5 ms·

I don't know anyone during my time as a student that took an unpaid internship. How common is this? All the internships and jobs my classmates and friends were

I don't know anyone during my time as a student that took an unpaid internship. How common is this? All the internships and jobs my classmates and friends were getting involved an exchange of money for goods/services. Who is taking an unpaid internship and why? edit: I'm not sure why I'm being downvoted for not having been exposed to this. If you're willing to take an unpaid internship it's your own fault.

Judgmentality 5y ago
Are you in the US? Also, are you in engineering/tech? Tech internships tend to pay surprisingly well, but many other fields in the US don't pay anything for internships and it's a notable exception when they do.
KittenInABox 5y ago
I know this is common in politics, activism, and certain law positions. I also know volunteer positions are expected of pre-medical students now.
ping_pong 5y ago
In Washington DC and Hollywood, I think it's pretty common. I haven't heard of this at all in Silicon Valley though. In fact interns are pretty well paid, $7500/month at my previous company.
- the_only_law 5y ago
  Speaking of DC aren’t all government internships unpaid?
  - throwaway3699 5y ago
    Yes, but I hear if you're attractive then the Commander in Chief will make it worthwhile.
  - sybercecurity 5y ago
    Not all. Some provide a stipend and/or housing allowance. Depends on the program and the agency running it. Congress now pays their interns too, though I don't know if this extends to campaign interns: https://cha.house.gov/member-services/house-paid-internship-program https://cha.house.gov/member-services/house-paid-internship-...
  - Jtsummers 5y ago
    Political interns, no clue. However if you're working for the government and not a campaign, then you're almost certainly getting paid in the US.
dhosek 5y ago
It's common in some industries. Publishing is a frequent offender on this front.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
protomyth 5y ago
I don't know anyone during my time as a student that took an unpaid internship. Its a "great" way for employers to screen out less privileged folks and keep the job for someone from a "proper" family. Trust fund babies have no problem doing an unpaid internship.
- anotha1 5y ago
  Yeah, it's a sad state of affairs that would be remedied by improving education for the undesirables, but then the desirables wouldn't have as many of the high paying jobs, and their parents don't want to complain about little Johnny mooching when, you know, the poors are way easier to complain about being moochers.
Kalium 5y ago
It's pretty common in humanities in particular. It's much rarer in scientific, engineering, or technological fields. As a guideline, if the field has money to go around and companies have to compete for interns, they'll pay. If would-be interns have to compete for a few internships and the field famously struggles with budgets of two beans and a bit of string, they won't.
- anonymousiam 5y ago
  And here's what you left out: https://www.investopedia.com/netflix-q1-fy2021-earnings-report-recap-5179663 https://www.investopedia.com/netflix-q1-fy2021-earnings-repo... Netflix is rolling in cash.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - logifail 5y ago
    > Netflix is rolling in cash Let's say Netflix['s production company] were to auction the opportunity to work with them on this project (for clarity: the winning photographer pays). Q1: Are we suggesting there would no bidders? Q2: If "the market fixes stuff" why can't the market fix this?
mitchdoogle 5y ago
I just did a quick search at internships.com. over 1000 unpaid internships in the US just for keyword "marketing": https://www.internships.com/app/search?keywords=marketing&position-types=internship&location=philadelphia%2C+pa&context=seo&seo-mcid=-1 https://www.internships.com/app/search?keywords=marketing&po...

Judgmentality 5y ago

Are you in the US? Also, are you in engineering/tech? Tech internships tend to pay surprisingly well, but many other fields in the US don't pay anything for internships and it's a notable exception when they do.

KittenInABox 5y ago

I know this is common in politics, activism, and certain law positions. I also know volunteer positions are expected of pre-medical students now.

ping_pong 5y ago

In Washington DC and Hollywood, I think it's pretty common. I haven't heard of this at all in Silicon Valley though. In fact interns are pretty well paid, $7500/month at my previous company.

the_only_law 5y ago
Speaking of DC aren’t all government internships unpaid?
- throwaway3699 5y ago
  Yes, but I hear if you're attractive then the Commander in Chief will make it worthwhile.
- sybercecurity 5y ago
  Not all. Some provide a stipend and/or housing allowance. Depends on the program and the agency running it. Congress now pays their interns too, though I don't know if this extends to campaign interns: https://cha.house.gov/member-services/house-paid-internship-program https://cha.house.gov/member-services/house-paid-internship-...
- Jtsummers 5y ago
  Political interns, no clue. However if you're working for the government and not a campaign, then you're almost certainly getting paid in the US.

dhosek 5y ago

It's common in some industries. Publishing is a frequent offender on this front.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

protomyth 5y ago

I don't know anyone during my time as a student that took an unpaid internship. Its a "great" way for employers to screen out less privileged folks and keep the job for someone from a "proper" family. Trust fund babies have no problem doing an unpaid internship.

anotha1 5y ago
Yeah, it's a sad state of affairs that would be remedied by improving education for the undesirables, but then the desirables wouldn't have as many of the high paying jobs, and their parents don't want to complain about little Johnny mooching when, you know, the poors are way easier to complain about being moochers.

Kalium 5y ago

It's pretty common in humanities in particular. It's much rarer in scientific, engineering, or technological fields. As a guideline, if the field has money to go around and companies have to compete for interns, they'll pay. If would-be interns have to compete for a few internships and the field famously struggles with budgets of two beans and a bit of string, they won't.

anonymousiam 5y ago
And here's what you left out: https://www.investopedia.com/netflix-q1-fy2021-earnings-report-recap-5179663 https://www.investopedia.com/netflix-q1-fy2021-earnings-repo... Netflix is rolling in cash.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- logifail 5y ago
  > Netflix is rolling in cash Let's say Netflix['s production company] were to auction the opportunity to work with them on this project (for clarity: the winning photographer pays). Q1: Are we suggesting there would no bidders? Q2: If "the market fixes stuff" why can't the market fix this?

mitchdoogle 5y ago

I just did a quick search at internships.com. over 1000 unpaid internships in the US just for keyword "marketing": https://www.internships.com/app/search?keywords=marketing&position-types=internship&location=philadelphia%2C+pa&context=seo&seo-mcid=-1 https://www.internships.com/app/search?keywords=marketing&po...