While I think it's horrible if companies don't pay interns, I can see how the "you're learning things!" angle could seem more reasonable in the US. My outside

While I think it's horrible if companies don't pay interns, I can see how the "you're learning things!" angle could seem more reasonable in the US. My outside view is that a lot of Americans pay thousands of dollars to go to university. Universities are, for a lot of people, just a means for learning a discipline and giving them more/better possibilities in a future job search. While most internships aren't as "prestigious" as a university degree, they probably don't cost as much either. In the end, both of them will have allowed you to make some new contacts, learn trade-specific things and add a new slot on your résumé. p.s. this certainly doesn't go for all professions/internships. But the general direction seems about right.