You have to pay to play: housing costs and barriers to participation for student interns

What is it about?

Many low-income students are unable to participation in internships because they lack the financial resources to do so. For some students, the cost of housing and relocating to the internship site proves to be an insurmountable barrier. This paper uses content analysis to examine the types of benefits or supports related to housing, relocation, and childcare that employers are providing to paid interns. Data for this paper includes job advertisements posted to Handshake, the largest early career networking platform in the U.S. During the period studied, less than 11 percent of internships advertised indicate that the employer was willing to provide some type of housing or relocation support, only 107 employers across the U.S. Only 53 employers are willing to provide the highest level of support, free company-sponsored housing. Internships that do offer employer support are clustered in the fields of business, engineering, and research, providing almost no internships for students in other fields.

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Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Currently, internship participation is largely limited to students who have access to substantial financial resources. Many low-income students are unable to participate in internships because they lack the financial resources to do so. For these students, the lack of employer supports, particularly the cost of housing and relocating to the internship site, proves to be an insurmountable barrier. As a result, the inability pay to participate in an internship can act as a gatekeeper, permanently excluding students with from lucrative and meaningful job opportunities. To level the playing field among all students, employers need to consider offering free or subsidized company-sponsored housing to student interns. While some employers do offer support, the number of students needing support far eclipse the number of internship positions available.