As I browsed internship opportunities for this summer, I was stunned to read the words “Unpaid Internship.” Though this was not a normal stipulation of all listings, it shocked me nonetheless. Unpaid internships should be considered a relic of the past. 

Currently, even the historically “comfortable” are struggling to keep up with inflated food and housing prices — including students and their families. Now more than ever, unpaid internships are a slap in the face to young students and professionals looking to build their resume and expand upon their learning, while also earning enough to reflect their skill set and keep up with the cost of living.

One reason we can assume unpaid internships still exist is because employers know there will always be someone willing to do unpaid labor. But it’s not only that people are willing to do so, it’s that they are able to. The ability to accept a full-time, unpaid internship boils down to who can afford it. It boils down to privilege.

This isn’t to shame those who have the privilege to work unpaid, but rather to shame the employers who take advantage of that privilege with the knowledge that they are excluding most young students and professionals who can’t afford to do the same.

If employers want their workplaces to truly reflect the world around them, they need to consider and prioritize diverse backgrounds, including class.

Internships are intended to set students up for success post-graduation. If companies genuinely want this to be the case for their interns, the data says they should pay them. 

A 2022 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found students with paid internship experience garnered 1.61 job offers after graduation and earned a median starting salary of $62,500. On the other hand, students with unpaid internship experience received .94 job offers and a median starting salary of $42,500. 

Experience alone isn’t enough to offer in exchange for free labor. Experience doesn’t pay the bills, and apparently doesn’t get you job offers either. 

Beyond that, unpaid internships neglect the valuable insight and knowledge students can bring to the table. As the world is ever-changing, so are our respective industries. This goes for the arts, media, sciences and beyond. 

Students have important perspectives that should not be taken for granted and that they should be compensated for. If we truly believe young people are the future, we need to start paying them accordingly.

Students are worried enough about what the job market and economy are going to look like by the time we graduate. Many of us have given up on the idea of starting a family and owning a home in our 20s the way our parents and their parents were able to. The least companies can do is recognize that students are facing these realities just as much as their employees are and treat them with dignity in the wake of it. 

It’s 2024 — it’s time we recognize the ways unpaid internships perpetuate the already inequitable workforce and take action to combat it. Pay your interns.