary discussed her experience at her current internship,
where she met executives within the company and built communication and networking skills
that she feels can help her in her future career:
We have weekly meetings and … talk with company executives and it’s … guaranteed
each week we’ll have a 1-hour session dedicated to meeting an executive. … They’ll say
how they got to where they are and … really break it down for us in a way that we can
track their progress. That’s given me comfort in speaking to executives in a way that
they’re people too, I think it demystifies that a little bit. I’ve at least talked with enough
people in the development executive-level … that it wouldn’t be as intimidating [to talk
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to them now] because … it’s also strengthened my communication and networking skills
to be able to talk to these people like real people and appreciate these opportunities as
getting to now the people first and their opportunities for me second.
Mentorship on internships was also extremely valued, and was a common
recommendation that participants expressed for internship programs. Cate discussed mentoring
being useful because interns can learn how a person in the field started their career: “In a system
where [mentors] formally sit down with an intern and say, ‘Oh, this is what I did to get a job,’ I
feel like that would be really helpful.” Mentors are also useful to guide interns and ensure they
are understanding the industry as a whole. Leon mentioned that having a person to guide interns
would be useful to make certain interns are getting the necessary support:
When you get to know others, you can get some advice from them, get mentors … they
should give [interns] all the attention they need because as a new person … you always
want to seek assistance because you want to know about [the industry]. [Mentors also]
give you a detailed explanation about that particular field or that particular aspect of the
entertainment industry.
Juan also recommended mentorship as a means of introducing interns to industry
professionals that may be able to connect them with future opportunities: “You could have a
great internship experience of having someone you can learn from and look up to and … you
have the contact [so that] if you want to apply for a job in the future, you have connections
there.”
Some participants had some experience with informal mentorship on their internships and
spoke positively of their relationships with employees that took the time to understand them and
their career interests. Josephine discussed her internship supervisor (who later hired her for her
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current job with the same organization) taking time to get to know her career goals so she could
tailor her advice more carefully for Josephine’s specific interests:
My boss … sat me down and asked me where [I wanted] to go, and where [I wanted] to
be after this internship or future job-wise, and how she could help me get there, which
really inspired me to … actually think about that and to use her as a resource, which I
very much appreciated.
Finally, participants expressed that more of a pipeline from an internship to a job within
the company would be useful for making career progress. Although Fact Sheet #71 states that
both intern and employer must understand there is no guarantee of a job after the internship, one
of the main motivating factors for interns to take internships is hope that it will lead to work
either with the company or in a similar role in the future. Internships are also noted for being an
informal means of recruitment, so participants understood that while there was no guarantee of
being offered a full-time job after taking the internship, more of a direct idea of how taking the
internship could benefit their career would be useful. Josephine discusses how a clearer pathway
to a job after taking an internship would be beneficial for interns:
I think [employers] should have some kind of pipeline because … if someone’s willing to
work for you unpaid, it means they want to work for you. And I feel that it’s so
unfortunate … that many internships don’t have that pathway. Yes, they say you get
exposure, but there’s no guarantee of employment afterwards. I’m not saying that there
should be [a guaranteed job offer], but I feel that there should be some … support to
make that jump because you’re spending all this time doing an unpaid job, and then you
come out of it going, “Okay, do I have to go back to another unpaid job, or how do I get
to a paid job now in the industry that I want?”
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Jesse mentioned a more formal process of working with the student’s university and
employer to guarantee positions at companies after graduation would be beneficial:
[I believe it would be helpful if there was] guaranteed employment. When you’re
[available to work], we [the company] have a spot for you … if we’re impressed with
what you do, come back. It could also look [like] the school trying to work something out
with the place you’re going for the internship and say, “when he’s back [in classes after
having completed the internship], if he did a good job, just tell us, and then you could tell
him he has the spot guaranteed to work with you [when he graduates].” That can really
boost the person’s ability to put more effort in.
In recognizing that guaranteeing employment within the company may not always be
possible, participants also recommended employers help interns to find paid work with other
companies. Mary discusses her current and past internships helping with job leads:
[My current internship company] definitely gives me the sense that they would and have
already hired interns that they like. But one thing [the company] has said that it does, and
that my undergrad internship did, is for interns they really like, but obviously they can’t
hire everybody, was giving them resources for other companies they work closely with
that they may be a good fit for and may be hiring. [My current internship company] has
said, even in my initial interview, that [for] previous interns they didn’t necessarily hire,
they put them in touch with a co-production company that was hiring and [helped] them.
I think following that model could be really nice, because I think there’s so many of us
that do our internships in our junior or senior year, or within our grad school program,
that are actively getting ready to look for employment. I think any ways interns can be
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supported in the employment search if, essentially, they earn it … is really something that
can set an intern program [apart] and show that they actually do care about their interns.
University
On a global level, participants expressed the belief that the universities have a
responsibility to educate students on what internships entail, and to ensure internship
opportunities are legitimate learning opportunities. Participants believed that universities should
make students aware of common practices so that they can better evaluate whether an internship
is worth their time and energy. David believes universities having a responsibility for educating
students on what to expect from internships:
Universities should encourage students to defend themselves, and the universities have a
role in defending students from predatory business that want to get free labor and not
give anything back. Universities could do a little more to educate students about what
they should expect from an employer and when an internship is a waste of their time.
As such, several participants also believed that universities should go further in terms of
advocating for better internship opportunities. Fernanda believed that universities should work
together to discourage unpaid internships:
Maybe if there was some sort of united force where universities … in general would have
[an] agreement to not share unpaid internships, I think that would be a lot better. As I’ve
grown further [in my career] … I realized that there’s other opportunities [beyond] an
unpaid internship to still get experience. So, I just feel … it shouldn’t be encouraged.
Additional financial support in the form of scholarships/grants/funding was the most
immediate recommendation for improvement on the university end, for similar reasons that
stipends were recommended for the employer interventions; low-income college students need
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assistance with managing expenses including food, housing and transportation, and any means of
covering expenses was appreciated. Juan discussed scholarships specifically for students taking
unpaid internships being a potentially helpful offering that universities can offer to students: “I
think universities should provide some kind of scholarships for people that want to do unpaid
internships but can’t afford it.” Aaron also believed funding for students taking on unpaid
internships would be beneficial, and looked at it from an equity of access lens: “The easiest thing
[for universities to do to help low-income college students] would be to have some funds for
people … that would actually allow some support infrastructure so that students who are neediest
can actually afford to do those sorts of things.” Alba, a non-traditional college student who is
required to complete an internship as a graduation requirement, also commented on the value of
financial assistance for students who face challenges in completing unpaid internships:
I think [universities] need to incorporate more funds for us non-traditional
students … have emergency funds for students that can’t really financially take on an
unpaid internship. We exist, and I feel they sort of overlook us by making it a
requirement to take on an internship or else you won’t graduate.
Similarly, adjustments to university financial aid were recommended, particularly by
international students. Siying and Juan, both international students, mentioned challenges with
financial aid due to limited opportunities available for international students to work on campus,
a key means of saving money for internship work. Xing also discussed adjusting aid for students
who are interning at times where classes are not in session would help to manage expenses for
students who choose to intern during school breaks: “Some universities don’t offer students
[financial aid] during the summer … or winter vacation. If the university can provide them
[funding] or deduct fees from their housing, that [would] be helpful.”
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Participants also mentioned that the internship credit course was a financial burden and
that a reduction in the cost of the (often-required) internship class would help them to more
easily consider unpaid internships. Cate acknowledged that the credit requirement creates
unnecessary stress for students who are already at a financial disadvantage:
I know with a lot of unpaid internships, because it’s for school credit, some schools will
charge you however much [for] however many credits you’re doing that summer just to
do the internship, which … costs even more money. And, [added to] the fact that you’re
not getting paid, you have to pay for the credit. I feel … more universities could find
ways to waive that fee to not stress the student out more.
Mary recommended a sliding scale with regards to internship course tuition to reflect the
fact that students are essentially paying to work:
I think if there was a sliding scale of dollar per unit for internships, that would be
massively helpful so that they understand you’re taking it for credit. … I think there
could be a way to make … those actual units cheaper, that could be something that can be
really impactful in the long run. I think actually taking this step to make it cheaper to take
it for credit would be immensely helpful and would make a big impact because I know a
lot of my friends didn’t do unpaid internships just because they can’t afford it.
The internship course itself was also seen by some participants as not being related to
their internship content; this continues to perpetuate the problem that interns lack the
understanding of the industry to fully evaluate the usefulness of the internship activities, as they
are not getting sufficient direction from either the university or the employer on what the
experience should be entailing.
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Finally, many of the participants either spoke positively of an internship-specific staff
advisor if there was one within their university, or mentioned that a staff member holding an
internship-specific advisement role would have been helpful if offered at their university. One of
the ways in which the participants found value in internship advisors was that they serve to vet
opportunities more thoroughly. Siying, for example, mentioned that her university’s internship
advisor works hard to filter out unpaid internship opportunities and ensure the opportunities she
is promoting to students are worthwhile, and Mary mentioned that her university’s
entertainment-specific career services office offers a school-specific job board and spreadsheet
that keeps up-to-date records on companies that are actively looking for interns.
Internship advisors are also seen as trusted people that students can consult about any
internship-related questions. While Josephine mentioned there was a general career services
office at her university when she attended, she discussed how an internship advisor would have
been a helpful contact to ask any questions about internship norms, particularly with regards to
what is appropriate in a workplace or not:
[My university had] a career center … but it didn’t really set you up for internships. They
