Although many internships offer valuable work experience for students, there are many students who are not able to spend a summer working for nothing or who cannot afford to pay college tuition for employers who require to receive credit for their summer internship.
The good news is that many employers (between 50 - 70%) do offer a salary or stipend for their internships and many colleges are stepping up by offering some form of funding for students who are looking to do an internship for summer. Check with your
college's Career Services Office to find out how to find paid internships and to see if your college offers internship funding.
Michael True, Director of Messiah College's Internship Center offers some insight on paid internships and says that he believes over the past couple of years that we have been experiencing the "golden age of internships".
The truth is that there are many benefits to paid internships for both the employer and the student and even for the college who chooses to fund internships for students during the summer.