Unpaid Internships

[DDCSpeed]

Does anyone has any experience with unpaid internships? I recently got accept to do a software internship at a medium-size company. Its kind of rare that a company of their size were not paying but I need the experience. Does anyone have any experience with an unpaid internship which leads to a paid position? When do you want to ask for pay or should you want until they offer you?

I am in good shape financially but would like to get paid later on.

 

[Yossarian451]

My brother got a really good intership that paid him $20 an hour (roughly) after his first year of school. THough he is a chemist, and a damn good one to, he also was asked to do research his freshman year, which at Texas A&M, is a pretty big thing. But then this year he was supposed to be doing paid research at the cyclotron but his professor comes up to him at the beginning of the year and says "Ummm, we don't have any money, so you won't be getting paid. I hope you still want to do research." Well he decided to do it anyway but I feel no pity for him because he has had a really cushy intership for 2 summers now and has more money than I will ever have during my college days.

 

[DT4K]

In the current tight tech market, experience is virtually required to get a decent paying job anywhere.
So if you need the experience and can't find a paid position, take the internship.
But keep your eyes open for paid positions.
I would work for free if it was good experience, but probably no more than a couple of months.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: Shanti
In the current tight tech market, experience is virtually required to get a decent paying job anywhere.
So if you need the experience and can't find a paid position, take the internship.
But keep your eyes open for paid positions.
I would work for free if it was good experience, but probably no more than a couple of months.

i agree

 

[DDCSpeed]

I have already accepted the offer and does not question the fact that experience is the most valuable thing out of the internship. I am just wondering if there are situation when the company would offer to pay me and how much time down the line?

 

[CrazyDe1]

Originally posted by: DDCSpeed
Does anyone has any experience with unpaid internships? I recently got accept to do a software internship at a medium-size company. Its kind of rare that a company of their size were not paying but I need the experience. Does anyone have any experience with an unpaid internship which leads to a paid position? When do you want to ask for pay or should you want until they offer you?

I am in good shape financially but would like to get paid later on.

I know someone who is doing this. Just work hard so they'll want to pay you at the end. If you work hard for free they'll think damn, what happens when I pay him. The catch is the person I know doing this is doing it at a startup and he was promised equity in the company

 

[CrazyDe1]

Originally posted by: DDCSpeed
I have already accepted the offer and does not question the fact that experience is the most valuable thing out of the internship. I am just wondering if there are situation when the company would offer to pay me and how much time down the line?

Make them sign a contract 3 monthes to hire. So basically what the contract my friend got was he was a contractor for 3 monthes at which time they'd reevaluate and hire. They liked him so much...I guess they only wanted 20 hours a week and he did 40...that they backpaid him...

 

[DDCSpeed]

Originally posted by: CrazyDe1

Originally posted by: DDCSpeed
I have already accepted the offer and does not question the fact that experience is the most valuable thing out of the internship. I am just wondering if there are situation when the company would offer to pay me and how much time down the line?

Make them sign a contract 3 monthes to hire. So basically what the contract my friend got was he was a contractor for 3 monthes at which time they'd reevaluate and hire. They liked him so much...I guess they only wanted 20 hours a week and he did 40...that they backpaid him...

i doubt i have much bargaining power as of now. Since companies are evaluated quarterly, I am hoping that I get paid once the company does well but those things were not mentioned and too touchy to discuss during interview.

 

[PunDogg]

I had an unpaid internship, but i got credit for it, so i guess it wasn't unpaid, but an internship is an internship, on resume it doesn't say paid or unpaid, and empoyeers don't really care, as long as u have an internship, plus unpaid ones can send the sign that u are a dedicated worker, and if you do a good job, u might get a decent amount of money, if still with the same company.

Dogg

 

[CrazyDe1]

Originally posted by: DDCSpeed

Originally posted by: CrazyDe1

Originally posted by: DDCSpeed
I have already accepted the offer and does not question the fact that experience is the most valuable thing out of the internship. I am just wondering if there are situation when the company would offer to pay me and how much time down the line?

Make them sign a contract 3 monthes to hire. So basically what the contract my friend got was he was a contractor for 3 monthes at which time they'd reevaluate and hire. They liked him so much...I guess they only wanted 20 hours a week and he did 40...that they backpaid him...

i doubt i have much bargaining power as of now. Since companies are evaluated quarterly, I am hoping that I get paid once the company does well but those things were not mentioned and too touchy to discuss during interview.

Make sure you know the length that you will be unpaid. It's usually not mentioned during an interview but they'll ask things like what happens when another offer comes around? Are you still going to be looking? I think my friend balanced this with i have to look out for my best interests and keep my options open and other offers open but my loyalty is first to you and I will come back with whatever offer I get and do my best and finish the job if I do get an offer. If you are hired, make sure you get a contract so 6 monthes from now you're still not working for free. I guess what helped him was the equity in the company thing and so he said he'd rather be part of a startup and have the excitement and maybe make it big because he was a risk taker...

