I had internships with a congressman and judge in which I learned a great deal about the workings of these Government institutions. The connections also served me well. That being said, I can see that things have evolved over the years with some companies totally taking advantage of free labor for what they would have often paid to have done. At my last corporate job in the US I had an intern work for me, provided him quite a bit of insight - he even worked several months beyond the time required to earn the college credit because I structured his work to be quite meaningful. Other co-workers who could have had free interns passed up the opportunity because it did require work on our part - it wasn’t without its cost in the time devoted o mentoring.
I haven’t read the actual opinion - I do hope it leaves room for well structured internships, not the ones that have been so abused by companies that the kids really don’t get much out of them. At least the abusive internships should be gone.
It sounds like you did it right LibertyOh.
Internships are modern versions of indentures, and put training obligations on the employer in lieu of wages. It’s a contract, and the case is another example of the contempt for contracts that has developed generally—but especially in the public sphere.
I had a dozen interns work for two summer months in the newsroom when I was in the scribbling profession. Most all were good writers but the “beat” concept was new to them.
Engineering internships pay nicely. Any job that does not pay is a joke.