...all I could find were postings that said "full-time" and "unpaid".

I recently read an article that said something along the lines of, "If you want me to work harder, then you should pay me more (or pay me in the first place). I've interned for about two years and wanted to quit multiple times, and actually left one because I couldn't afford to work there anymore. And it was because of the obvious reason: I WASN'T GETTING PAID!

I owe so much to my intern experience: I did a photoshoot with Steve Wozniak, I learned event planning, graphic design and strategy, worked with billion dollar clients and learned so much that I'm confident I could run my own accounts. But it's also hard to wake up, go to work, sit there and stay motivated the entire time when your bank account says $0.82, your fridge is empty and the rent is due. Knowledge and experience are priceless, but rent and food aren't.

A few months ago, I started questioning my plan to get into public relations and advertising. I tried so hard not to work a restaurant or retail job so I could focus on getting marketing experience, but I knew if I couldn't find a job or paid internship, then I would have to change my career plans; mind you, I am senior close to graduating.

I can argue why people need to intern if they don't have experience, but when students or recent graduates don't have money, have bills and loans to pay off, being unpaid, even if it's just for three months is extremely difficult and harsh. It's the Catch-22 of our current system and culture in the United States where schools don't prepare students and not all companies are billion dollar tech giants with well polished intern programs.

...it's also hard to wake up, go to work, sit there and stay motivated the entire time when your bank account says $0.82, your fridge is empty and the rent is due. Knowledge and experience are priceless, but rent and food aren't.

After talking to several peers, we all agreed that most internship "programs" are interns coming in, sitting at a desk, and then trying to find something to do with little or no actual teaching or mentoring. Interning is necessary, but an extremely difficult experience if you're not getting paid - even worse if you're not learning.

Of course there are paid internships out there, but there aren't as much as people like to say there are. And some internships, to beat a dead horse, require experience to get hired. I was fortunate enough that my last internship was paid, and I was even able to attend LinekdIn's HR Hackathon over summer because of it. I've gained tremendous confidence from my time interning, and it wasn't easy. But before I found this one, all I could find were postings that said "full-time" and "unpaid".

A mentor of mine put unpaid internships in a great perspective, and I paraphrase, "If you're not making me money, then why am I going to pay you? If you don't know anything, why should I bring you in, give you my time, teach you job skills and then be forced to pay you for all of that? That's exactly why you go to school in the first place."

#studentvoices #studentdebt #interning #internships