Unpaid internships are illegal unless they meet a very slim criteria.

Report all companies willing to hire you for free to the authorities.

Lots of schools do stuff like this in every academic subject area and its been discussed in another thread - getting an internship for credit is different than not getting paid. You're being compensated in credit hours instead of cash. Just think of it as another class - going to structures doesn't pay you $15 an hour it helps you earn credit toward graduation. This would be the same sort of thing. And unless there's some sort of conflict of interest who says you have to quit the contractor job?

WOW. that was fast and I thank you guys for your input but what I meant is not necessarily an issue about getting paid
What I meant is that willingness to work for school credit (which a sarcastically mentioned to be free) and getting one foot inside an architecture firm for when I graduate I could have an open door to work for them again (in a recovering economy and with pay maybe) instead of just taking a class course and then struggling later on to find a job and relying on luck for interviews
I am not planning to quit school, I am just trying look and pave a way for my future

Thanks

lmnop15... unpaid internships for credit are still illegal unless they meet 6 different criteria. Schools who whore out students in unpaid-for-credit-hour schemes should be reported to their accreditation board.

Technically an internship should be a burden on the company hiring you... not a burden on yourself. You can work for free if it pains them to have you. But the moment they profit off of you, it should be off to prison or the poorhouse for them.

typically, interns are a burden (to a co.) whether they are getting paid or not.

I'd only do it if you thought that the time spent there would be of value to you, personally, educationally, professionally, marketing/name-cache-wise, even if they DIDN'T hire you afterwards. Otherwise you just lose a piece of a semester on a gamble (and why would they hire you anyway if there was another 5th year class-credit seeker down the pipe?) Or you're bored with all your potential classes. . .

An issue to think about is the nature of your obligation to the firm - what they expect from you and how you need to establish that they aren't yet your employer, just a class.

a quick 2 cents

depending where you do it, it can be worth it!!!

i did three internships so far, one was paid very well, i learnt alot, got one day a week of training, and was able to buy my parents christmas presents for the first time as someone was paying me....

i then went to work for free, and it was an amazing experience as the kinds of offices that do that or rather get away with it are usually young talented competition offices that can't afford to pay in their very early years. Therefore as an intern, if you spoke up, you were the project leader, someone that will probably never happen if you go to a paid office...the first project i worked on, we won the competition which was on dezeen, archinect and every website i can think of, of which i was an intergral part of the design. Now I am further ahead than most people having had that experience.

In my opinion if the office can afford to pay, they should, if they can't afford to pay, don't work for them unless you think you will benefit in the long run far far more than any salary. There are few offices that are worth it. very few!

Unpaid internships are NOT illegal!!!!
no need,
think about it just like taking a class, getting some experience, credit and the most important is establishing relationships in the industry. There is nothing wrong of expanding your network which CAN help down the road. It may not work right away, but it is definitely worth trying.

So yes, I would do it if I was you. Unpaid internships are very common, it is more unfair than illegal.

and here are the six criteria pts. orchi keeps talking about!


1. The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to that which would be given in a vocational school;
2. The training is for the benefit of the trainee;
3. The trainees do not displace regular employees, but work under close observation;
4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;
5. The trainees are not necessarily entitled to a job at the completion of the training period; and
6. The employer and the trainee understand that the trainees are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

You are still in school and I'm just considering it part of your classes. I do not support unpaid interships once you are all done with school! We've had plenty of unpaid interns are my last firm and they pretty much didn't take any work from any of us, but rather sat around, watched, learned, helped on renderings etc. Having them or not having them at the office wouldn't have affected our work at all.

Good luck!!!

Do the internship. It is important to build a relationship with some of the firms out there even if they can't straight up hire you upon graduation. You'll get professional experience too, which could help you find a job down the road later.

When I was in undergrad, I chose to focus just on academics. After I graduated I was unemployed for 4 months just trying to get my foot in the door. Take a shortcut and meet some of the professionals.