helped with the resume, they helped with the interview, but I don’t believe they had any
kind of support with the unpaid internships. Especially because when you’re an intern,
you’re young. … This is your first opportunity to go into a professional workplace. I
would love to have had someone other than my internship boss to talk about, “is this
appropriate for my employer to be doing this? Is this something that maybe I should raise
a stink about, or is this normal in the workplace?”
Mary further mentioned speaking with internship-specific staff members helped her
develop in her career path: “I’m not entirely sure I would have found this career path [in film
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development] had it not been for speaking with the internship office … and exploring what other
jobs look like other than being a PA [production assistant] or … writer/director.” Having a
specific person on campus to refer to for any internship questions may also be particularly
valuable for low-income college students, as they may lack the social capital resources that
higher-income college students have to ask questions related to these topics.
Summary of Results
The results from the survey and interviews indicate that while both alumni and current
students generally find value in their internships and find internships helpful in developing in
their careers after graduation, improvements are needed. Alumni were more likely to report
dissatisfaction with their internships than current students. Current students were more likely to
report that they received some sort of interpersonal support and mentorship than alumni, whereas
alumni were more likely to report that they found value in the skills they developed on their
internships. This could indicate that interns find value in building interpersonal relationships and
networking with others on their internships, and that skills developed on internships may become
more apparent to interns over the long-term than the short-term.
With regard to challenges, participants in both the survey and interviews were most likely
to report issues related to finances; current students are more reliant on work and university-
based aid than their alumni counterparts who relied more upon savings and family support.
Issues reported often related to the structure of the internship and internship course as well, with
participants expressing that they did not always know what they should be doing on internships
and were expected to make the most of the experience with little direction.
Recommendations for employers and universities focused most commonly around
additional financial support including stipends, additional university-sponsored financial
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assistance, and simply eliminating the unpaid internship model. However, participants also
commonly reported restructuring internship opportunities to have more explicit educational goals
so that interns had a better idea of what they should be working to achieve on internships, as well
as restructuring university internship-related resources to provide more direct support to students
who may not be sure what to expect on an internship. The next section will cover
recommendations for practice based on the results.
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Chapter Five: Recommendations
The purpose of the research study was to understand the challenges low-income college
students face gaining entertainment experience due to the prevalence of unpaid internships in the
field. Internships are an important means of gaining experience within entertainment. Therefore,
it is important to ensure the opportunities are available to low-income college students and are
useful in helping them to make career progress, as they may face more challenges in gaining this
crucial experience. Discussing with current students and alumni who face these challenges is
important to understand best practices and means to improve internships so that more low-
income college students can have an opportunity to pursue careers in entertainment. This chapter
will discuss the findings of the study, linking the results back to the literature and conceptual
framework, then move into recommendations for practice based upon the findings in the study.
The chapter concludes with details about the study’s limitations and delimitations,
recommendations for future research, and concluding thoughts.
Discussion of Findings
The findings of the study are in direct alignment with the literature and conceptual
framework. This section will first cover the conceptual framework and illustrate how the findings
were in alignment. There were also several areas within the literature that the findings confirmed,
which will be discussed next. Finally, this section will examine how the findings address the
problem of practice before moving on to the specific recommendations for practice.
To review, the conceptual framework was based upon Bronfenbrenner’s ecological
systems theory and Bordieu’s social capital theory (Bordieu, 1986; Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The
concept behind the study is that the low-income college student’s progress in gaining
entertainment industry experience and making career progress is dependent on interactions with
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societal ecosystems both within and outside the individual’s control; for the purposes of this
study, the microsystem, with which the student interacts directly, is primarily addressed.
Additionally, as the primary currency by which an individual can make career progress in
entertainment is social capital through networking, it becomes crucially important for low-
income college students to build valuable professional contacts as they are less likely to have
established social capital through their families than their higher-income peers (Bathmaker et al.,
2013; Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010; DiRienzo, 2016; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Petersen, 2021; Ro
et al., 2020; Silva, 2020; Tucci, 2012). If the low-income college student has sufficient support
from microsystems and builds professional contacts to establish social capital, they will be able
to progress in their career; conversely, if they face challenges within their microsystems and do
not establish sufficient social capital through building effective professional relationships, they
are more likely to struggle in their careers (Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Fink, 2013; Hora et al.,
2019; Lee, 2011; Randle et al., 2014; Sweich, 2016; Tucci, 2012).
The findings aligned with the conceptual framework of the study. The survey and
interview results illustrated that low-income college students understand the value of social
capital within the entertainment industry, and were eager to build professional contacts so that
they could set themselves up for success after graduation. Additionally, the survey and interview
results suggested that interns who had more opportunities to network with others at their
companies and were mentored while on their internship were more likely to see their internships
as helpful towards making career progress. Similarly, participants who received more
personalized attention on their internships and developed meaningful relationships with others at
their internships—a key relationship within the student’s microsystem—tended to report more
concrete career outcomes after having completed their internships. One example that illustrates
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this concept from the interview results is Josephine’s experience; her internship supervisor took
the time to get to know her specific career interests and goals, and informally mentored her while
she was on her internship. It was as a direct result of her positive relationship with her supervisor
that she was given serious consideration when she later applied for an apprenticeship with the
non-profit, and eventually was hired as a full-time employee with the organization.
Conversely, when the results from the study were negative, the criticism usually stemmed
from a lack of financial support that put the participant into a more precarious financial situation,
or a lack of educational structure from either the internship or the internship course. A lack of
support from key microsystems (in this case, either the internship employer or the university),
led to more negative outcomes and to recommendations that these microsystem groups provide
more assistance to the student so they would be better supported. Additionally, a large criticism
offered within the results was a lack of opportunity to network with others at the internship. This
illustrates that participants were aware of the value of social capital as a currency, and valued the
opportunity to establish connections as a means of developing social capital.
The findings also aligned with the literature in several significant ways. A major way in
which the results aligned with the literature was in the consideration of equity-based issues with
unpaid internships. Participants showed an awareness that unpaid internships favor those that are
already privileged and put additional strain on an already vulnerable population (Bennett, 2009;
Curiale, 2010; DiRienzo, 2016; Durrant, 2013; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; O’Connor & Bodicoat,
2016; Petersen, 2021; Randle et al., 2014; Silva, 2020; Tucci, 2012). The survey results also
suggested that low-income college student participants in the study may rely on taking on paid
work and loans as a means to an end in obtaining unpaid internships; current students reported
reliance on work and loans as primary financing sources more frequently than their alumni
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counterparts in the survey, who more often reported savings and family as primary funding
sources. Additionally, several interview participants directly addressed the access issues that
unpaid internships present in creating an industry that favors the wealthy by making it more
difficult for those of low-income to gain experience.
Another major alignment between the literature and the results was in the consideration
of hope labor. Hope labor, or working for low or no pay with the hopes that it will lead to more
favorable work in the future, was a primary motivating factor for taking on unpaid internships
across both the survey and interview results (Conor et al., 2015; Corrigan, 2015; Gill, 2014;
Hesmondhalgh, 2010; Kuehn & Corrigan, 2013; Mirrlees, 2015; Petersen, 2021; Rodino-
Colocino & Berberick, 2015; Smith, 2010). When internships did not turn out to be useful for
one’s career development, participants tended to express frustration that they had invested time
and money in the internship that they could have spent pursuing a more helpful opportunity.
Fernanda, for example, mentioned in her interview that she had hoped that by working hard and
being dedicated to the company with which she completed her internship, the employer would
pay her or later hire her for a job. The results, then, indicated that participants were aware of the
commonality of hope labor within the entertainment industry and were willing to invest in their
future careers, but were also very aware when their efforts did not yield tangible results; taking
unpaid internships created considerable financial and time-based risk. If the investments did not
pay off, it was particularly risky for low-income college students, who have less money and time
to invest than their higher-income peers.
The study addresses the problem of practice – specifically, the challenges low-income
college students face in gaining entertainment industry experience due to the prevalence of
unpaid internships in the field – in several ways. The study provided more clarity on exactly how
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low-income college students are funding their internships, and by providing more context on
their thoughts and feelings about their unpaid internships. The study established that while low-
income college students who participated in this study may be receiving more aid than their
alumni counterparts, more assistance is still needed to ensure they can make the most of their
internship experiences. Additionally, the study illuminated areas of structural weakness in the
current unpaid internship model on both the employer and university side; the participants
contributed a significant amount of concrete recommendations to improve the support low-
income college students receive, which have been considered in the recommendations for
practice section later in this chapter.
In summary, the findings align closely with the conceptual framework and literature, and
addresses the problem of practice. The results indicate that greater support from microsystems
and development of networking skills can lead to better outcomes for low-income college
students, who can then graduate with the skills and contacts necessary to transition to working in
the entertainment industry. The study also confirmed that unpaid internships create considerable
equity-based issues for low-income college students, as they have more diminished access to the
key resources needed for career development within entertainment: time and money (Bathmaker
et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Fink, 2013; Hesmondhalgh,
2010; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Randle et al., 2014). Improving
support for low-income college students will help them to be better prepared to seek work within
the entertainment industry after graduation. The next section addresses recommendations for
practice based on the findings.

