If you’ve ever had a bad experience at an internship, you might take some pleasure in hearing this news.

NBCUniversal has agreed to a $6.4 million settlement in a class action suit brought by thousands of former interns.

The interns claim that NBCUniversal violated state and federal labor laws by not paying them minimum wage for the work they did.

Despite settling in the case, NBCUniversal denies any wrongdoing. The average award to a member of the class action will be $505.

NBCUniversal probably settled because of the precedent set in a 2013 decision by a US district judge which compelled Fox Searchlight Pictures to pay two interns who worked on the 2010 movie Black Swan. The judge ruled that their work had risen to the level of regular employees and directly benefitted the production company.

At this point, some of you might be thinking that you would kill to have an unpaid internship working on shows like Saturday Night Live. Internships can provide valuable experience and contacts for aspiring workers in the field. For many students, unpaid internships lead to a full-time job with the employing company in short order.

If settlements like this one spread, it could serve as a major disincentive for companies to run internship programs. Such a development could be devastating for students in an economy where firms are unwilling to hire inexperienced workers. 

Then again, the prominence of unpaid internships also speaks to the disturbing unwillingness of many companies to pay their workers  what they are owed.

Are internships exploitative? Let us know in the comments section below.

Jeremiah Sawyer

Role at the UMBC Career Center: Coordinator of Internships & Employment

 Q: Where have you earned your college degrees?

A: UMBC 

Q: What program(s) did you study? How did you choose your major?

A: I did PSYC w/ a PSYC of the workplace certificate.

I chose my major based on my natural skills, abilities and interests. Though… I did originally start our wanting to study Ancient History.

Q: Tell me about the job and internship process when you were in college. Were you able to find job/internship positions that were related to your major or your career interests?

A: It’s amusing to be on the internship team as a staff member since I did do an internship with them (Kerry & Christine) while a student. I searched around UMBCworks and applied to a few things, but got my own internship by applying directly to Discovery Communications. It was hard for me to find things that matched my interests (Human Resources), but it has improved since then.

Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

A: “Desire is when you do what you want, will is when you can do what you do not want.”

Q: Why should students visit the Career Center?

A: You should come to the Career Center to get started with what you are doing. Not everyone is looking for their career or internship right now, and that is okay. Many times we can help you start looking for part-time/on-campus positions, or connect you to an employer that comes on campus, and/or etc. If you just want to come by to ask us questions, we would be happy to answer them.

Q: What is your favorite aspect about UMBC?

A: I like the diversity of the students and the way the University supports most of their efforts and energies in to making UMBC even better than it is. Also, URCAD is a really awesome day for everyone; if you haven't been, you should go.

Q: What is one item on your bucket list?

A: I'd like to go backpacking in Peru one day....

Q: What is one aspect of the DC/Baltimore area that you often explore?

A: The Mall. I've been there a million times, but I always find something new or fun to do.

Want to connect with Jeremiah or any of our great Career Center team? Call our office at 410-455-2216 or check out our contact us page here: http://careers.umbc.edu/aboutus/

Headed to Professional School?

Selecting the Best Graduate Program for You

Applying

Here in the Office of Alumni Relations, we spend a lot of time telling stories about and talking with our wonderfully supportive alums. However, we’ve decided to turn the tables and take time to get to know the people behind the scenes – the  advancement and alumni relations staff members who are hard at work on behalf of our alumni. Today we’ll be hearing from Amy Dalrymple, the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations.

Name: Amy Dalrymple
Job Title: Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
Focus Area: Provide general oversight of alumni and career programs, with focus on building alumni chapters & communities and alumni career programming.
Years at UMBC: 0 (3 weeks)

Q: Where are you from originally?

A: Just over the Maryland line in Hanover, PA.

Q: What do you love most about UMBC?  

A: While I’m still very new to the UMBC community, its clear that everyone — faculty, staff, and students alike — shares the same enthusiasm for the institution.  Apparently Retriever Fever really is contagious…

Q: What’s your favorite thing about your job?

A: I love getting to know alumni and learning more about their ties to UMBC.  Every alumni story is different, and I’m privileged to have the opportunity to help foster that relationship every day.

Q: Have you ever done anything crazy or out of the ordinary?  

