The term internship refers to a professional learning opportunity which offers meaningful, and practical work experience related to the academic study field or career interest of a student or tyoung professional. Are you are wondering which internship opportunity is worth your time paid or unpaid? There are positives and negatives of each type of internship. So, what are the pros and cons of paid and unpaid internships? Let’s do an extensive analysis. Pros of Paid internships Many people are under the impression that in order to get a good job, you need to have experience. But internships give you a chance to work with the company without any obligation. And, if you get paid for that, you will surely love that. The advantages of a paid internship are as follows. Compensation The salary will motivate you to work harder than if it was a volunteer position. No one likes to work for free. Even those who are used to volunteering to help those less fortunate will agree that the feeling of getting paid for their time is rewarding and motivating. Read Poor Job Satisfaction: 10 Sure-fire Signs for Career Change Learning opportunity You will learn so much during your internship while working in a professional environment. Paid internships will get you the opportunity to learn many things and will boost your organizational skills. Get a fulltime job offer And it is likely you will be offered a job in the company after your internship ends. This is a great benefit when you consider how hard it can be to find jobs once you graduate, especially if your specialty is in fields such as science, medicine, technology, and engineering. Opportunity to work abroad If you have an excellent academic background, you may get an internship offer from abroad and it is paid too. The biggest pro of getting paid as an intern abroad is that it could be the first step on your journey to working in another country for longer periods of time. You can use the experience abroad to make connections that will help you in your future career path. Read How to Stand Up Against a Workplace Bully? Proper Guidance You will get a boss as well as a mentor. Your mentor will teach you well-known industry secrets, secrets from success stories in their field, and tips that even big publications do not know about yet. Cons of Paid internships Paid internship has some cons. Your salary is capped It's hard to get the experience that many people crave when your time is limited, and your payment is fixed. Companies are trying to save money, while they will try to get the most out of you. Read Midlife Career Change: Best Careers to Start at 40 or 50 No Surity of Job In a paid internship, employers may not try to keep you for the long term. Even if you give your best, sometimes being employed may not offer you a full-time job. They just want to benefit from you and at the end of your internship period they just hire a new intern. That’s how they do all the tasks using interns at a low cost. You do not get benefits Even if you are on a paid internship, it is hard to get health insurance or even paid time off if anything happens. This is especially bad if you have classes first thing in the morning and work later at night. This causes you to get the least amount of sleep, which can be dangerous when operating heavy machinery. Poor Salary In case of a paid internship, you may not get an expected raise when you join full time. If you are looking for big bucks and this is your first time interning in the field and joining full time, your pay might be capped at no more than half of what you used to make. Read High Paid Jobs that Will Never be Replaced by AI Advantages of unpaid internships An unpaid internship is different from a paid position, as the intern receives no salary or benefits. In some cases, internships are given to those who have little or no experience in the field. This may be beneficial for new workers. There are many advantages to unpaid interns.  Learning beyond your chosen field   The best thing about an unpaid internship is that it is specifically geared towards your chosen industry, so there is no need to worry about jumping from one internship that does not suit your needs. You can use the skills learned in your field of expertise in a completely different industry and vice versa. Opportunity to develop professionally There are many job roles within an industry that are not given to people who go through programs or got their degrees on subjects covered by universities. These roles are normally filled by unpaid interns. The people who are chosen for these positions are usually hard workers who have amazing potential and go above and beyond to accomplish whatever is thrown at them. Read Top 10 Software Engineer Skills to Help You Get Hired Networking Networking is extremely important in your job hunt, and having an unpaid internship will give you tons of opportunities to network and make friends. Another great networking opportunity you will get through an unpaid internship is working with the same person again after they have been hired. Paid Opportunity There are a lot of opportunities for interns to get a paid position in the same company. It has been seen that so many people get hired after successfully completing an unpaid internship. Read Negotiating Salary: How to Get the Best Out of a New Job Disadvantages of unpaid internships Unpaid internship has some drawbacks. You should be aware of the cons before undertaking an unpaid internship. The companies should also check out the probable cons before involving an unpaid intern. - When some low-experienced people join unpaid internship positions, it can be detrimental for them when there is not enough scope for learning professional skills. - As an unpaid intern, your work experience with employers is likely to be limited. - It makes future interviews and opportunities more difficult than the regular paid channels. - Depending on your industry, you may have to do all of the duties of a regular employee at free of cost. - As you are not getting paid for your work, you may not concentrate fully and get depressed. - Without minimum payment, you may face difficulties to cover your basic expenses like food, housing, transportation cost etc. - Your employment could end without warning and there is nothing that can guarantee that you will be compensated in any way.   Read 7 Ways to Become a Genuine Expert in Your Chosen Field How long should you do unpaid internships? A common misconception is that you can do an unpaid internship indefinitely. But really there are many limitations on the length of time an intern can work without any wages. The most important thing to keep in mind when considering an unpaid internship is whether or not the experience will be worth it. Usually, the length of an unpaid internship is three to four months. Conclusion It is an issue of debate whether paid or unpaid intership worth your time and hard work? Unpaid internships offer valuable experience for young professionals just starting out in the workforce, but such internships exploit students or young professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds. On the contrary, if a company offers payment in exchange for your time, this will definitely motivate you to give your best. Even though paid internships may provide some benefits for a young professional it is also important to consider how much value you get from the experience. Hence, this type of choice should be made with care and consideration. In that case, we recommend doing some research. Read Finding Success in a New Job: 9 Key Ways