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Recommendations for Practice
This section covers the recommendations for practice based upon the literature,
conceptual framework and results of the study. The study and research indicates that students
and alumni are aware of the access issues that unpaid internships present, and recommended
additional financial support so that more people would be able to consider internships, as well as
more structured learning to make the internship experience more educationally valuable. In
considering the results, the recommendations center around three main areas: increasing
additional financial support, creating more substantially structured learning within internships on
both the employer and university side, and suggestions for improving relationships among other
key members of the low-income college students’ microsystem. The suggestions will be divided
into sections related to these three categories.
Additional Financial Support
It is clear based on the literature and the results of the study that low-income college
students are in need of additional financial support in order to complete unpaid entertainment
internships (Corrigan, 2015; Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez,
2010b; Hart, 2014; Hora et al., 2019; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin, 2012; Rutschow &
Taketa, 2017; Shaginian, 2015; Thompson et al., 2020; Tucci, 2012). As low-income college
students may not have the financial stability to take on unpaid internships if they must balance
work and school in addition to the opportunity, offering more financial support so that they can
focus less on making money and more on the internship itself would be beneficial to ensure they
have the time and energy to dedicate to their internships (DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-
Fernandez, 2010a; Hora et al., 2019; Randle et al., 2014; Rutschow & Taketa, 2017; Shade &
Jacobson, 2015; Sweich, 2016). With regards to creating more additional financial support, three
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primary suggestions are offered: moving away from the unpaid internship model as much as
possible, creating more funding opportunities available through the student’s internship company
and university, and reducing the internship course credit’s tuition cost.
The first recommendation is, to the extent possible within individual organizations, to
move away from the unpaid internship model. Unpaid internships present access issues for low-
income college students and sets up a system in which only those who have sufficient financial
support can afford to take on the opportunities (Bennett, 2009; Curiale, 2010; DiRienzo, 2016;
Durrant, 2013; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016; Petersen, 2021; Randle
et al., 2014; Silva, 2020; Tucci, 2012). As internships have been established as being valuable to
employers in evaluating candidates for entry-level jobs, offering these opportunities as only
unpaid internships limits the ability for low-income college students to participate (Bergman,
2014; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hora et al., 2019; Perlin, 2012;
Petersen, 2021). Restructuring organizational budgets to offer remuneration to interns, even if
modest, can level the playing field so that students of more diverse socioeconomic backgrounds
can have more of an opportunity to gain experience without putting themselves as significant
financial risk (Hora et al., 2019; McTorry, 2014; O’Brien et al., 2016; Thompson et al., 2020;
Tucci, 2012).
Additionally, due to the rules set forth by Fact Sheet #71 on unpaid internships, paid
internships are subject to less restrictions in terms of what tasks and activities interns can
complete; meaningful tasks have been established within the literature and the results as being
useful for helping students to learn the connection between theory and practice, and would be of
significant benefit to both employers and interns in terms of the type of work that can be
completed (Binder et al., 2015; Coco, 2000; Corrigan, 2015; D’Abate et al., 2009; Hurst &
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Good, 2010; Narayanan et al., 2010; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). As a result, moving more
unpaid internships to a paid model would be of benefit to low-income college students from both
an access and educational standpoint, and would also present more benefits to the employers in
terms of the type and volume of work that can be asked of the intern if they are not subject to the
Fact Sheet #71 restrictions on unpaid internships (Brookhouser, 2015; Chillas et al., 2015;
Frenette, 2013; McTorry, 2014; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). Other industries have focused
more resources into more formal paid apprenticeship programs as well as micro-internships
where participants complete smaller projects for shorter periods of time, on flexible timelines,
and are paid as they learn; similar models may work well for entertainment to ensure that
students are paid and are gaining sufficient knowledge and skills to translate to their work in the
industry (Feldman, 2021; Hall et al., 2018; Perlin, 2012).
The second recommendation is to offer more supplemental funding for students looking
to complete unpaid entertainment internships so that they can manage the expenses that come
with unpaid internships. Many of the participants in the study focused on stipends to manage
expenses rather than large amounts of money to fully subsidize their lives; the primary areas that
unpaid interns typically request assistance with are food, transportation and housing (Corrigan,
2015; Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hart, 2014;
Hora et al., 2019; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin, 2012; Rutschow & Taketa, 2017;
Shaginian, 2015; Thompson et al., 2020; Tucci, 2012). Stipends to cover ongoing expenses from
employers, as well as university-sponsored funding including scholarships, grants, donor-funded
assistance and expanded financial aid to cover these expenses should be made more widely
available to low-income college students. Additional funding sources will make it possible for
low-income college students to consider unpaid internships, and to spend more of their time and
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attention on their internships rather than finding additional ways to make money (Edwards &
Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Einstein, 2015; Huelsman, 2015; Johnson & Baker, 2018; McTorry,
2014; Rutschow & Taketa, 2017; Senat et al., 2019; Steffen, 2010; Wildenhaus, 2019).
The third recommendation is to reform the cost of the internship credit course offered by
universities. Many entertainment industry employers require course credit in hiring unpaid
interns, as Fact Sheet #71 specifies that they must be enrolled in an accredited institution at the
time of their internship (Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hart, 2014; Hughes &
Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin, 2012; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). The results of the study,
however, indicated that the cost of credit for the internship course is prohibitive for low-income
college students, and puts them in a position where they must pay for the opportunity to work.
Reducing the cost of the internship credit course, or finding a way to subsidize the cost through
either a scholarship or requiring employers to pay for the course credit, would help low-income
college students by reducing a burden that unpaid internships can place on them (Corrigan, 2015;
Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hughes &
Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin, 2012).
There are significant costs that unpaid interns must incur to be able to work. Moving
away from the unpaid internship model as possible will help to make internship opportunities
more equitable within the entertainment industry, so that people of more varied backgrounds
would be able to gain experience in the field prior to graduation. Creating more supplemental
funding from employers and universities to manage expenses, and reducing or subsidizing the
internship course credit, would also help to ensure that low-income college students are not
putting themselves in a financially precarious situation in taking on unpaid internships. Low-
income college students should not be put into a position where they need to pay additional
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money to be able to work; as a result, additional financial support is recommended as a practice
for entertainment employers and universities to ensure low-income college students can gain
sufficient experience within the field prior to graduation. The next recommendation is to
structure learning so that it is clearer what the educational objectives of internships are for the
students, employers and universities.
More Structured Learning
Another area of improvement for unpaid entertainment industry internships based upon
the literature and results of the study would be to refine the structured learning within
internships. In an internship, there are three primary stakeholders: interns, employers and
universities (Naranayan et al., 2009). The results indicated that employers often do not
incorporate a clearly discernable educational structure to their programs (Brookhouser, 2015;
Burke & Carton, 2013; Coco, 2000; Corrigan, 2015; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; Discenna, 2016;
DiRienzo, 2016; Durrant, 2013; Frenette, 2013; Frenette et al., 2015; Hart, 2014; Keleher, 2013;
Nicholes, 2014; Salamon, 2015). University internship credit courses, too, do not focus on
specific educational goals heavily enough, and tend to structure their internship credit courses
less formally than other courses offered throughout the university (Corrigan, 2015; Cuyler et al.,
2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015;
Perlin, 2012). This lack of structure on both the employer and university end leaves the intern to
manage the educational value of the internship themselves; as interns are often unfamiliar with
the industry in which they are working when they complete their internships, they often “don’t
know what they don’t know” and are uncertain how to approach circumstances that may arise on
their internships. The current structure creates a situation where the stakeholder with the least
real-world experience is left to ensure the internship program is of educational value; as a result,
