I've never done an internship before, so excuse me if this question might come off as ignorant or silly.. but why are internships mostly unpaid? It makes me wonder if interns get to work on anything substantial at all or if they're really just running errands for the people who are actually doing the work. I'd love to hear about your real-life experience on an internship in the recent past.

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You’re not silly for asking at all. The unpaid part bothers a lot of people, especially with the cost of living now. In reality, some interns do get meaningful work and some just do grunt tasks, so it’s worth asking in advance what you’ll actually be responsible for and whether there’s any path to paid work.

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It’s to get college kids used to working at Omnicom which will eventually take over every agency, drastically cut health benefits, and not pay employees a living wage.

smart

Not a silly Q.

Unpaid internships exist because historically employers justified them under the idea that interns require more training than value they create, so instead of wages, the intern receives experience.

Which of course can be exploitative, because many people can not afford to take an unpaid internship (myself included).

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Not silly if you’ve never done one. In my experience they’re mostly unpaid or have a small stipend.

I have found they are mostly paid these days and in some cases, unpaid is illegal. I would personally search for paid ones- normally it’s just $15 an hour but that’s better than $0

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