I don't know what comment started this thread or the general tone, but I
thought I would comment on what I do as a heritage tourism consultant vis.
interns.
I pay interns, but I don't use them often.  I identify undergrad history
majors who have taken a research methodology course and excelled at it.  (I
talke to their professors).

I identify projects that have a scope of work that requires no travel and
can be accomplished in a reasonable time frame by a student with said
skills.  I pay them $10/hour.   Pretty good, is my understanding from the
students and their profs.  I give them an estimated time frame that I expect
it to me accomplished in (say thirty hours or fewer).  They have to provide
me the research in a format that I lay out, but they must use their own
equipment.

This has worked well for me.  I have used students for annotated
bibliographies, baseline biographical and specific event research, and will
continue to do this.  The students get
hands on experience with projects where they see the application between the
research and the final work product.  I share the economics of the specific
project with them.

My goal: to get history students from my alma mater to truly understand that
there exist myriad applications for a history major and it can pay the
bills.  Incidently, I do this a few times per year and primarily
with students from "Lewis and Clark College."  Please no requests for short
term work!

I do believe in the following:  " If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!"  No
offense to anyone.

TTFN
Mike


At 11:04 AM 8/17/96 -0400, you wrote:
>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.
>
>
>
>John Leeke, Preservation Consultant
>26 Higgins St., Portland, ME 04103, USA
>207 773-2306
>Old-House Journal, Contributing Editor
>AOL, HouseNet, Historic HomeWorks, Pundit, [log in to unmask]
>CompuServe, Handyman, Old Houses, SYSOP, [log in to unmask]
>
>
Mike Teskey
CommunityFirst! Partners
2088 Jasmine Street
Denver, CO 80207

phone: 303-393-7623
fax: 303-394-9876

e-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://www.csn.net/~tesk