Why are students never paid their due?

Why do companies think its OK to pay students chump change, or better yet, nothing at all, just because we're in college? We're not slaves, and we don't need your mediocre jobs.
PS: I have 5 yrs work experience, yet because I am a student, they will only pay me $20/hr max. wtf?
/rant
PS: I have 5 yrs work experience, yet because I am a student, they will only pay me $20/hr max. wtf?
/rant
Comments
It's better than minimum wage. 'Round where I live, that pay's pretty good for the expected age group of 21-25 year-olds.
Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
In progress: CLEP US GOV,
Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
However! After I completed my schooling and numerous certifications....they didn't offer a raise or anything to keep me even though I was producing high quality work and had very satisfied customers. That was a problem! I started looking and moved on eventually...but I would have stayed with them if they had even made an effort to keep me and pay me better! Something to think about...
I just don't get where this is coming from. Being a student has and should have very little, if anything to do with one's earning power. I would be worth more than $20/hr without being a student and with no degree. Why is $20/hr suddenly acceptable? If OP's skills are sufficient to do a job that his or her employer values at more than $20/hr and for which they could not find an equally-or-better-suited candidate for $20/hr or less, then OP is almost certainly able to earn more than $20/hr and should seek that out.
Are we equating studenthood with lacking qualifications? Because that obviously makes no sense given that OP has certifications and professional experience. It's not like OP is a first-year law student working as a paralegal complaining that other paralegals make more. OP is a qualified professional and may well have experience and skills that are worth $25/hr or more.
Also, unless I've missed another thread, we don't even know where OP is. Five years of professional IT experience in NYC, for example, had sure better be worth more than $20/hr. Maybe that's reasonable for rural Dixie, but not everywhere.
Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
In progress: CLEP US GOV,
Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
I agree, but that's all we can assume about him is age. Sounds like he got an internship without knowing what an internship is all about. If that's the case, he's lucky it's $20. Or maybe he just got in with a crappy employer.
Yeah, using my area as an example was not the greatest example...I live in an IT wasteland.
+1 on this.
It's evident on my resume under that little section called "Education". I figure it's better to let them know that I'm a student working on my degree as opposed to someone with simply a high school diploma and some certifications.
I don't agree at all. "Working on" a degree means enrolled in classes and making progress. "Working on" a CCIE can be utter BS, meaning you do little to nothing. Many, probably most employers will verify your enrollment status. Some will even check for grades.
On that note, I don't like to see "working on" for certifications in a resume, but it is good to see in a cover letter. It indicates the candidate's trajectory, interest, and motivations. On a resume it looks like padding. I wouldn't say the same about school, though. In-progress education is a resume-worthy credential.
Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
In progress: CLEP US GOV,
Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
$20 an hour is graduate pay TBH. Starting grad pay, but still not what I would expect from someone in a student position.
Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
In progress: CLEP US GOV,
Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
I was more or less pointing out how "interns/externs" get screwed monetarily, not necessarily stating that you need college level education to make $20/hour. I didn't make that clear.
And I do agree, for the most part...except in metro Detroit wages are a bit lower than the rest of the US (but so is the standard of living). $12-$15 is the range I see for A+ work in the area and its not very often you see jobs like that. I have seen $8.00/hour for A+ recently, but I seriously doubt anyone with half a brain took the offer.
edit: And I should offer a qualifier, I make $11/hour but I also have a tremendous learning experience that I am two months into. I am sure my employer benefits from me greatly @ $11/hour, but then again where else could I do desktop support/application support, basic network trouble shooting then setup some network monitoring software (and if I wanted to stay late setup a firewall and/or setup a fail over switch & router)? Its a decent trade off.
Poor baby seals.
Microsoft is hosting a day long even in Southfield, RE: VMware and Hyper-V
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032563381&Culture=en-US&community=0
You going? I will be, even if its all WAY over my head...we could literally throw a rock from our parking lot and hit the building it will be in.
If you want to drive to Ann Arbor and pick me up, I'll fill your gas tank... otherwise, no.
My car =/= a snow car. My affinity for fast cars came back to bite me when I was offered a job up here in MI.
Complete: 55/120 credits SPAN 201, LIT 100, ETHS 200, AP Lang, MATH 120, WRIT 231, ICS 140, MATH 215, ECON 202, ECON 201, ICS 141, MATH 210, LING 111, ICS 240
In progress: CLEP US GOV,
Next up: MATH 211, ECON 352, ICS 340
Wait what was this post about? I only showed up to talk about baby seals, how did we get to Hyper-V (and other black magics)?
EDIT: Trailblazer of the Year Award!
Ill have you picked up by the new guy we just hired, he lives in Ypsi lol.
Well damn, another time then...
@ptilsen, I dont think anyone is willing to live here...
To be fair, you're working out of a large city right? I pointed out I worked in a small city and it was a part time job while I was taking 21 credits per semester. I was happy to be making a good amount of money for the part time job I was doing. I might have been earning my company 100-120 an hour but it sure beat the 7.50 an hour jobs that most college students end up with! Like I said, when I had graduated and obtained a number of other certs and they still didn't offer to give me a raise, I moved on with no problem!
The above poster has a A+, Net+ and if his skills are similar to his certifications (which they may not be), then yeah...5 years and two foundational certs in my mind is doing pretty well for 20 an hour while being a part time worker/student.
It really does come down to where you live and what opportunities are available! I moved on from that area after graduating and was able to double my salary with no questions asked.