Unpaid software internships are for suckers. * If an intern is providing value for the company, they should be paid. * The barrier to someone providing value

Unpaid software internships are for suckers. * If an intern is providing value for the company, they should be paid. * The barrier to someone providing value as a programmer is extremely low. A bright, hard-working sophomore CS major should be getting paid as an intern. * Students are often at an information disadvantage, in that they are not aware of how valuable they are. * The idea that internships at Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, etc don't offer the ability to write production code is ignorant of these programs. * Companies which are willing to take advantage of an information disparity to underpay interns are also likely to underpay their other full time employees.