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it is recommended that the two stakeholders with more knowledge ensure that best practices are
being observed so that the student can best learn from the internship experience. With regards to
offering more structured learning, three recommendations are offered: establishing educational
goals more tailored to individual students on internships, reorganizing the internship credit
course to offer a more structured learning experience, and offering more networking training and
resources on both the employer and university side.
The first recommendation is to establish educational goals more tailored to individual
students on internships. The results indicate that unpaid entertainment internships can involve a
good deal of busywork, leading to diminished satisfaction from interns and a lack of skills
learned on the internship (Burke & Carton, 2013; Fink, 2013; Frenette et al., 2015; Hora et al.,
2020; McHugh, 2017). Employers should establish clear educational goals on the internship and
structure their internship programs so that interns understand what they should be learning
throughout the program. Creating syllabi that cover overarching goals of the internship, with
weekly goals and assignments, works within a structure the interns are already familiar with at
their university by aligning with educational goals and tasks they complete each week for their
courses (Binder et al., 2015; Coco, 2000; Corrigan, 2015; D’Abate et al., 2009; Hurst & Good,
2010; Narayanan et al., 2010). A clearer structure for the internship will also clarify why certain
tasks are completed and may help the intern to understand how particular tasks are important to
the business and industry as a whole.
Additionally, employers should have an understanding of the intern’s educational
interests and needs so that they can tailor the experience more to their individual learning goals.
For example, employers and interns may have a conversation when they start about what the
intern hopes to achieve, or what part of the industry they would like to learn more about on the
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internship, and establish mutual goals together at the start of the internship; from there, both
employer and intern can check in periodically to ensure that mutual goals are being met and any
questions are clarified. Fact Sheet #71 makes clear that the internship should be of benefit to
both the intern and the employer, and that the balance should be not too far in favor of the
employer by simply hiring interns to complete work; establishing clear educational goals tailored
to the intern’s wants and needs helps to ensure the internship is “similar to a training program”
and both stakeholders are benefiting from the arrangement (Brookhouser, 2015; Hacker, 2016;
Klinger, 2016; Reid, 2014; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
Furthermore, building skills that can be used for work in the entertainment industry after
graduation is of paramount importance to students so that they are prepared for entry-level work
in the industry. As a result, it is critical that employers are helping students to build skills that are
relevant to work in the entertainment industry on their internships so that the opportunity is of
benefit to their career development (D’Abate, 2009; Naranayan et al., 2009). Students should
also be able to use the skills upon graduation to obtain work, so non-compete agreements or
further limitations on their ability to use skills that were developed should not be permissible on
internships. Employers, therefore, must ensure that the skills that their interns learn on their
internships can be used after they complete the internship are transferrable, and universities must
ensure that employers are offering opportunities that offer substantial learning opportunity for
skill building without limitation on how those skills can be used after the experience is
completed (Coco, 2000; D’Abate, 2010; Nunley et al., 2014; Zhao & Liden, 2011).
The second recommendation is to reorganize the current internship credit course model to
offer a more structured learning experience. In its current iteration, the results indicate that
internship credit courses are often used a means of demonstrating that the student is enrolled in
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an accredited institution, and involves little interaction with faculty or university staff to
complete specific learning objectives (Corrigan, 2015; Cuyler et al., 2013; DiRienzo, 2016;
Edwards & Hertel-Fernandez, 2010b; Hughes & Lagomarsine, 2015; Perlin, 2012). The
internship credit course would offer a good forum to teach students industry norms and best
practices in a work environment with which they may have limited familiarity. The results of the
study indicated that low-income college students may not understand typical entertainment
industry norms to the point of not knowing whether certain behaviors or tasks are appropriate;
offering students an opportunity to ask questions and to learn more about how the industry works
within the course may eliminate some of the confusion that these students express when on the
internship because they would have been more exposed to industry norms and practices within
their coursework. The internship credit course could also be used to expose students to more
working professionals in the industry through guest lectures, so that they have more of an
understanding of what certain jobs wthin the entertainment industry entail and to build contacts.
Furthermore, the survey and interview results suggest that students’ expectations of what
the internship entails and what type of work they will be completing on their internship may not
meet the reality of internships; the internship course, with additional structure to explain typical
industry standards and what tasks are typically asked of interns may help students to have
reasonable expectations of learning goals and what they should be anticipating assisting the
company with in their assignments on their internships. Utilizing the often-required element of
an internship credit course could be used more effectively to ensure that students are prepared for
their internships, and are learning as much as they can when they are actively engaged in
interning in the field so that they can translate their skills to a career after graduation.
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The third recommendation would be to offer more education and opportunity to learn
networking, both in the internship itself and through the university. Networking is a particularly
crucial skill to develop within the entertainment industry, as most early career industry
advancement is facilitated through personal and professional contacts (Daniel & Daniel, 2013;
Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Fine, 2017; Frenette, 2013; Frenette et al., 2015; Randle et al., 2014).
Offering opportunities for students to develop networking skills, both on their internships and
within their university, would be of great benefit to low-income college students so that they can
graduate with the ability to build professional networks so that they may be better able to find
work (Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Fine, 2017; Frenette, 2013; Randle et al., 2014). For employers,
creating formal and informal opportunities for interns to meet others within the company at all
stages of their career, establishing mentorship programs and offering more concrete advice about
next career steps either with the company or within the industry would help to equip low-income
college students with better networks and career clarity after they complete internship programs
(Bathmaker et al., 2013; Brudney, 2019; Daniel & Daniel, 2013; DiRienzo, 2016; Frenette, 2013;
Hope & Figiel, 2015; Hora et al., 2019; Lawton & Potter, 2010; Zhao & Liden, 2011). For
universities, making students more aware of career services offices, networking events, and
offering more targeted support for internships, including hiring internship-specific advisors who
can be available to assist students with any internship-specific questions or concerns, would be
beneficial to ensure that students are receiving enough support prior to graduation to build
effective professional networks (DiRienzo, 2016; Narayanan et al., 2010).
The current internship model lacks structure on both the employer and university side,
leaving interns to figure out industry norms for themselves with little guidance. Offering more
structure from both the employer and university side will scaffold the experience so that interns
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have a better understanding of what lessons they should be learning and what skills they will be
building. Employers can support the educational benefits of internships by providing learning
objectives tailored to the students’ interests and needs and offering more opportunities to build
skills that directly relate to work within the entertainment industry. Universities can improve
their education for interns by reorganizing the internship course to offer more industry-specific
training and skill-building so that interns are more prepared when they join employers for their
internships, and providing more resources to students including internship-specific advisement
staff who can supplement the education within the internship credit course. More concrete
learning goals would be beneficial to low-income college students by making it clearer what to
expect from an internship, and to be able to walk away from the experience with more directly-
applicable experience. The next section will focus on recommendations for other key members
of a student’s microsystem, including family, peers, faculty and alumni.
Considerations for Microsystem Relationships
Low-income college students have several important microsystem relationships that are
extremely important to their development within their careers in entertainment. While employers
and universities were focused upon most in this study, several considerations are offered for
three other significant microsystem groups for low-income college students: families, faculty and
peers/alumni. These considerations will be offered below.
Families, as proven by the literature and the results of the study, are instrumental in
students’ ability to take on unpaid internship experiences. The results and literature indicated that
most students received some level of financial support from their families; they also provided
significant emotional support in pursuing careers in entertainment (DiRienzo, 2016; Frenette et
