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How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy | Ross Perlin | Talks at Google

4,071 views · Published 13 May 2011 · 58:17 · Indexed 4 November 2026

Channel: Talks at Google · 2011 · People & Blogs

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Ross Perlin spoke to Googlers in Mountain View on May 11, 2011 about his book Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy.

About the book:


"How many interns does it take to screw in a light bulb? Who cares, it's free. If that joke triggers cringe-inducing memories of schlepping coffee, Perlin, an intern turned intern activist, is your man.

His exposé on the internship model initiates a critical conversation on internships—when are they exploitative and when are they necessary? can they help you land your dream job?—and his thoughtful book is necessary reading for the millions of young people trying to break into the working world through internships. Perlin covers the complicity of colleges, many offering dubious internship programs aimed more at generating revenue for the school than benefiting students. Not even the federal government's massive, intensely competitive internship programs escape Perlin's scorn; he describes them as a hotbed of nepotism and squandered talent—but still, the right government internship is an all but necessary career step for an aspiring politician.

Fortunately, Perlin also offers hope and bright solutions, and ends the book with an Intern Bill of Rights and the observation that "a general strike of all interns would show all they contribute for the first time a delicious low-level chaos to the world's work." --Ben Zarov is an intern at Publishers Weekly

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