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One of my first actions as a Londoner was to sign on for as many benefits as I could get my hands on In my puerile post-university fantasy, the move to London was one that could be made with consummate ease: a house would be found, and, once inhabited, keys would fit the locks and boilers wouldn’t break Sadly, hazards both unforeseen and ignored at the time of ‘planning’ have wrecked the fantasy   Perhaps the most troubling part of the process has been the search for part-time work in the media and publishing sectors With no internet access in my flat, looking for work is slow The correlative impulse to simply grab my coat and pound the streets with a clutch of CVs is similarly curtailed by the need to sit around the house for large chunks of the working day while I wait for the boiler repair man to turn up with some spare part or other As a result, I’m about to start an almost-full time internship, without any source of income, and a rapidly diminishing pile of savings   The benefits system is plagued by injustices, though I can’t claim to have encountered the most serious of them Nonetheless, the fact that there is no Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) provision for someone doing over 16 hours a week of voluntary work is symptomatic of this government’s myopia towards the provision of welfare There is no qualitative distinction made between work that is socially useful and work that serves no valuable function to either the individual or society   Internships, payment for which rarely extends beyond basic expenses, are a crucial step on the career ladder for today’s generation They offer vital experience in a professional context, a prerequisite of any job application in our times Sadly, some of the most ethical, social-justice orientated employers operate on a shoestring budget Interns and volunteers are therefore essential to their continued operation People should feel no shame in seeking financial support from the state The economic logic presented by the government’s welfare provision is catch-22: to fulfil personal ambitions you may need to