Education, internships, and the new paradox of independence in the age of AI

Young people are encouraged to invest heavily in education — and parents often invest just as much alongside them. Yet when independence takes longer, judgment comes quickly.

Speak Your Mind! 🎯 “Is Education Still Worth the Investment?” by Dejan Trpkovic

07–FEB–2026 | A recent article in The Telegraph points to a growing frustration among young people: gaining meaningful work experience has become increasingly difficult, even before the first job enters the picture. Internships, once seen as a natural bridge between education and employment, are now harder to access and often less substantial than they used to be.

This sits at the center of a broader paradox.

Internships closely related to one’s field of study are more valuable than ever. Employers expect graduates to arrive with practical experience, proof that they can apply what they’ve learned. At the same time, those very opportunities are being reduced, shortened, or reshaped. In some sectors — particularly fields like media, technology, and policy — they are quietly disappearing.

This is not happening in a vacuum. Employers themselves are under pressure. Rapid technological change, global uncertainty, cost constraints, and the growing use of AI have transformed how work is organized. Many entry-level tasks that once formed the backbone of internships are now automated or absorbed elsewhere. From an employer’s perspective, taking on interns has become more complex, more resource-intensive, and sometimes harder to sustain, especially for smaller firms.

Seen this way, the issue is not a lack of goodwill on either side. It is a system adjusting to new realities.

This paradox connects directly to another trend we have explored: young adults staying longer in the parental home. Longer education paths followed by delayed or unstable entry into work make financial independence harder to reach. When early experience is fragmented or postponed, the transition from education to adulthood stretches even further.

At PRODIREKT and Verbalists Education & Language Network, we work closely with young people navigating these transitions. What we often see is not hesitation or passivity, but uncertainty about where meaningful experience can actually be found.

From that perspective, one view is clear: young people may benefit from not waiting only for perfectly packaged, paid internships to appear. Study-related internships — even when unpaid — often offer real value: exposure to professional environments, hands-on learning, mentorship, and networks that are difficult to build elsewhere. For many employers, especially smaller organizations, internships involve real costs in time, supervision, and training, and the exchange is experience for contribution.

In a world where employers increasingly look for evidence of initiative and applied skills, these experiences can play a crucial role in shaping early careers.

This does not mean internships should be superficial or disconnected from learning. On the contrary, their value lies precisely in how closely they align with a field of study and how much responsibility and insight they offer.

The value of education itself has not disappeared. What is being renegotiated is the path that follows it. If education remains a major investment, then the transition from learning to working life needs to be more realistic, more flexible, and better aligned with how careers and independence now unfold.

In a related article: Young Adults Are Leaving Home Much Later. And No – It Is Not Laziness., I explored how these pressures contribute to young adults leaving home later and what lies behind this global shift.

The challenge ahead is not choosing between education and work, or paid versus unpaid experience. It is finding practical ways to connect learning, experience, and independence in a world that no longer follows old timelines — but still judges young people by them.

Managing Director, PRODIREKT
Founder of Verbalists Education & Language Network