The Rise of the Unpaid Internship

For eight months last year, Columbia University graduate Michelle Sung worked at four unpaid or very low-paying internships in an effort to break into the graphic design field. Sung, who received a degree in applied math from Columbia in 2008, had just completed a year’s worth of night classes at the Parsons School of Design and was eager to start her new career. Looking to gain valuable experience, she turned to internships that paid a small stipend or nothing at all. “To apply for a full-time job, I have to convince the employer I can do the work,” she says, “and in this industry, you do that by showing your work.”

It’s not unheard of to hear about a college student working a few hours a week at an unpaid internship. But as unemployment soars nationwide, and more experienced workers take lower-paying jobs just to stay employed, some recent graduates are finding themselves turning to internships in the hopes that they’ll lead to full-time work. But with no real paycheck coming in, many must cut back on expenses, work other jobs, or turn to their parents for help. On top of that, the legality of unpaid internships remains a gray area.

For Sung, surviving meant working as an after-school teacher when not interning and occasionally asking for outside help from her mom and dad. “I didn't have a very big social life and did my best to save and keep from making unnecessary purchases,” she says. “In addition, my parents were there as a back-up, which I'm pretty grateful for. I did my best not to ask for their help.” In August, Sung was hired full-time at one of her graphic design internships.

While she found success, Annalis Clint is still waiting for her break. Clint, a 2008 Emerson College graduate now living in Los Angeles, has held numerous short-term, unpaid internships for film companies and producers, hoping one will lead to a job or the right connection.

As every month goes by, Clint says she tells herself she’ll begin turning down pro bono production work and instead simply waitress. “But if I were to say no,” she concedes, “20 people behind me would say yes.” According to Clint, unpaid internships are part of the nature of the film business, even though they sometimes make her feel like they’re full of false promises. It’s like “they lead me on with this carrot,” she says. “I know it’s cynical.”

To keep her head above water, when not interning, Clint works odd jobs and, like Sung, occasionally relies on her parents for support. “I hate doing that,” she adds.

Willy Franzen, founder of the website One Day, One Internship, says he has seen an increase in unpaid internships during the economic downturn, as employers are now changing the criteria for whose labor they’re willing to exploit for free. Before, he says, unpaid internships were only available to students enrolled in college. Now they’re available even to recent graduates and people who have been in the job market for years.

While asking talented people to work for free is no doubt ethically murky, Franzen has examined labor laws and believes the practice may in some cases also be illegal. “It seems the law, as it stands,” he says, “says [unpaid internships are] not legal.” The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division created a six-question test to determine if employing a "trainee" like an intern without pay is legal. But there are many exceptions and the questions can be interpreted in different ways, Franzen notes.

To get around the legal question, larger or more well-known companies fearful of lawsuits will offer the internship for school credit. But with more people taking unpaid internships, Franzen believes it’s only a matter of time before the question comes up in court.

As someone who has been out of school for more than a year and can’t earn credit, that puts Clint at a disadvantage. “Sometimes it feels unfair to be a college graduate and not be able to [even intern] at Dreamworks,” she says. Unpaid internships that do not offer school credit are illegal in California, Clint notes, yet smaller companies or start-ups are willing to take the chance for free labor.

Sung, who turned to Craigslist to find her internships, says she has come across many that are purely administrative and others that are simply full-time jobs with no pay. “I've seen some unpaid internships that ask for 30 to 40 hours a week,” she says. “These same postings also ask for experienced workers, but I thought the point of an internship is to get experience.”

Kristi Eaton is a staff writer for Campus Progress. She graduated from Arizone State University in 2008.

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