Cambridge is cut-throat when it comes to careers. Scrolling through LinkedIn is my own personal war zone as I dodge posts about a mutual’s 17th internship this summer. Conversations with friends become mini networking events as they boast about their week’s work experience at NASA or the UN. Seriously, what’s next? Shadowing the Prime Minister? From the trenches of unaccomplishment, I can’t help but find everyone’s success a little grating. This is because of one little detail that many gloss over: they’re not getting a penny for it.

“It’s not fair and it’s not feasible”

Oh, the joys of unpaid labour. Many, including myself, have grit their teeth and bared it as we spend hundreds of pounds commuting to London (because it’s always London) to spend a few weeks with a smile plastered over our faces, restraining the urge to get on our knees and beg for a job. Living in Devon, I’ve had to fork out extra money to stay in college over the vacation period just to reduce my expenses by the smallest of levels. It’s not fair and it’s not feasible. I have to siphon money away from my student loan, college grant and summer job to be prepared for a chance of progressing my future in any way while the seemingly endless hub of affluent Londoners at Cambridge can hop between corporate offices with no bother.

And yet, I’m luckier than most. At least I have the option to stay in my wealthy Cambridge college which has the means to offer me some grant money to soften the blow. Some can’t afford that luxury and have to turn down potentially amazing experiences because they can’t afford the cost of staying in the capital and working for free. While 55% of middle-class graduates in the UK have completed an internship, working-class graduates are slipping down the career ladder by no fault of their own.

It’s not that unpaid work experience or internships are futile. On the surface, they seem a fair deal: employers can access the pool of talent and get some extra help, while interns get a shiny example for their CV, can develop new skills and maybe make some connections in the industry. Experience is key at this stage - as we graduate and enter a world where we’re all competing for a declining number of jobs, any way to distinguish yourself is invaluable. If you’ve already made an impression, that’s one hurdle you’re over. But for many, working for free is only viable in small, short doses. Cambridge is already an expensive city which I have to make provisions for during my stints of work at home, dropping me into London for a month’s internship after term’s over will wipe me out. It can feel so disheartening seeing more well off peers working for prestigious companies in fields they are passionate about while I have to turn things down. I can’t afford to spend on hope for a potential job.

“Companies advertising positions for an unpaid intern close themselves off to some of the best and brightest”

Since 2018, 61% of internships advertised have been unpaid. This isn’t only bad for people in my position though. It’s bad for employers. Companies advertising positions for an unpaid intern close themselves off to some of the best and brightest who could bring so much to their business. If you want to diversify your team, don’t put in place initiatives that only benefit the most privileged: a survey by social mobility charity Sutton Trust found that of the graduates who had completed internships, only 40% went to state schools whereas 71% of those who went to private school did.

For many students, unpaid internships or work experience are not stepping stones - they’re sinkholes. While the government has (rightly) pledged to ban unpaid internships, little movement has been seen as of yet. Until we level the playing field, the no-man’s-land that is finding a job post-university will continue to be dominated by the same most-advantaged types. My advice until then? Stay the hell off LinkedIn.