 

[DDCSpeed]

I think I will go in on Monday and mention the fact to the HR people. So far, there are no contract signed.

 

[rh71]

Internships are supposed to be unpaid. Consider yourself fortunate if you ever find a paid one. Two of my four internships were paid during my junior/senior years... and I even did one for the experience alone (no credit or cash)... they're invaluable to your career.

 

[cchen]

Uh... technically, you're not allowed to work for free. So these internships that don't pay, you better be getting some sort of college credit for it

 

[raptor13]

Originally posted by: rh71
Internships are supposed to be unpaid. Consider yourself fortunate if you ever find a paid one. Two of my four internships were paid during my junior/senior years... and I even did one for the experience alone (no credit or cash)... they're invaluable to your career.

Supposed to be unpaid? I've heard of unpaid internships but no one I know has ever had one nor, so far as I've heard, ever even been offered one. I'm in engineering so that might have something to do with it. I can say from experience that both the internships I've done and am doing have been paid and paid well! I love making almost $18/hour after taxes when I'm still in school. Paradigm Reference here I come!

 

[mugs]

How long is the internship supposed to last? Or is it an open-ended sort of thing? If it lasts a certain length of time, then they'll probably decide if they want to hire you at the end of that time. If it's an open-ended unpaid internship... you're a sucker.

 

[Sukhoi]

Originally posted by: cchen
Uh... technically, you're not allowed to work for free. So these internships that don't pay, you better be getting some sort of college credit for it

So volunteering is illegal?

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Originally posted by: cchen
Uh... technically, you're not allowed to work for free. So these internships that don't pay, you better be getting some sort of college credit for it

*buzz* Wrong. Federal labor laws allow for 6 instances of unpaid internship work:

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=241149

 

[cchen]

Whoops. You're right, I'm wrong. I guess my boss is wrong too, he's the one that told me that

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Originally posted by: cchen
Whoops. You're right, I'm wrong. I guess my boss is wrong too, he's the one that told me that

I think it might be that maybe your boss was thinking of company/university policy. I know my university mandated that any unpaid internships found through the school had to be given college credit through a workstudy program.

 

[DDCSpeed]

this internship is not affliated with school therefore the internship does not result in school credit. The internship is open-end but it is mentioned/assumed that if I do a good job then I will be offered a full-time position. I am hoping that after 3-month, they will have a new budget and I will be paid. I mentioned that I have the financial freedom to pursue the internship for a while but gas and does gets expensive after a while. It would be nice to use the money to repay back my school loans and other expenses.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: DDCSpeed
this internship is not affliated with school therefore the internship does not result in school credit. The internship is open-end but it is mentioned/assumed that if I do a good job then I will be offered a full-time position. I am hoping that after 3-month, they will have a new budget and I will be paid. I mentioned that I have the financial freedom to pursue the internship for a while but gas and does gets expensive after a while. It would be nice to use the money to repay back my school loans and other expenses.

So basically, you took a "job" where they don't "pay" you? I take it this is a small company? Yeah, I'd say 3 months would be a good time to bring up the topic of payment. They may try to pay you less than you're worth though, since you'll have already been working for them for free.

 

[Yossarian]

Consider an internship as the ultimate insider's interview track for a paying job. If you do a kickass job you are a shoe-in over some guy off the street that they know nothing about other than some lies on a resume

 

[DDCSpeed]

Originally posted by: mugsywwiii

Originally posted by: DDCSpeed
this internship is not affliated with school therefore the internship does not result in school credit. The internship is open-end but it is mentioned/assumed that if I do a good job then I will be offered a full-time position. I am hoping that after 3-month, they will have a new budget and I will be paid. I mentioned that I have the financial freedom to pursue the internship for a while but gas and does gets expensive after a while. It would be nice to use the money to repay back my school loans and other expenses.

So basically, you took a "job" where they don't "pay" you? I take it this is a small company? Yeah, I'd say 3 months would be a good time to bring up the topic of payment. They may try to pay you less than you're worth though, since you'll have already been working for them for free.

It is actually a good size company with approximately 200 people. Yea, I will wait for a good time to mention about pay sometimes later. I just dont want to mention it at a wrong time which may cause them to think I am disgruntle.

 

[DDCSpeed]

Originally posted by: PipBoy
Consider an internship as the ultimate insider's interview track for a paying job. If you do a kickass job you are a shoe-in over some guy off the street that they know nothing about other than some lies on a resume

Yea, this is the main reason why I did not hesitate to take the job. The current job market slow for mediocre talent such as me and this definitely opens at least 1 door for me.