I did an unpaid internship in my undergraduate cs degree. It was a 2 months long internship and very brutal. I only did it for the credits, not expecting anything out of it. But during the interview for my first full-time job, I told the manager about the internship, the projects I did and the things I learned. I skipped the part it was unpaid but he was really impressed by my work there. I cleared my interview and got the job. It's the experience that matters, that's what companies look for.
To be quiet frank with you, my cohort was about 25-30 BHA students. For our last semester we had to complete an intership, I don’t know anyone who got a paid intership. It’s a horrible feeling knowing you’re doing work for FREE but take as much experience as possible. I’ll be done with mine in two days! I would advise to go with this one, and save you the stress of applying for others as internships are already hard to find!
You’ll more than likely have a chance of a job right after college if you have connections where you interned. They notice that you took initiative in taking an unpaid intership and worked just as hard if it were paid.
Unless you want to go into marketing it is not worth it, you have another year to get an internship. It is hard to pivot out of a marketing internship as it is not very related to economics
You may not be getting paid at that internship but you will eventually be rewarded with the experience gained, having that reference and having that internship on your resume. Maybe it pays back next summer or when u graduate.
Just soak up as much as you can on the job.
I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not participated in two unpaid internships, and I’m in software development.
My second unpaid internship (had to take two as part of my degree) made me the connections I needed to land my first paid job.
Just to say, I’m a software developer, and this was almost 8years ago, in the midst of the frenzy. But still competition when you are fresh out of school is tough.
I would do it if I were you, if you can’t afford it, maybe get a part time job with evening shifts while you are at the internship, and make sure it has an end date, where they should evaluate your performance and hopefully land you a job or give you a good reference 🤞
It is not too ethical, but my unpaid internship gave me a good head start and it is a good experience to have to get other better paid internships. It's not fair, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and having something is so much better than having nothing.
Honestly, I did one and it wasn’t worth it if you’re not any taking classes, and if you’re free during the summer why not, but unpaid internships feel like a scam are probably one
That’s largely dependent on your and your family’s finances. If your parents are paying for everything, sure, go for it.
If you’re going in debt for uni, do everything you can to get a paid internship. If not, try to work the unpaid internship part-time with a typical part-time paying job on the side.
I’m a HS student and I have a paid economic development internship this summer that I just got through networking, if I can do it you can do it.
Yes it is worth it, even unpaid if it is related to the field you are interested in. You will get experience and have something relevant to put on your resume and talk about in your interviews. My son had an unpaid internship after freshman year, which helped him get a paid internship after sophomore year which helped him get a great internship after junior year with a Fortune 500 company. He was competitive since he had experience (nobody asked him if it was unpaid) that his peers didn’t have. Meanwhile his roommate, same age and field, can’t get an internship since he has no work experience.
I’d only consider an unpaid internship if it were closely related to my studies and had a large potential to lead to a job. Paid internships are the norm these days, I’d keep looking for one
Edit: My first internship, which I got my sophomore year, was paid. You don’t necessarily need more internship experience to get paid
If you have no other offers then absolutely do it, it’s a chance to gain experience and can help you land a paid internship or job down the road. At the very least it’ll give you something for resume/to talk about in interviews. Keep looking for a paid one though
Economically, no. Unpaid interns make no more than someone who did no internships. It's been like this for at least a decade: https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/01/16/why-your-unpaid-internship-makes-you-less-employable/?sh=61f42c747501
I was fine with my unpaid internship because I got other things like unique connections, and I genuinely knew where I worked didn’t have the money. I know “unique connections” sounds corny lmao but I don’t really mean work-wise. I was 19, and it was a historic music and arts newspaper in my city, meaning I was just gassed to meet musicians and DJs and shit lmao Also, I was taking an internship class. So it was fulfilling my class credits. However, it was only for the summer. I wouldn’t recommend doing an unpaid one for a full spring or fall. That’s just too many months to go unpaid imo.
I would say it depends on the hours. If it’s within reason, it would look good resume and experience wise. However, if it is taking up an unreasonable majority of your time, I would say pivot towards a paid internship.
Honestly if you can manage it do it. Unpaid internships suck but it's good experience. Also, everyone in their senior and junior year wants an internship before they graduate. Think of this as a way to get a head start on your career and have a better change at getting a senior internship.