al., 2015; Kalenkoski & Pabilonia, 2008; Shade & Jacobson, 2015). In considering low-income
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college students in particular, families are strapped with a significant amount of the financial
burden that is incurred on students when they take unpaid internships (Lawton & Potter, 2010;
O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016). To ensure that low-income families, who may already be
struggling with other financial responsibilities, are not overburdened, it is important to broaden
financial support from both employers and universities to ensure that access to valuable
educational opportunities is equitable (Hora et al., 2019; O’Connor & Bodicoat, 2016;
Thompson et al., 2020). Additionally, as families may not be familiar with current entertainment
industry internship norms (or may not be familiar with entertainment industry norms at all),
educating this population on what is appropriate and inappropriate within the industry may be
useful, as the results indicated that families lacked knowledge of the entertainment industry
(Bathmaker et al., 2013; Nuñez & Sansone, 2016; Parks-Yancy, 2012). Ensuring that they are
familiar with current industry practices could ease tension between students and families about
the importance of interning, as the tension may simply stem from a lack of knowledge on the
families’ part.
Faculty are important members of the low-income college student’s microsystem, as they
often introduce students to information about the field, and sometimes serve as valuable
networking contacts (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Jack, 2015; Parks-Yancy, 2012; Ro et al., 2020;
Stephens et al., 2012). It is important that faculty are aware of the current state of the industry
and are providing accurate information about best practices in obtaining internships and
approaches to obtaining entry-level work after graduation. The rapid changes typical of the
entertainment industry can make advice from even industry professionals deeply engaged in the
industry on a daily basis outdated in little time; for faculty who may have been working in
academia for a significant amount of time, it is crucial that they are supported by providing up-
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to-date information on best career practices so that they are communicating that information to
students accurately. More partnership between faculty and career services offices within
universities would be beneficial to ensure that both stakeholders are providing career advice that
is in alignment. Furthermore, as the literature suggests, faculty can be helpful networking
contacts for students, as they can refer them directly to industry professionals for internships or
recommend them for jobs after graduation (Jack, 2015; Parks-Yancy, 2012). As such, students
should be encouraged to speak with faculty outside of class so they can develop relationships for
networking. Developing relationships with faculty is particularly important for low-income
college students; as the literature suggests, they may not be as well-versed in the social capital
value of these relationships as their peers and may not be taking advantage of opportunities to
connect with faculty members during office hours or after class (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Jack,
2015; Parks-Yancy, 2012; Ro et al., 2020; Stephens et al., 2012). Creating more formal
opportunities for more direct interaction between low-income college students and faculty,
including scheduled check-ins throughout the semester to ask questions beyond the direct
assignments in class, may help to build relationships between the two stakeholders.
Similarly, valuable networking contacts can be found in many places outside of simply
the workplace or the classroom, and low-income college students should be advised of ways to
create meaningful professional contacts in a variety of different situations (Bathmaker et al.,
2013; Eikhof & Warhurst, 2013; Martin, 2013). Alumni from their university, as well as peers
they may interact with in classes, around campus or at internships or jobs, can be valuable
sources of information and serve as professional contacts to establish social capital within the
industry. Providing more opportunities to interact with alumni and peers outside of the classroom
may be useful in introducing low-income college students to new concepts, companies and
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individuals who may help them in their career. Additionally, as mentorship was mentioned often
as a desired element of internships, creating opportunities for more formalized mentorship
between alumni and students may be useful to build more meaningful professional relationships
that could lead to increased social capital after graduation.
In summary, the primary recommendations for practice in better supporting low-income
college students seeking unpaid internships with entertainment companies are to provide
additional financial support, and to restructure employer and university internship offerings to
have more educational value. Ensuring that low-income college students have sufficient financial
and educational support to be able to fully engage and learn on their internships would be
extremely beneficial to ensure that they are developing sufficient skills and contacts to obtain
work after graduate)on. Offering additional information on current industry practices to families
and faculty, as well as increased opportunities for networking with faculty, alumni and peers,
would also be recommended to ensure low-income college students’ microsystems are
supporting them to the best of their abilities. The next section will cover limitations and
delimitations of this study for additional context.
Limitations and Delimitations
There are several limitations and delimitations involved in the study. Limitations
constitute factors that are beyond the researcher’s control. First, the research assumes that
participants respond truthfully to all questions. Second, the research depends upon the openness
and availability of the participants to share their thoughts with the researcher within the period
that the research is being conducted; as students and alumni may be subject to varying schedules
and the study is to take place over a limited period of time, a limitation is the availability of
potential respondents given their other commitments over the study period. Third, with regards
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to the interviews, a preponderance of graduate students and a paucity of undergraduate students
were available to participate at the time the study was being conducted; thus, slightly more
graduate students were interviewed than undergraduate students, which may reflect an unusual
amount of representation from this population. Finally, a limitation for the study is self-selection
due to voluntary participation, which could create participation bias; as a result, students may be
inclined to share negative experiences about their internships because the focus of the study has
to do with the challenges low-income college students face in taking on unpaid internships.
With regards to delimitations, the scope of the research study is to understand the
challenges low-income college students face in gaining entertainment industry experience due to
the prevalence of unpaid internships. As the research is limited to current students and alumni
from various universities, the scope of the study is limited to those who are either enrolled in a
university or graduated from a university and does not include those who may have completed an
internship but did not finish at a university or completed an internship as part of a professional
development program with an accredited institution. The study also does not include other
stakeholder groups including entertainment industry employers (unless alumni may also be
employers and choose to comment from that additional perspective), faculty or university staff,
who may have different opinions and insights regarding perceived challenges for low-income
college students. Another delimitation is that the study is limited to students and alumni from 4-
year universities; while the percentages of low-income college students are increasing at 4-year
university campuses, this population is still more limited on 4-year campuses than on 2-year
community college campuses, which is outside of the scope of this study (Fry & Cilluffo, 2020;
López, 2018; Hoxby & Avery, 2012). As a result, the targeted group in the study represents a
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specific population of low-income college students and may not necessarily reflect the thoughts
and experiences of students not in a 4-year university environment.
Recommendations for Further Research
Several areas outside of the scope of this study arose that would be valuable topics for
further research. The scope of this study was focused on the differences between current students
and alumni; for the purposes of this research, no distinction was made between undergraduate
and graduate students. While current undergraduate and graduate students discussed similar
concerns, there may be nuances to each individual population that may be worth further research,
as their circumstances can vary considerably.
Another area worth further research is virtual internships; the study was completed in
2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic, and several of the participants mentioned working
virtual-only internships. As virtual internships have become more prevalent across all industries
after 2020, this may be an emerging field of research to see how virtual internships have a
specific impact on low-income college students. This concept is particularly true since many of
the expenses mentioned as being burdensome to low-income college students, including
transportation costs, may be eliminated if students are allowed to intern remotely.
The focus of this study was low-income college students, but first-generation college
students are often studied in conjunction with low-income students. First-generation college
students are particularly in need of social capital support, as their families have less ties to the
university, a proven source of social capital. More research on first-generation students
completing unpaid entertainment internships could be useful to understanding their unique
challenges, as they may be more nuanced than those that low-income college students face.
149

