Lot's Wife Edition 4 2016
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STUDENT<br />
LODE of crap<br />
By Ruby Muller<br />
Illustration by Elizabeth Bridges<br />
et Job Ready with an Internship Today from LODE!”<br />
“G No doubt you’ve seen these bad boys plastered<br />
all over your Facebook page. Maybe you’ve even been tagged in<br />
one by a mate or an over zealous parent. I was, which is why I<br />
filled out an an application.<br />
Silly, silly me.<br />
These things always come at a price, something I wish I had<br />
remembered as I started giving them my personal details and<br />
wasting time thinking up a witty 100 character response to<br />
“How will your colleagues remember you after you have completed<br />
your internship?”.<br />
The real answer is they won’t, because I won’t be doing one.<br />
At least not through a third party company. Which is exactly<br />
what those ads are for.<br />
So I got a call at 11:00 in the morning, bleary eyed and<br />
non-functioning until I got put on hold long enough to pour<br />
myself a coffee. It was from the internship people—hurrah! I<br />
had succeeded! Or not. But kind of.<br />
They loved me. They loved me so much they wanted me to<br />
do a Business Administration and Management double diploma<br />
on top of my Science and Journalism double degree (yay!). All<br />
so I could get a 3 month unpaid internship. It’s all going on<br />
my HECS anyway, right? So I persisted with almost an hour of<br />
questions and career coaching, which was all very helpful. But<br />
then the wonderful lady on the other side of the receiver said<br />
those magical words (or rather, numbers).<br />
“Fourteen thousand dollars.”<br />
$14k. On HECS, but—geez! Fourteen thousand dollars.<br />
For a 12-month online course. Through a college called “Ivy”?<br />
Sounds super legit.<br />
So I hopped on Google and found some alternatives that are<br />
all less than $3000 for almost the same thing. While the lady<br />
over the phone seemed to think that the extra $11k was well<br />
worth it just for the coaching and the internship, I’m not going<br />
to pay that much so I can not get paid for three months.<br />
According to LODE’s Facebook reviews, I’m not the only one<br />
either. Their single star reviews cite a myriad of false advertising,<br />
misleading sales tactics and unsolicited calls in order to get<br />
people to pay up to $16000.<br />
But it gets worse. It turns out their “winners” don’t even get<br />
an internship.<br />
One of these winners, who would rather remain anonymous,<br />
said that they only received a referral to another company,<br />
Navitas. Though they weren’t talked into paying for a diploma<br />
they didn’t need, the company was so hopeless at placing<br />
them into an internship, the entrant took another one in the<br />
meantime.<br />
So if you’re looking for an internship, or to improve your<br />
employability by completing a short course, do yourself a<br />
favour and shop around. Do your research and know your<br />
consumer rights.<br />
For instance, if you have just read this and are now amidst<br />
a panic attack because you yourself have accepted a course<br />
through one of these organisations, know that you are entitled<br />
to a 10-day cooling off period. At any time during this period<br />
you may cancel your purchase with a full-refund, even if it was<br />
loaned against your HECS. And if the business mislead you<br />
about their services, or coerced you into signing a contract, that<br />
contract is void.<br />
See? Research is your friend.<br />
And if you can’t be bothered doing the research yourself,<br />
here’s some I whipped up earlier.<br />
Certificate III in Business Administration at Monash.<br />
Government Funded<br />
Full: $1600<br />
Concession: $320<br />
While it’s not online, a bonus is that it involves real actual<br />
human beings teaching you. Neato! There are even courses specific<br />
to education and medical admin which are cheaper.<br />
Diploma of Leadership and Management at Monash.<br />
Government Funded<br />
Full: $2300<br />
Concession: $2100<br />
That’s right, this two day a week course is still a seventh of the<br />
cost of Ivy’s online option. And again, there are flesh and bone<br />
people involved. And if that’s too much of a commitment for<br />
you, how about a measly $600 for the Certificate IV?<br />
Dual Diploma of Business Administration + Diploma of<br />
Leadership & Management at the CAE<br />
12-16 month course.<br />
Full fee of $2995<br />
Payment plan of $44/week available, although total course fees<br />
increase due to banking charges.<br />
If you want the full package but don’t want to be an extra $14k<br />
in debt, how about the exact same thing for less than a third of<br />
the price? While it is upfront, it’s nothing a part-time gig over<br />
the summer holidays can’t pay for. Plus, it’s online if you decide<br />
to complete it while also working or studying full time.<br />
Career Connect at Monash<br />
Offered across all campuses, Career Connect assists students<br />
with career planning, course advice and practicing interview<br />
skills. While there’s no promise of an internship, they do<br />
provide free help to both current Monash students and recent<br />
graduates by polishing the skills required to get one.<br />
Individual Faculty Programs<br />
If you’re feeling really lost, contact your faculty. Most Monash<br />
faculties offer subjects or help services based around locating<br />
and completing industry experience. So call them up and discuss<br />
your options!<br />
Now you have no excuse—so get searching!<br />
Lot’s <strong>Wife</strong> | 7