A: It occurred to me recently that I’ve publicly performed no fewer than 6 self-choreographed dance routines at different points in my past.  I’d have to say that’s a tad brazen for someone who has no formal (or informal) dance training as I’m confident that it shows.

Q: What’s the most recent book you’ve read?

A: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 

Q: Who do you admire and why?

A: As a former college athlete, I’ve had many coaches over the years.  One will always stand out to me for teaching me the value of accountability, compromise, resiliency and integrity.

This event is hosted by an off-campus organization. It is not a UMBC event. We are sharing it with you because of your interest in service.

Northwest Neighbors Connecting (NNC) is an organization working to build a strong social network of members and volunteers, through service-based committees, and partnerships with professions, business, and community organizations. 

On Sunday, November 16, from 8:00am to 12:00pm, NNC is looking to recruit 300 volunteers of all ages and skill levels to winterize homes and help with yard maintenance for senior citizens of Park Heights. 

For more information or to register for the event, email rrudo@chaibaltimore.org, call (410) 500-5314, or visit chaibaltimore.org. Register before November 7th! 

For those who were able to make it to Jason Pappas’ first of two workshops on “How to Finance Your Business” this past Friday know what a wealth of knowledge he has to share. He discussed some of the differences between bootstrapping a business, what Pappas refers to as “The Ramen Noodle Method,” and some of the more traditional methods of financing your startup.

Attached to this post you will find a PDF document that shows the flowchart discussed during the workshop.

Very basically, once you come up with your business idea, you have to figure out how to make it grow. One method is to bootstrap it. To bootstrap it, you can utilize credit cards or take profit earned and reinvest it into business development. Many companies have had success with this method, but many more have nothing but copious amounts of debt to show. Pappas notes that some businesses begin by bootstrapping and quickly move over to a more traditional financing method.

There are two simple methods of financing your business; you can finance through debt or through equity.

Relying on debt requires you to pay interest and put up some form of collateral should you default on the loan. Some forms of debt financing include: going to a bank, asking friends and family, or getting a Small Business Loan. Pappas recommended the SBA for low interest loans and even has financed a few of his businesses through this program.

The other method is to give equity in your company in exchange for funds and expertise. There is no need to provide collateral, which many entrepreneurs just starting out don’t have an asset to put on the line, most investors bring some expertise in a skill that could be beneficial, and the risk is shared in case of a failure. Yes you have to give up a portion of your company, but my philosophy is that “I would rather have a small piece of a large pie than a large piece of a small pie.”

Pappas discussed 4 types of equity: friends/family & fools, angel investors, venture capitalists, and private equity firms. Friends and family are often the first place many people turn to get started. There are some caveats to be aware of here. Be sure to accurately valuate your company before giving equity away to anyone. Also, Pappas recommends, “Never put non-delusion clauses in an equity agreement at this stage. The next stage investors simply won’t invest.” Dilution is the subsequent sale of shares of stock at a price per share less than that paid by the preceding investor. As an example you sell to your mom 10% of your business for $50,000, meaning that you value the company at $500,000. At your next stage, you sell 10% of your company for $250,000, meaning you a valuing the company at $2.5 Million. No investor is going to pay 5 times the amount your mom did for the same equity in the company and will therefore want to dilute her share to a more accurate 2%.

Angel investors are often the next stage people move into to find investors. Angels are people who have typically had some successes in the past and have money to invest in startup companies. This is the stage in which many incubators and accelerators are beneficial to companies starting out. They will help you get to the next stage.

Venture capitalists are often the third stage of investment and prefer to work with companies that have graduated from the startup stage and are now in the “Early Stage.” They have some success, some profits, and maybe a number of employees.

The final stage Pappas discussed was private equity firms. Private equity companies typically only invest in companies if they can become the majority shareholder, 51% or more. This is often a great opportunity for business owners to cash out and move on to their next company or retire altogether. Pappas’ company, Antson Capital Partners <http://antsoncapital.com/> is a private equity firm that buys out companies in the Baltimore and mid-Atlantic region.

Pappas has agreed to do a follow-up workshop on Financing Your Business on November 17 from Noon – 1pm in entreSpace. The focus of this workshop will be on valuating your company as well as what investors want to see at each stage of investment.

You can download the unedited audio of the workshop here. Make sure you download the attached pdf document illustrating the flow of investment.