The rise of micro-internships: How students can take advantage (and avoid being taken advantage of) — from fastcoexist.com by Patrick Sullivan
The gig economy meets the college intern
Excerpt:
In today’s world, students don’t have to leave their dorm rooms to complete an internship halfway around the world.
From an actor looking for a short-term virtual assistant in Los Angeles to the U.S. Department of State seeking Virtual Foreign Service interns, college career offices are seeing more and more employers offer micro-internships to college students. For most of these opportunities, students are hired to work on a specific project or task, usually remotely, at the same time they are completing their coursework. While the rise in virtual internships is relatively new, a recent Internships.com survey found 71% of students would be willing to complete a virtual internship. Most college career counselors do not yet track virtual opportunities as they would traditional internships, though the University of Texas at Austin is reporting an uptick in these offers, and many expect interning remotely as a trend that will pick up across a range of industries.