This study did not capture data on whether alumni are currently working in the
entertainment industry or are working in other industries. However, this consideration could be
important to understand the value of unpaid entertainment internships and potential ways to
improve practice. Further research to understand whether alumni that complete unpaid
internships later pursue work in the entertainment industry or switch fields, and the impact that
their unpaid internship experience may have had on their career decisions, would be useful to
understand further areas of improvement for unpaid entertainment internships on helping
students to understand their career interests.
Finally, a survey response elucidated some of the thoughts and feelings from an alumni
who was homeless as a student student expressed about being unable to even get to the point of
taking an internship because they lacked resources to compete with more privileged peers.
Homeless students face significant roadblocks in being able to complete their studies, and the
unique challenges they face would certainly be worth further research.
Conclusion
The study investigated the challenges low-income college students face in gaining
sufficient experience in the entertainment industry prior to graduation due to the prevalence of
unpaid internships in the field. This study provides significant insight into the thoughts and
feelings of low-income college students about their lived experience working unpaid internships,
the challenges they face, and in their reflections on interventions that would have better
supported them while they worked unpaid internships. Low-income college students need
additional support to be able to gain entertainment industry experience, particularly in
considering that social capital opportunities may be more limited within this population. In order
to address equity problems within the entertainment industry, as it has been in recent years with
150

