Internships: Paid or Unpaid?

Graphic provided by Rampage student photographer Elle Gunter

Internships often are marked as being the link between college and a career, allowing students to gain experience and skills in their chosen field of study before fully entering the workforce. While internships are meant to prepare students, many of them are still failing to meet one major standard: compensation.

In today’s world, unpaid internships remain common, particularly in artistic fields like journalism, marketing, fashion, and non-profits. Those who support unpaid internships believe that experience alone is the valuable part, which is true, but the mindset overlooks the main truth: work is work, and students deserve to be compensated for their contributions.

Paid internships not only acknowledge the students’ contributions but also promote equal opportunity. Those with unpaid internships are the ones who can afford to go without pay, which is not something that everyone is able to do. Students are forced to turn down valuable experiences simply because they cannot afford to work for free.

I have personally faced this issue multiple times. Different companies were willing to hire me as a summer intern and provide plenty of hours, but with such a heavy workload, I would not have been able to hold another paying job. This arrangement would have left me without a paycheck for the entire summer. This creates a cycle where access to career opportunities is tied to financial status, not talent or ambition.

Unpaid internships also establish bad habits in economic and social inequities. A Harvard Business Review article notes how unpaid positions allow companies to take advantage of the free labor students provide while marginalizing them from diverse backgrounds.

Some companies claim that they cannot afford to pay their interns, but I think we should be asking if they should be taking on interns in the first place if they’re unable to provide financial compensation.

Paying students is not only the fair thing to do but also strategic for the future of the business. Research shows that paid interns are more likely to return as full-time employees, causing workers who are already invested in company culture to be a part of the team. Paid internships build loyalty and engagement that will overall enhance a company’s reputation.

Internships are meant to be a learning experience, yes, but they are also labor. Unpaid internships create inequalities and roadblocks to careers. Paid internships open doors, diversify employee backgrounds, and build the company culture foundation early. It’s time to make paid internships the standard, not an exception.