In article <[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] (John
Leeke) writes:

>In my building preservation consulting practice I don't have employees,
>but do have interest from preservation students to become interns. My
>micro-company operates in the real world without benefit of excessive
>corporate profits or governmental financial backing. I don't pay my
>interns anything, infact they must provide themselves with liability
>insurance, remote and local transportation, and living expenses.
Sometimes
>I do provide lodging and meals. Even with these terms internships barely
>break even when I compare the value provided with the cost to my company.
>Not that there is little value generated by the intern, but the costs of
>dealing with an intern is considerable.
>
>My interns and I see the internship as a continuation of their education,
>and similar to the rest of their education, they are responsible for
>paying the costs.

I agree with you here.  I have just finished up an intership at the
Wadsworth Atheneum and it was unpaid like most of them.  However, I would
not trade in anything.  I learned such a tremendous amount.  If you go
into an internship looking for a nice way to make money, then you've
already lost the chance of getting everything out of it.  Of course it
would have been nice to be paid, but I managed to make my money at another
job.  You can't put a price on education, and when you try to, you simply
lose the point.  If it is money you are looking to make, I'd say go into
computers.  They have nice paid internships.  I'd prefer doing what I
love, not just what is going to make me rich.  Just my 2 cents.

Art Fleischmann