Paid and unpaid internships

An internship lets you try out a field and add real work to your resume. Here is when an employer has to pay an intern, what changes if you take the internship for credit, and how to weigh an offer that pays little or nothing.

When an internship has to be paid

At a for-profit company, the Department of Labor looks at whether the intern or the employer is the main beneficiary of the arrangement. If the work mainly benefits the company, the intern counts as an employee and is owed at least minimum wage and any overtime. An internship built around your education, with training and supervision that serve your learning, can be unpaid.

The test weighs several factors, such as whether the training resembles what a school would give, whether the schedule fits the academic calendar and whether the intern replaces a paid worker. No single factor settles the question. State labor laws can add their own requirements on top of the federal ones.

Nonprofits and government offices

Charities, nonprofit organizations and public agencies follow different rules, because people may volunteer for them without pay in many situations. That is why so many unpaid internships are found in those settings. The volunteer rules still have limits, and an ordinary paid job cannot simply be relabeled as volunteering.

If an unpaid role at any organization looks like a regular job with the pay taken away, ask about it. A state labor office or the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division can explain how the rules apply.

Questions to ask the employer

• What tasks fill a typical week
• Who trains and oversees interns
• Whether the role pays, and how often
• How many hours a week are expected

Internships for academic credit

Some majors require an internship, and some schools let you earn credit for one you arrange yourself. Credit usually means registering for a course, and that course carries tuition like any other. Ask the registrar or your department how the credits are billed, especially for a summer term.

Internship credits count toward your enrollment level for the term, which can matter for aid and for the status of any student loans. The financial aid office can tell you how an internship course changes your situation.

Weighing an offer that pays little

Before you accept, add up what the internship will cost you, including transportation, housing, workplace clothing and any hours you would otherwise spend at a paid job. Some schools and departments award stipends to help students take unpaid or low-paid internships, so ask the career center whether yours does.

Ask the employer what you will actually do each week, who will supervise you and whether past interns were offered paid roles afterward. A clear description of the work and the training is a good sign of a well-run program.