movements including #OscarsSoWhite and #PayUpHollywood, it is critical to address these
challenges so that the opportunities available to individuals are not just limited to those already
privileged with significant social and financial capital. The results of this study may influence
policy and practice to make the entertainment industry more accessible to low-income college
students by addressing systemic inequity related to unpaid internships. By providing additional
financial support to low-income college students and improving the educational structure of
internship programs, low-income college students may have an opportunity to build necessary
skills in the entertainment field prior to graduation, and to gain successful employment in a
difficult industry to enter after they complete their coursework.
151

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178

Appendix A: Survey Protocol for Study
Question Open
or
closed?
Level of
measurement
Response options
(if close-ended)
RQ Concept being
measured
Gender: how do you
identify?
Closed Nominal Male
Female
Non-binary
Prefer not to
respond
2 Inequality
Which of the
following categories
would you use to
best describe
yourself (select all
that apply)?
Closed Nominal African American
Asian-American
International
student with
non-immigrant
(F1 visa) status
Hispanic-
American
Multiracial
Native Hawaiian
or other Pacific
Islander
Native American
White (European
origin)
White (Middle
Eastern origin)
Other
Prefer not to
respond
2 Inequality
What best describes
your combined
family/support
network income?
Closed Ordinal Under
$30,000/annual
$30,001–
60,000/annual
$60,001–
90,000/annual
$90,001–
120,000/annual
$120,001–
150,000/annual
Over
$150,001/annual
2 Inequality
Please indicate your
major:
Open Interval 2 Career
interest
179

Question Open
or
closed?
Level of
measurement
Response options
(if close-ended)
RQ Concept being
measured
What best describes
your class year?
Closed Nominal Freshman/first
year
Sophomore/second
year
Junior/third year
Senior/fourth year
Graduate student
(any year)
Alumni
2 Academic and
professional
background
How many
entertainment
internships have you
completed in total?
Closed Ratio 0
1
2
3+
2 Ability to take
on
internship
Which types of
entertainment
internships have you
completed?
Closed Nominal Paid (hourly)
Paid (monthly)
Paid (stipend for
whole semester)
Unpaid
Other: _____
1, 2 Ability to take
on
internship
Was your internship
virtual or in-person?
Closed Nominal Virtual
In-person
Hybrid (partially
virtual, partially
in-person)
1 Ability to take
on
internship,
career
interest
What was your title at
your internship?
Open Interval 1, 2 Career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship
What is the name of
the company you
interned with?
Closed Interval (fill in name)
I prefer not to
disclose
1, 2 Career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship
When did you work at
your internship?
Closed Interval Currently (spring
2022)
Fall 2021
Summer 2021
Spring 2021
Fall 2020
Summer 2020
1, 2 Career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship
180

Question Open
or
closed?
Level of
measurement
Response options
(if close-ended)
RQ Concept being
measured
Spring 2020
2019 or earlier
Overall, how satisfied
were you with your
internship?
Closed Ordinal Very dissatisfied
Somewhat
dissatisfied
Neutral
Somewhat
satisfied
Very satisfied
1 Career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship,
overall
internship
experience
Why did you decide to
take on an
internship?
Open Interval 1 Career
interest
How much do you
agree/disagree with
the following
statements?
My supervisor
provided me
with enough
support while I
was doing the
work.
My supervisor
mentored me
during my
internship.
While completing
the internship, I
wanted to
remain at the
organization
after the work
experience was
done.
My work duties
were
meaningful.
I felt committed to
the organization
Closed Ordinal Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor
disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
1, 2 Career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship,
overall
internship
experience
181

