为钱工作还是付钱工作：无薪实习的困境
Work for pay or pay for work: The dilemma of unpaid internships
往日，当我在念大学的时候，已经是一个意气风发的年轻记者，但是我常常也有很不爽的时候。
Back in the day, when I was an aspiring young journalist working my way through university, I often found myself getting frustrated.
我知道我跟很多大学同学拥有一样的写作能力，然而我的作品在报章中所占的篇幅以及见报率却往往不如他们。
I knew I had the capability to write as well as any of my peers at university, and yet I wasn't getting quite the same level of coverage and published articles as they were.
我做错什么了吗？嗯，问题很简单：因为我坚持让别人为我的工作付费。
Where was I going wrong? Well, my problem was a simple one: I insisted on being paid for my work.
换句话说，我从来不为人免费工作，将来也不会。
Yes, as a preamble to today's post I guess I should open by making something clear.I have never worked for free and I never will.
想象一下，如果你叫一个水管工来修理你的厕所或者叫一个电工来修理你失灵的电灯插座，你们的对话会是这样的：
Imagine if you asked a plumber to come and repair your toilet or an electrician to fix your broken light socket. Imagine a conversation that goes something like this:
水管工：“好，修理费是300块。”
Plumber: “Ok, it's going to cost $300 for the repair.”
你：“噢，我不会付钱给你，但这对于你来说是一个展示才能的好机会，如果你干得好的话以后我可能会给你一些付费的活儿。”
Customer: “Oh, I'm not going to pay you, but this is a great chance for you to showcase what you can do, and maybe I will give you some paid work later if you do a good job.”
水管工：“……”
Plumber: “……”
在这种情况下，那位水管工很可能一言不合就把电话挂了，或直接(jiao)拒(ni)绝(gun)你(dan)。
At this point, the plumber would, in all likelihood, either hang up the phone or simply tell the customer to get lost.
我发现自己在2000年中期还是学生记者的时候就已经形成这种（水管工的）态度了。
And yet this was continually the attitude I found myself running into as a student journalist back in the mid 2000s.
但是今天众多学生面对这这一困境：他们被迫参加无薪实习。
This is a quandary that today thousands of students still find themselves being compelled to go along with, the unpaid internship.
“这是一个积累经验的好机会，让别人认识你，你也好去熟悉一下工作环境。“这是所有支持学生无薪实习的统一口径。
“It's a great way to get experience, to make a name for yourself, to get a feel for the working routine.” These are the kind of arguments put forward by proponents of the idea.
诚然，偶尔也有些无薪实习会变成日后一个全职工作的机会。
And to be sure, it is true that, on occasion completing an unpaid internship can lead to a full-time position further down the line.
然而，这种情况固然是例外，而非规则。无论是否实习，世界上所有的公司都会想雇用一些有经验的人，所以对于公司来说，不论是有薪还是无薪，请实习生都不是一件好事。
However, such instances are certainly the exception rather than the rule. Although it has to be said that in a world where companies are always looking for experienced candidates no kind of internship, paid or unpaid is ever a bad thing.
我觉得问题应该是双重的，一方面关乎道德和伦理，另一方面关乎金融问题。
I guess the real issues are two-fold, it is question of morals and ethics on one hand, and a question of financial necessity on the other.
简单地说，不管是出于什么考虑，我都会拒绝无薪实习。
Simply put, I would say no to an unpaid internship on both counts.
首先，基于我的工人阶级背景，我从小就被灌输这样的理念：“干一天的活儿领一天的钱。”如果你的工作有利于你所服务的公司，你是应该得到报酬的。期望一个人为你工作而不付薪水，在我看来是一种不负责任的行为。当然我知道你们当中有很多人，我亲爱的读者们，可能会反对我的这个观点，这的确是富争议性的问题。
Firstly, coming from a working class background, I was raised with the idea that a day's work deserves a day's pay. If you are engaged in work that benefits the company you work for, you should be compensated, even if the amount is little more than a token gesture. To expect someone to do work and not be compensated is, I believe unreasonable from a social responsibility point of view. Of course I realize that a great many of you, dear readers, may disagree with me on this point, this is after all a highly contentious issue.
有些人会说这是学生和那些职场新人向前辈学习的机会，谈报酬是急功近利的，他们实习的时候，就得到了很多经验和人脉，假以时日，就能够开花结果了。这是一个引人入胜的讨论，特别是在一个像中国这样富有竞争力的国家。当一个国家变得更加富裕，教育机会变得越来越多，人口也一直在增加，中国学生也必然感受到就业压力，会想尽各种办法让自己增值，好在找工作的时候占有优势。在这样的环境下，过剩的劳动力便造就了劳动市场的主导在雇主而非雇员手中，而实习机会又有限，这样一来无薪实习势必难以绝迹。
There are those who would argue that it is the responsibility of students and other aspirational young people to learn from their elders, and that financial gain should be set aside for the short term, in the name of gaining experience and building a network of contacts that will, in the fullness of time, hopefully go on to bear fruit. It is a compelling argument to be sure, especially in a country as competitive as modern China. As the country becomes more affluent and educational opportunities continue to expand to include more and more of the population, Chinese students will feel pressure to do all they can to give themselves a competitive edge when it comes time to seek a job after graduation. In such an environment, a surplus of candidates creates a job market where the power lies with employers rather than employees and as such internships with limited or no pay will continue.
欧洲和美国的情况还不明朗。随着人口老龄化，社会两极分化、贫富悬殊，很多人根本没有财力应对无薪水的实习，更别说这种实习能否保证后面的工作机会了。事实上这正是我做学生时的状况，对于许多学生来说，他们常常会在经济上遇到挑战，无薪实习实在是一个负担不起的奢侈品啊。
The picture isn't quite so clear in Europe and the US however. As populations age, and societies polarize between the haves and have-nots, many people simply don't have the luxury of accepting a job for no pay, regardless of the career opportunities it may unlock later on. Indeed this was my own position back when I was a student too. Being a student can often be a financially challenging situation for many people and as such an unpaid internship was a luxury I could not afford to entertain.
总的来说，尽管我个人反对无薪实习，但不可否认的是它能为你的简历锦上添花，特别是在竞争激烈的中国。而且不论你喜不喜欢，这种做法都不会很快消失，当然如果你能够负担几个月没有薪水的生活，这当然能对你将来的就业能力有很大的提高了。
In conclusion, whilst I personally am opposed in principal to the idea of unpaid internships, it cannot be denied that they make great additions to your CV, particularly in highly competitive economies like China. Like it or not, the practice isn't going away anytime soon, and if you can afford to go a few months without a salary then it is a highly effective way to boost your future employability.
