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Interns

While there is a lot of talk of the 'next generation' being too coddled by their parents, I personally had two experiences with interns that shocked me into being a believer. They were never taught how to work, and they did not know that hard work translates into more responsibility.

One summer intern, who could not follow directions, told a full-timer that she would be nice to him when she was his boss. She didn't last the summer.

The other, a journalism intern no less, didn't see the importance of knowing how to spell correctly. It got to the point that he caused more work than what he contributed.

At my office, owing to the perpetual shortage of office space, we generally put the summer interns in computer labs. The work environment in these labs can be a mixed bag. On the one hand, there's plenty of room to move around, 'cause they tend to be spacious. On the other hand, there's usually a load of computer equipment running, resulting in noise and heat (or, paradoxically, chill, if you happen to be sitting near an HVAC vent), not to mention a dearth of desk space.

But maybe the least pleasant part of it, or so I once thought, is that we might stuff a whole school of interns in one lab, packing them like sardines in a can. One year, when we'd given nine interns about four linear feet of desk space each in one of my labs, I went in to talk with them near the end of the summer. I asked them how they'd liked working with us, how happy they were with the projects they'd been given, what they thought of living in the New York City area, and that sort of thing. They had had a positive experience, overall.

Then I asked about the accommodations. "How about the office space? Pretty crammed in, hm?"

"No!" they said as one. "It's great having all of us together like this. We really get to bond, and it's good for working together."

OK, so. What would be anathema to me was all to the students' delight. Go figure.