Question Open
or
closed?
Level of
measurement
Response options
(if close-ended)
RQ Concept being
measured
because they
treated me well.
I really liked the
organization
with which I did
my internship.
My internship
taught me a lot
of things that I
never would
have been able
to learn in the
classroom.
My internship
provided me
with a chance to
learn a lot about
the field,
profession, or
business.
My internship
helped me
determine that
this was a field I
was interested in
for a career.
My internship
required me to
use a number of
complex or
high-level skills.
My co-workers
helped to make
this a good
experience
The people I
worked with
were friendly
and helpful.
182

Question Open
or
closed?
Level of
measurement
Response options
(if close-ended)
RQ Concept being
measured
How did you support
yourself financially
while taking on an
unpaid internship?
Open Interval 2 Inequality,
financial
support,
career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship,
overall
internship
experience
Did your internship
employer provide
any of the following
to you as an unpaid
intern?
Closed Nominal Free food/lunch
Gas or
transportation
compensation
Stipend/cash gift
Free items/goods
Other perks: _____
None of the above
3 Inequality,
financial
support,
career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship,
overall
internship
experience
What could your
internship employer
have done to better
support you as an
unpaid intern?
Open Interval 3 Inequality,
financial
support,
career
interest,
ability to
take on
internship,
overall
internship
experience
If you are interested in
being contacted for
the interview phase
of the study, please
indicate your e-mail
here so that the
researcher can
contact you about
next steps:
Open Interval n/a For interview
participatio
n if
interested
183

Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview Protocol
Thank you so much for joining me today. My name is Caroline Fraissinet, and I’m
conducting a research study about unpaid internship experiences in the entertainment industry.
Your perspective is valuable in understanding how unpaid interns feel about internship
experiences and ways that internships can be improved in the future. However, participation in
the study is voluntary and you may choose to stop participation at any time.
With your consent, I would like to record the interview so that I may be able to capture
your thoughts and perspectives as accurately as possible. Would this be okay? (Y/N).
I’d like to start the interview by learning more about you and your experiences with
unpaid entertainment internships. Are you ready to begin?

Table B1
Interview Protocol

Interview
questions Potential probes
RQ
addressed
Key concept
addressed Q type (Patton)
Tell me about
why you
decided to
study
entertainment.
Tell me more about
this path to
pursuing
entertainment.
RQ1 Career interest Opinions/values
Tell me about
your
experience
interning in
entertainment
while in
school.
Did you do more
than one
internship? What
was the
experience (or
experiences)
like?
RQ1 Internship
experience
Behaviors/experiences
What led you to
want to take an
internship?
Were there
particular
motivations for
you pursuing an
internship? Tell
RQ1 Career interest,
internship
experience
Opinions/values
184

Interview
questions Potential probes
RQ
addressed
Key concept
addressed Q type (Patton)
me more about
this.
What types of
projects did
you work on at
your
internship?
What did you do on
your internship
shifts? What
tasks and skills if
any did you
develop?
RQ1 Career interest,
internship
experience
Sensory
What were the
main positive
things you got
out of your
internship?
What do you think
you learned on
your internship
that helped you?
What makes you
say this?
RQ1 Career interest,
internship
experience
Opinions/values
What difficulties
did you face
while
interning, if
any?
Were there any
factors related to
the internship
that made it
difficult to
balance
work/school/etc.?
What makes you
say this?
RQ2 Academic and
professional
performance
Opinions/values
How did you
handle the
finances of
working an
unpaid
internship?
Did you face any
challenges in
terms of finances
while interning?
How did you
address them
(parents,
scholarship, extra
job, etc.)?
RQ2 Financial
support
Behaviors/experiences
How can
employers
support
students
working
unpaid
internships?
Are there specific
things that
employers could
provide students
that would help
them in taking
unpaid
internships
(stipend,
transportation
RQ3 Inequality,
financial
support,
ability to
take on
unpaid
internship
Opinions/values
185

Interview
questions Potential probes
RQ
addressed
Key concept
addressed Q type (Patton)
money, food,
etc.)?
How can
universities
support
students
working
unpaid
internships?
Tell me more about
what your
university did or
did not do to
help.
RQ3 Inequality,
financial
support,
ability to
take on
unpaid
internship
Opinions/values
What do you
think would be
important for
employers to
know about
unpaid interns
so they can
better support
them?
What would you
want to tell
entertainment
employers after
having taken an
unpaid internship
to help them
improve their
programs?
RQ3 Inequality,
ability to
take on
unpaid
internship
Opinions/values
In what ways
was your
internship
experience
relevant to
your field of
study?
Did your internship
work directly
support or
contradict what
you learned in
the classroom?
RQ1 Career interest Opinions/values
What are your
feelings about
pursuing a
career in
entertainment
after having
completed an
internship?
Did your internship
make you feel
more positively
about your career
plans, or did they
make you feel
that you wanted
to switch gears?
RQ1 Career interest Feelings/emotions

That concludes all of the questions that I had prepared for today. Is there anything else
you’d like to add before we end the session today? (Y/N).
186

Thank you so much for your time, attention and participation. Your perspectives will
greatly help not only my research, but to influence practices that may help interns, companies
and universities to create more effective internship programs.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of the research was to understand the challenges low-income college students face in gaining entertainment industry experience due to the prevalence of unpaid internships in the field. Unpaid internships are a key means by which students build entertainment experience prior to graduation; as low-income college students may not be able to afford to work for free for extended periods of time, they are often put at a disadvantage in gaining sufficient entertainment industry experience compared to higher-income peers. The conceptual framework for the study was based upon Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Bordieu’s social capital theory. The methodology included a survey and interviews with current low-income college students and alumni who identified as low-income college students when completing coursework. The findings established that low-income college students are in need of more supplemental financial support and that more formalized educational structure is necessary in internships themselves as well as in internship credit courses. The study generated concrete recommendations for practice to improve financial and educational support for low-income college students to ensure that access and inequality issues related to unpaid internships within entertainment are addressed.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Fraissinet, Caroline Mary (author)

Core Title Internal affairs: understanding challenges low-income college students face in unpaid entertainment industry internships

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2022-08

Publication Date 06/06/2022

Defense Date 05/06/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag career development,ecological systems theory,Entertainment,internship,low-income college student,OAI-PMH Harvest,social capital

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Picus, Lawrence Oscar (committee chair), Canny, Eric (committee member), Lynch, Douglas Eugene (committee member)

Creator Email carolinefraissinet@gmail.com,fraissin@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC111339143

Unique identifier UC111339143

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Fraissinet, Caroline Mary

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20220608-usctheses-batch-945 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

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