Somewhat of a shower thought: the intern system at a large company oftentimes selects out people who cannot afford to even be interns, thus causing the class gap to be widen; the apprentice function of trades very much does not.
That may be true in industries that require wealthy clients (e.g. art galleries) but in computing (and the unionized trades) interns /apprentices are paid.
I am absolutely specifically thinking of unpaid internships in the tech/startup industry. Trades are an example of getting paid as a journeyman, while doing useful work for the company from day 1.
I've interned at an art gallery. I didn't mind getting paid, as I was also getting course credit (and the work wasn't all that hard anyways). But the art was sold on consignment - NO ONE got paid unless the art moved off the walls, and if I did sell a piece, I got a commission for that. But I wasn't interning for a future career working in an art gallery, I was interning as an artist.
The art world is its own special type of hell for those who aren't super wealthy. To sell items that intrinsically have no utility is a pretty weird business. The unpaid intern that's watching a gallery while doing their coursework on a Thursday afternoon while no one comes in is the least of its problems.
> Trades are an example of getting paid as a journeyman
You’re correct in that trades people do get paid while working. However, to add some nuance, I think the rate is going to depend on the trade, company, location, education completed, and work hours completed.
My brothers have their red seal and work as tradesmen. It’s 40-50% of the journeyman rate for 1st years. There are 4 years of schooling and something like 2,000 hours of work required between each level of schooling (there is a tolerance to early start / late start). Wages increase when the apprentice hits specific hours worked milestones or school level completion milestones.
This applies to BC, Canada. As I said before, this may depend on location, so it may not be the same where you are.
