Posted in seccion blog - Blog
On my way to the office, in the metro, I was reading a book, trying to fulfill one of my intentions for this year "to improve my English level". After re-reading the same paragraph over and over again, and not being able to understand a single word, I took my eyes off the book just to give my mind a rest and to see how many stations were left to go. This is when my attention was attracted by a conversation of two young men that were standing next to me.
- So, finally, will you go for it?
- Are you kidding me? No way! They told me that I would have to give support to the rest of the team…you know, making copies, doing things that they charge me with and stuff…They would pay me 300 euros, and that´s nothing…I know how these things go…you start as an intern and end up doing the same work as everybody else, or even more, and not being paid for it.
- Dunno, man, things are not going on very well right now…
- Yeah, but I think I´ll pass…I´ll just keep searching for something that I really like to do…
When they got off the train, I started to think. This conversation reminded me of an interview I had once with a young man that was supposed to start an internship in our company. At the end of the interview he asked me if he would have his personal parking spot and if we were going to pay for his meals. I did not know how to react. One part of me wanted to roar with laugher, and the other one wanted to grasp him by the collar of his shirt and say “wake up, kid!”. Of course, I did neither of these things and I came to nothing more than thanking him for his time. Not a very long time ago, I also had an internship contract. I remember that at that time we were ready to fight for the opportunity to work and to learn in a company. We knew that it was the best way we could start our professional career and to gain experience. We did not care if they were paying us, and if the company paid the cost of the transport, it was considered a luxury. I am not saying that these days young people should work for free, it is just surprising me that they are not ready to start from zero, despite of knowing that the present situation is very difficult.
Not so long ago, I read that there are more lawyers in Madrid alone than in France. I guess that these professionals are not the only ones who are in abundance, since every year Spain counts with thousands of graduates that are ready to start their professional journey. This fact surprises me even more, considering that they are aware of the complicated situation we are living through and a huge competition that is facing them. With all these competitors coming from the Spanish universities, as well as from the foreign ones, they keep worrying about a private parking spot, whether they will have to make copies or not, or that the salary of an intern does not cover their expenses. It is clear that there are only two options: to change priorities regarding their professional career, or, apart from enlarging the list of the unemployed they will belong to the generation of neets.
