<p>I was just wondering why so many people are eager to do unpaid internships? Why do you want to be free labor? In most cases, the company is breaking the law if they bring you on as an unpaid intern. And on top of that, your taking away a job from someone because if it was not for your free labor, the compnay would have to pay someone to do that job.</p>
<p>I know many people do unpaid internships so that they can get a job and make "connections' ut that does not always work out. My father knows the manager of Diddy's office in NYC very well (yes, that Diddy). They use tons of unpaid interns to do miniscule tasks like making coffee, etc. The managers laugh at the interns behind their back. They laugh at how they all think they are going to get hired by a major record producer and make a lot of money. But they know that is never going to happen.</p>
<p>Then you know people taking the wrong internships. </p>
<p>I do it because it gives me experience in my field, because it looks good to do something for love of it and not for the money, and because it gives me a better idea of what I want to do with my life, and the type of environment I want to work in. The connections don’t hurt either – but you’re right, sometimes that doesn’t pan out. </p>
<p>If you’re not doing substantive work at least some of the time. Why stay? My last internship I was writing blog posts, editing copy, updating the webpage, drafting e-mails, designing webinars, etc. I had a lot of fun doing it and the people were great.</p>
<p>"My last internship I was writing blog posts, editing copy, updating the webpage, drafting e-mails, designing webinars, etc. I had a lot of fun doing it and the people were great. "</p>
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<p>Would you have had as much fun if you knew you were stealing someone’s job and leaving them unemployed? How would you like it if, 5 years from now, you lose your job to an unpaid intern?</p>
<p>I’m not stealing someone’s job – no one is unemployed because of me. I worked for a large non-profit with a history of hiring unpaid interns, they cannot and have never paid someone to do the work I was doing. The purpose of their internship program was to give us an experience and to help us get a better idea of what we (as interns) need to do to get where the senior staff is today (as exemplified by frequent lunches by senior staff), not cut their bottom line. </p>
<p>And that won’t occur 5 years from now because I DID multiple, unpaid and stiped-based internships that gave me work experience, connections, and skills in high tech and social media that will give me a leg up in 9 months. I will enter the professional workplace at an entry level position, but that won’t be the case 5 years from now. Quite frankly, if you had the skills to do what I did, you’d have the position – I didn’t know anyone there like some of the other interns, I didn’t get in through connections, I busted my butt off to get their attention and it worked.</p>
<p>@homer 28…it’s called a free enterprise system for a reason</p>
<p>if a company can get cheaper and almost same quality labor (with prosperous career potential), why WOUDNT they hire unpaid interns who are equally if not more ambitious than some paid employee?</p>
<p>While it would be nice to get paid for the work you do, I view (legit) unpaid internships as an investment in human capital. At a good unpaid internship, you can really boost your resume while learning how to function in a professional environment. </p>
<p>My internship this summer was unpaid, however I was doing professional, published work that I ended up adding to my portfolio. Also, my boss was more than kind and I never once did any coffee runs. </p>
<p>You should really use interviews to sort out a respectable unpaid internship from an illegal one. For example, I was offered an unpaid internship at a hedge fund this summer and immediately turned it down when I found out that most of the work I’d be doing was essentially that of a receptionist. For that matter, I also turned down a paid internship at a marketing firm for the same reason. The point of an internship is to learn, so that should absolutely be top priority, imo.</p>
<p>“why WOUDNT they hire unpaid interns who are equally if not more ambitious than some paid employee?”</p>
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<p>I don’t know. Maybe because of labor laws. </p>
<p>If youre a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there arent going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law, </p>
<p>As others have said it’s a great learning experience. After I did mine, I had a much better idea of what career I want. I wasn’t taking anyone’s job. I was shadowing my boss and helping her by completing small projects. I think we both benefited from my internship. From my limited experience unpaid internships are easier to get, making them better for freshman and sophomores to gain experience.</p>
<p>Homer28, that’s why, when you check out a company offering unpaid internships, you should ask or find out if they’ve had a solid history of unpaid internships. Ask what the interns did after they left. You should also <em>really</em> look at the duties asked of the intern- it should be balanced between mediocre office work and actual projects that doesn’t require deep specialization. Good employers will give internships that will be very meaningful to a resume with follow-up references/recommendations. Bonus point if they offer academic credits.</p>
<p>a good friend of mine said, regarding an unpaid internship,
“I would rather work for free now, than work for free after graduation”.</p>
<p>Also, it has become a NECESSITY to have on your resume if you expect to get a good job post graduation. Everyone knows this, and some companies, such as University of Dreams, have actually started exploiting this and CHARGING INTERNS to work. Stupid.</p>
<p>What is considered a “bad” internship? Why?</p>
<p>Look around your family and see if any of them own a business. If they do, put on your resume that you worked for them, provided they are ok with it. That’s what lots of people do today.</p>
<p>Homer, I did an non-paid internship for a casual game company. Now I have a part-time job with them(part-time because I am in college also). I also have my name on a few game credits.</p>
<p>One thing Homer. You should get off this site and have a life.</p>
<p>redroses is definitely spot on. I started summer internship searching in January, and it was the very depressing and stressful. I tried almost every resource to find a job, but didn’t have any luck. However, with persistence, I ended up working two part time summer internships, one was paid, the other wasn’t. I gladly accepted the unpaid internship because I knew that our economy is in a sh1thole, and I know jobs are hard to find nowadays. </p>
<p>My friends and family ask me why I accepted unpaid internships? The reason is because I know that I could possibly gain valuable experience, not only for my resume but most importantly THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH, THE TYPE OF WORK YOU DO and THE TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT YOU’LL BE PLACED IN THE FUTURE. I put all caps to emphasize the importance of working for anyone even if it is a unpaid position.</p>
<p>I did an unpaid internship in 2009. Why? Because I loved the setting that I was able to work in. I was an intern in professional baseball. I was in the clubhouse, on the field, in the dugout, etc. It was awesome! I learned a lot and it was great to put on the resume. That helped me get a paid internship this summer…</p>
<p>Homer, if what you say about Diddy’s people is true, that’s really sad. My daughter has been doing unpaid internships in the music industry & there is no laughing-behind-her-back going on. She has gained extremely valuable work experience, along with learning what she does & does not like in terms of work within this industry. She is more aware of what it’s really like than she would be otherwise. She has met musicians & made industry contacts. She has gone to awards shows. She never took the place of a paid employee, although she did do work that benefited the firms. In a nutshell, she may not have earned money … but she got “paid” in many other ways.</p>
<p>Most definitely! My unpaid internship at a television station was one of the best experiences of my life! I got to learn so much, meet a ton of people, and I had more responsibility than I had ever had at a job! I learned more there than I had so far at school, lol! I turned to the internship when I couldn’t find a job this summer because I figured doing an internship that would actually benefit me and my [future]career would be better than doing nothing. It was DEFINITELY the right choice. I may have worked full time hours all summer for free, but it was well worth it! Plus this is a place where I could turn to for future internships or possible career opportunities. Multiple people told me I could come back and work with them (at least for free, lol) whenever I had the time :D</p>
<p>Tip: make your unpaid internship worth it. A helpful hint is to look at smaller businesses. The TV station I worked for was fairly popular, but the company itself is not very big. The staff was extremely small so they actually needed the help and had a lot for me to do. It was so much better than jumping into a huge company with a ton of employees that aren’t very willing- or have the time- to really let you learn a lot. Or somewhere where you’ll just be doing something simple, like answering phones or whatver. Of course you’ve gotta do what you gotta do, but it’s always great to look somewhere where you’ll actually have responsibility.</p>