Are Unpaid Internships Worth It?
By: Antonia Le ‘22
For starters, if you’re looking for a simple “Yes” or “No” question, I’m suggesting that you ask literally anybody else. As with every question related to the workforce, answering this question is complicated, and I know that the answer is different for every field.
However, I also know that in college, and especially at USC, it can seem like everyone is so ahead of you. There’s an intense temptation to get an internship just so that you can say that you have one. I know that I’ve fallen into that temptation a couple of times–applied for positions that I don’t care about just so I could fill out an empty resume. But, as I get older, I’m beginning to rethink my stance on things.
Right now, I’m in my third year at USC. While I knew people who already had internships in the first semester of their freshman year, I myself didn’t get my first internship until the summer after my sophomore year, at the height of COVID-19. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately?), because my position had to be virtual, I wasn’t doing coffee runs or other grunt work. However, that did mean that I wasn’t getting the “office” experience" that many people use internships to learn about. When my summer internship ended, I quickly jumped into another unpaid position. I’ve been bouncing from unpaid internship to unpaid internship since the summer, and applying (and interviewing) for more along the way; I have a feeling I’ll probably be doing this until I graduate.
It’s not hard to get an offer for an unpaid internship. For many companies, free labor is free labor, no matter who is doing it. I was able to get unpaid marketing internships without taking a single course in marketing, and I’m extremely grateful for that. However, in recent months, I’ve also turned down as many offers as I’ve taken, and I don’t want that to sound like a brag. At a certain point in my life, I used to be happy that anybody would offer me an interview. To a certain degree, I still am, because it’s always nice to know that somebody thinks you’re worth talking to. However, an internship is more than just something you get to boost your ego or your resume. It’s meant to help you grow, and there’s a difference between growing your LinkedIn page and growing in skill.
Recently, I turned down an offer because my job would be writing blurbs and blog posts all day, and in case you haven’t noticed: I’ve been writing blog posts for years. I’ve been writing for Trojans360 since I was a freshman, I’ve been blogging on my own since before I joined Trojans360, and I still write blogs for free outside of Trojans360. If there’s anything I know how to do, it's write, and I’m at the point in my life where I feel like I should sometimes be paid for the one thing I know how to do.
Here’s the thing no company will tell you but is the truest thing in the world: you deserve to be compensated for your work. No matter how much you doubt your own skills, you deserve to be compensated for your work. The work that interns do is not unimportant. Sure, it’s not glamorous, but when it’s not fetching coffees, it’s often performing small yet essential tasks that help everything else run smoothly and ensure everyone else’s productivity.
That being said, there is an immense privilege in being able to pursue unpaid internships in the first place. To be able to work without pay and know that you’re still going to be financially secure is a privilege that many people don’t have. If you’re unable to take unpaid internships because you’re doing other things to support your family, you’re probably just as capable as any average unpaid intern. In the end, unpaid experience does not compare to having food on the table and a roof over your head.
However, this doesn’t change the fact that many unpaid internships are often exploitative in some way. According to the Department of Labor, unpaid internships are only legal if the intern is the “primary beneficiary” of the arrangement; this often means that the intern’s work does not replace the work that would be done by paid employees. That being said, many people (myself included) who have worked unpaid internships feel that their work should be done by someone who gets paid and that their employers are just using them as free labor. Because the definition of “primary beneficiary” is so vague and nebulous, it’s often hard to report companies acting shady and have something come out of it, so we just sit by and hope that our experiences lead to something better down the line.
On one hand, unpaid internships can be exploitative. On the other hand, the job market is getting more and more difficult, and it’s often difficult to get anything unless you have some form of experience under your belt, which often leads people to take on unpaid work. As a result, college students often have to weigh the costs and benefits of taking unpaid work. One question I often ask myself is how valuable my own time to me. I’ve realized that because I am lucky enough to be financially secure right now, I don’t have to apply to every position or accept every offer that comes my way. I can spend a few weeks without schoolwork or unpaid employment, and that’s fine.
One thing I also asked myself is how long I’m willing to spend doing unpaid work before I start looking only at paid positions. The answer may be different for everybody. Because I started my internship journey so late, I’ve only just started to exclusively look for paid positions, and that was only after I was 100% sure that I could do work that is undoubtedly worthy of compensation. It all depends on your work experience and financial need.
Another thing I looked for when examining unpaid internships was flexibility and benefits. If an internship was going to force me to work full-time and unpaid, there was no way I would take it. Every unpaid position I’ve had has been relaxed on specific work hours as long as I got my projects done on time, which has enabled me to use late nights to catch up on stuff I’m unable to do during the school day and spend my time how I see fit. I also made sure to ask about mentorship; whoever was overseeing my work needed to be willing to connect me to others in the field or help me with crafting a resume. If I feel like a company is not going to invest as much time in me as I invest in them, then I’m turning down the offer. However, everyone will say “of course we offer mentorship”, but in practice, some supervisors are more willing than others. Often, you end up just having to trust your gut when it comes to the people you talk to and the jobs you apply for. If something looks great on paper, but something feels wrong, then it probably is and your time is better spent looking at other opportunities.
Ultimately, the question of “Are unpaid internships worth it?” is completely dependent on what you want to do with your life and how much time you have (and are willing to sacrifice) to achieve your career goals. The answer differs for every field and for every person, but I hope that wherever you end up, you remember that your time is valuable, and not all opportunities are made the same. You deserve an internship that values both your work and you as a person. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise!
Want more from Trojans 360?
Visit Trojans 360 on Facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with more student content! You can also Ask A Trojan an anonymous question, and we’ll try to answer it in a future post. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!
Trojans 360 is USC’s official student-run blog. Content created by students, for students.