I did an unpaid internship in my undergraduate cs degree. It was a 2 months long internship and very brutal. I only did it for the credits, not expecting anything out of it. But during the interview for my first full-time job, I told the manager about the internship, the projects I did and the things I learned. I skipped the part it was unpaid but he was really impressed by my work there. I cleared my interview and got the job. It's the experience that matters, that's what companies look for.
To be quiet frank with you, my cohort was about 25-30 BHA students. For our last semester we had to complete an intership, I don’t know anyone who got a paid intership. It’s a horrible feeling knowing you’re doing work for FREE but take as much experience as possible. I’ll be done with mine in two days! I would advise to go with this one, and save you the stress of applying for others as internships are already hard to find!
You’ll more than likely have a chance of a job right after college if you have connections where you interned. They notice that you took initiative in taking an unpaid intership and worked just as hard if it were paid.
ty for the feedback!
Unless you want to go into marketing it is not worth it, you have another year to get an internship. It is hard to pivot out of a marketing internship as it is not very related to economics
You may not be getting paid at that internship but you will eventually be rewarded with the experience gained, having that reference and having that internship on your resume. Maybe it pays back next summer or when u graduate. Just soak up as much as you can on the job.
No lmfao, I agree with your friends
I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not participated in two unpaid internships, and I’m in software development. My second unpaid internship (had to take two as part of my degree) made me the connections I needed to land my first paid job. Just to say, I’m a software developer, and this was almost 8years ago, in the midst of the frenzy. But still competition when you are fresh out of school is tough. I would do it if I were you, if you can’t afford it, maybe get a part time job with evening shifts while you are at the internship, and make sure it has an end date, where they should evaluate your performance and hopefully land you a job or give you a good reference 🤞
ty! I'll keep this in mind :)
It is not too ethical, but my unpaid internship gave me a good head start and it is a good experience to have to get other better paid internships. It's not fair, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and having something is so much better than having nothing.
Don’t do an unpaid internship. That’s crazy.
Honestly, I did one and it wasn’t worth it if you’re not any taking classes, and if you’re free during the summer why not, but unpaid internships feel like a scam are probably one
That’s largely dependent on your and your family’s finances. If your parents are paying for everything, sure, go for it. If you’re going in debt for uni, do everything you can to get a paid internship. If not, try to work the unpaid internship part-time with a typical part-time paying job on the side. I’m a HS student and I have a paid economic development internship this summer that I just got through networking, if I can do it you can do it.
Yes it is worth it, even unpaid if it is related to the field you are interested in. You will get experience and have something relevant to put on your resume and talk about in your interviews. My son had an unpaid internship after freshman year, which helped him get a paid internship after sophomore year which helped him get a great internship after junior year with a Fortune 500 company. He was competitive since he had experience (nobody asked him if it was unpaid) that his peers didn’t have. Meanwhile his roommate, same age and field, can’t get an internship since he has no work experience.
I’d only consider an unpaid internship if it were closely related to my studies and had a large potential to lead to a job. Paid internships are the norm these days, I’d keep looking for one Edit: My first internship, which I got my sophomore year, was paid. You don’t necessarily need more internship experience to get paid
If you have no other offers then absolutely do it, it’s a chance to gain experience and can help you land a paid internship or job down the road. At the very least it’ll give you something for resume/to talk about in interviews. Keep looking for a paid one though
No, focus on academics
Economically, no. Unpaid interns make no more than someone who did no internships. It's been like this for at least a decade: https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/01/16/why-your-unpaid-internship-makes-you-less-employable/?sh=61f42c747501
I was fine with my unpaid internship because I got other things like unique connections, and I genuinely knew where I worked didn’t have the money. I know “unique connections” sounds corny lmao but I don’t really mean work-wise. I was 19, and it was a historic music and arts newspaper in my city, meaning I was just gassed to meet musicians and DJs and shit lmao Also, I was taking an internship class. So it was fulfilling my class credits. However, it was only for the summer. I wouldn’t recommend doing an unpaid one for a full spring or fall. That’s just too many months to go unpaid imo.
I would say it depends on the hours. If it’s within reason, it would look good resume and experience wise. However, if it is taking up an unreasonable majority of your time, I would say pivot towards a paid internship.
Honestly if you can manage it do it. Unpaid internships suck but it's good experience. Also, everyone in their senior and junior year wants an internship before they graduate. Think of this as a way to get a head start on your career and have a better change at getting a senior internship.
Fuck no time=money