Paid V/S Unpaid Internship – Make the Best Choice

The primary goal of any internship program is to give students a short-term, first-hand work experience while simultaneously offering employees a chance to evaluate a prospect for a future position based on your potential.

Say that you are a college student, and your summer break is approaching wherein you have an option between interning for a minimum duration of two months and at the same time you are being offered a job in a BPO which is ready to hire you even before the completion of your course and are paying you a handsome salary. Which would you choose?

We questioned Akash a student of INLEAD let’s see what he had to tell us…

Internship is like giving a shot in a type of career that you otherwise wouldn't be eligible to do. Internships can be paid or unpaid. Sometimes interns are compensated through stipends or to what we can also call ‘perks’. These stipends are roughly a fraction of what your salary in a permanent job.

Being a student at INLEAD the students get the benefit of experiencing both paid as well as an unpaid internship before the completion of their course…let’s read about the advantages of each…

Paid Internship	Unpaid Internship	Permanent Job
Paid interns are happier and engaged	Readily available	Opportunity for greater rewards
Paid interns have a higher chance of being hired	Highlight your resume – a job experience on the resume is to the students additional advantage	Greater level of job security
Paid interns have a higher chance of being hired	Discover your hidden talent	Fixed Salary

From my own experience I suggest that internships should not be taken lightly, there are 100% chances that your employer at internship hires you eventually. In the 1^st year I interned with a reputed employer and eventually after the completion of my course I did receive an offer letter from them saying that they wanted to higher me on permanent pay rolls.

So, readers remember one thing, even if you are not paid for your internship do not worry, it will eventually pay off in the form of a job.

The decision to whether to opt for a paid internship, unpaid internship or a permanent job entirely depends on the individual. There are risks and opportunities involved in each.

The choice is yours, make you’re it’s in your benefit…