Internship is a great opportunity to put to practice all what you’ve been taught in school (mostly for professional courses).through internship you’d be able to get experience in your chosen field. On this note, it should be clearly stated that the primary purpose of internship is to learn or further education in said profession or trade.
Everyone would of course love to get paid for their work and their time however, paid internships are not always available. The scarcity of paid internship thus leaves you to choose between unpaid internship and none at all.
People over the years; have painted employers who refuse to pay interns to be greedy and inconsiderate. While that might be true, do realize that no one is obligated to pay for your learning process. If you do find companies or firms who are willing to pay, appreciate them. Paid internship goes a long way to motivate the fresh graduates to work but does that mean it should strictly be a paid-or-none arrangement?
Whether paid or unpaid, internship gives you an advantage over other applicants in line for a job because of the skills and experience you’ve gotten from the internship program. You also stand a chance of being retained in the company where you interned saving you the stress and trouble of job hunting. You gain practical hands-on experience of all those things that were taught during those boring lectures in college.
The time spent during internship, paid or not, is valuable in making career decisions. Having served with that company in that line of business, you’re able to choose the right career path. Paid or not, internship doesn’t only also give you something to put on your resume, but also gives solid references that improve your chances of getting a job.
Don’t waste time complaining about companies who don’t pay their interns. Think about it, if a company had to pay an intern with zero-experience to get an on-the-job training, don’t you think the company would rather spend that money on an experienced staff that is sure to deliver with little or no directions? If all that is available to you right now is an unpaid internship, I seriously suggest that it’s better than none. Make the smart choice for your career.