”The underdog of society”

-That is, being its bitch.

There is this thing called internship. Invented by the office of unemployment to put unemployed to work. Or more precise…, to see if they got what it takes to rock it full time. That is one way of looking at it and when I think about it most likely its purpose. Or should I say intended purpose? Because certain companies out there don’t really use it in the way it is meant to be used. Allow me to brief.

When I first started out after graduating from Täby Enskilda Gymnasium, which was not only the best high school around but also my high school of choice, I had somewhat of a too bright view on the future to come. I imagined it to be all glory and shining. A few weeks of summer vacation before applying to a job of my taste and once that was done the money would be rolling in. But nothing never turns out the way you expected it to huh? It took more than a year before I got my first “job”. “Job” being an internship at Furniturebox.se, as a content uploader. Of course courtesy of the OU (office of unemployment). While the job was really fun doing, writing texts that described the furniture we were selling and I also got to help out down in storage where I actually had a thing or two to say about the pictures the company’s photographer took, on account of me having a photographic interest, not to mention some knowledge as well.

Pretty soon the period of the internship had expired, three months goes by awfully fast when you’re having fun and before I knew it my time had come. I got kicked out because I hadn’t produced enough material. At least that’s what the representative of the board told me two minutes after 18:00 on the last day on the job. As you all might imagine I wasn’t too happy over the verdict so to speak, mainly two things. I liked what I was doing and a solid paycheck at the end of the month wouldn’t be too bad either. I later found out that we interns are pretty cheap for the company who hires us. Guess how mutch we cost? Nada. And it is perfectly legal for the company to throw us out the door like a summercat and hires someone else to do their work for them, for free. Way to keep your ratings high without actually doing something about the situation.

A year later, which would be by now, 11^th of May 2014, I am still without steady fulltime work and thus without steady income other than my 3 grand I get from what you call it in English…, Department of Social security? Anyway, Försäkringskassan in Swedish. In the early days of March I landed yet another internship at XXL Sport & Wilderness as a bike assembler. It would last for two months before eventually, and what I secretly hoped so deep for, turn into a fulltime gig. Only catch was to produce no less than 16 bikes a day that would last. Man, I assembled two mountain bikes with 21 gears and man, those things aren’t easy to put together. Took me half a day to do it (which is about four hours). To do eight of these in four hours felt really far away for me. But enough times goes by you learn it and once you have, it goes faster. So I figured it would only take time before I mastered mountainbikes as well. In the meantime I turned wrapped in pieces of any bike that didn’t exceeded 7 gears into solid machinery that would survive an atomic blast (along with cockroaches and Google, not to forget). Around 10 of these a day I did, thinking it would be enough to get a number to use when I hit the clock in the morning and again in the afternoon. Yet no, when two months had passed (which was this Friday) my time had, once again come. At 15:23 I started on a pink shout kid-bike that would be my last. Understood with the fact that I was forced to go because of my quantity a day but annoyed over the miss of benefits such as a freaking huge paycheck that if I wanted would be good enough to get by on my own, in my own house – I spinned the wheel and adjusted the e-brake.

Now to a quick reflection that does to eye-catching headline justice. As I briefly stated before there are three ways in which the companies move towards us interns, all mysterious. First is to lie to us just to get another free worker – Cover it up with something that we as newcomers can’t argue with since we don’t set the production standard (Not enough production in my case). Second, to honorably “discharge” us just because we acurally didn’t reach the goal. And thirdly and in my experience most unlikely, hire us and start paying for the good work we do.

In all it’s an interesting world we live in. That cares more about quantity than quality per joe. I must mention that I had three co-workers at XXL who touched the area of 16 and therefore we all delivered. So what if one of us delivers ten which last rather than another new one who delivers 16 of discussable quality that anyway requires several hours of post adjustments that could be used for a few new bikes. We underdogs that just watch when the society of quantity companies punches us in the face just to make a buck, we shall rise (insert epic and out of this world geeky soundtrack that implies hope). Maybe not, but we shall all have our time in the spotlight. I myself am going back to university this fall and when I’m done in three years I am more prepared for the harsh conditions out here. And who knows, will I achieve my dream as a game reviewer for Gamereactor Magazine? In short, it occur to me as sad that they care more about money and quantity rather than quality and less overtime fixing these surplus bikes fallacies. Wonder if it would really hurt the production to hire me and let me continue to produce my ten two wheelers every day? As I said, enough times goes by I learn it and once I learn it – I work faster. Is it then possible to even outrun 16 bikes a day?

Exclaimer: Maybe bike assembly wasn’t my thing, apparently since I didn’t reach 16 that maybe someone with a more technical interest would. And when all dust settles, I am damn good at other things. Write for example (writingscoutes out there, that is a notch).

16 of these, pretty sure they might require some additional work plus some dissatisfied customers. Off course that's only my opinion, Sir.
Borrowed picture from the interwebz: http://milltagcc.com/millwp/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Ed-Bike.jpg