Internships: Should They Be Paid?

There’s no question that most college students prefer paid internships to unpaid internships. After all, not many people would prefer to do the same work for nothing than receive compensation for it. But what if you’re a student and are weighing competing offers for an okay internship that is paid and a great internship which is unpaid. Which do you accept?
Students whose finances allow them to find a way — any way — to accept the unpaid internship should do so. The little compensation that they will likely receive from the paid internship will almost surely pale in comparison to the increased compensation they will receive upon graduation when they’re able to convert that great internship into a great entry level job.

Many students, however, barely have enough money to get through school. The choice is more difficult for some of these students as they may have to take on an part-time job in addition to their internship merely to pay their rent, buy books, or eat. These students should try as hard as they can to take the unpaid internship while working part-time. They should not hesitate to ask the internship employer for flexible or even part-time hours so that they can better juggle the two jobs.
The final bucket are those students who cannot make ends meet if they take the unpaid internship. It is quite unfortunate but the reality for these students is that they will need to take the paid internship in order to pay their bills. They should, however, strive to replace the experience they lost by foregoing the unpaid internship so that they can graduate with the best of all three worlds: the monetary compensation for the paid internship, the okay experience gained from the paid internship, and the great experience gained from the unpaid internship.

Originally posted by Steven Rothberg