Not until my senior year did I consider seeking out any kind of internship. Now that I’m closer to graduating, it feels better late than never. With that comes scrolling endlessly through Handshake and LinkedIn, making fruitless attempts at networking and questioning whether or not unpaid internships are even worth the hassle.
For students finally entering a job market that typically prioritizes experience, internships become an important steppingstone into the workforce, leaving many students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with mixed feelings about unpaid internships.
Some students, like Paulina Vidamontes, said internships can be valuable learning experiences. Many offer a way to earn college credits and hopefully a little bit of cash as students learn to balance university life with their future careers.
“I think they’re [unpaid internships] worth it, if that’s what they’re looking for,” Vidamontes said. “It’s important to gain those skills. That’s one way that I could see that it’s beneficial, you’re learning new things and you’re putting yourself out there and even probably making connections within the workplace.”
Itzaiana Rojas, a senior majoring in organizational and corporate communications, said that offering unpaid internships can often be unethical today as some workplace’s cross boundaries, abuse their interns’ time and won’t compensate them for the extra work that they do.
“I don’t think anyone should be undertaking unpaid labor of any kind… I also think there’s this stigma that students have on most internships being unpaid,” Rojas said. “I feel like a lot of the professional world has adapted and conformed to a paid internship structure within their organization, and I don’t think students should shy away from them even if the hourly pay isn’t as competitive as other jobs.”
More often than not, internship searching becomes tedious, as many job postings promise experience with no pay. (Aylin Montanez)
Despite the growing number of paid opportunities, unpaid internships remain among the most common options available to students. Combined with rising living costs and the dozens of other physical and financial responsibilities, many students find that being “paid in experience” is simply not realistic.
This challenge can be especially significant for students transitioning to living independently, who may choose jobs that provide immediate income rather than internships that offer long-term benefits.
“I know a lot of people who aren’t as keen on getting internship experience because their waitressing job gives them greater income than an internship does. Sometimes life and situational needs can be louder than future needs,” Rojas said. “In my experience internships and employers can be very flexible and I think it’s important for students to advocate for themselves.”
However, despite the immediate pushback many students expressed for the idea of working without pay, the conversations around unpaid internships often became more complicated when they considered more long-term career goals and an opportunity that was tied directly to the field they hoped to enter.
“I kind of think of it like, if you’re a volunteer. I used to volunteer at a nonprofit organization where I wasn’t getting paid. I wanted the experience of customer service, how to answer phone calls, make documents on Microsoft and all that stuff. I was good with [it being] unpaid, because I was also inexperienced. They’re taking a risk on me,” Vidamontes said. “If you do well, you might get a position getting paid.”
For students with clear paths, internships, and even unpaid ones, these opportunities can offer hands-on experience and professional connections that may offer students a greater advantage in the job market. However, those who cannot afford to work for free may be left out of these opportunities.
For me, an unpaid internship isn’t particularly appealing unless it offers a direct path to a field I’m committed to. They can open doors, but I don’t think they’re essential for career success.
Jewel Ocampo is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected]