I had several internships in NYC non of which paid. I do not come from a family that could have supported me while I lived in NYC and worked for free. I kept a waitressing job at nights. What ended up feeling unfair about the situation was that other interns who had financial help surpassed me in my jobs, because at the end of the day I could not stay and work late, I had to get to Brooklyn to start dinner service. I ended up looking like the intern who wouldn't give extra.

Yeah, they started as unpaid interns… and does anyone else remember the wealth parade called Laguna Beach? I think it's safe to say these ladies (at least Lauren) had other means to support themselves, and kind of underline the point that unpaid internships favor the already-rich.

The other point, however, is extremely valid in my opinion. If you're not paying your interns, then you definitely shouldn't be expecting them to be tied to their blackberries or the last people to leave the office. I'll do the grunt work in exchange for an education, but please don't try to act like it's necessary to have me there ALL THE TIME– if it were, you'd be paying me. End of story.

I feel like a lot of the people commenting here, though they have interned, have clearly not interned recently. “I interned and now I'm an editor at that magazine”, “I interned and they gave me my first job” etc. That just isn't happening anymore. Few internships result in job offers now, and from what I've seen fewer and fewer employers even attempt to cultivate the skills of their interns. Sometimes vague promises of a future interview upon graduation will be put forth, but really, getting hired from an internship almost never happens.

As for college credit, I don't think the better institutions are very keen on that. I just graduated from Columbia, where no credit was ever given for internships, but the advising office will give you a note for your employer saying that you get credit–in short, the university lies for you, because they are aware that interning is not the same as taking a college class.

The increase in the last few years of unpaid internships is really ridiculous. Experience is definitely valuable, but college students are at their wits' end trying to fit them in with school and the other job they probably have to support themselves. Interns who are paid are much more likely to be focused at their jobs, less distracted by stress and the pressures of trying to keep it together when you're spending 20 hours a week answering email, getting coffee and going to the post office. More importantly, the intern will feel more respected, and less like a disposable nobody who shows up in the office for three months whose name few people bother to learn.

Last summer I worked as an intern for a Ready-to-Wear designer. I was lucky to get this internship by knowing someone who knew someone, but I was right out of high school and had no design experience. There were times when they over looked that detail and allowed me to cut fabric and sit in on pattern choice making for their Fall line and I thought of this as a great opportunity to gain some knowledge of the fashion industry and what goes on behind the scenes. I didn't mind not getting paid for the ridiculous tasks they asked me to do daily, but when Fashion Week rolled around it was more than I could bare. The entire summer I had been the only intern working in the Design Studio, but because there was so much to do in preparation for Fashion week they needed more help so they hired a few more interns. Having multiple interns makes it difficult for the company to pay all of them, but there are other ways that a fashion house can show some sort of gratitude to the lowly summer intern other than giving them a paycheck. I would have been perfectly happy with something from the closet. Multiple times I was asked to go into the closet to look for empty boxes to Fed-ex things or old shopping bags to messenger somewhere, but there was so much untouched clothing, shoes, bags and jewelry that could use a good home, and they were things that were not necessarily made by that brand. I'm sure there are other interns out there who have felt the same way as me, because if you weren't obsessed with clothes and accessories you probably wouldn't be working there in the first place. But can someone tell me what they're doing with all those extra clothes?

A billion dollar industry that's been in the game for decades can afford to pay interns. This industry is greedy and like old order. Interns slave all day, get token advantage of on their creative talent and still not guaranteed a job-THAT'S NOT FAIR. That intern is still a human being who has bills to pay like the people at the top, if you put your work in you deserve to get paid.
This industry is so fixed on the past and what worked then, it had it's cycle everything is subject for change in it's due time.

No other industry can get away with unpaid internships except for fashion. Anyone switching careers or who has to support themself can not do a full time unpaid internship, its ridiculous! The industry is eliminating talented people who need to support themselves. Minimum wage should me mandatory and common sense! Internships should not be eliminated, but working all day for free should be! Having completed a number of internships in fashion and other industries I know that no other industry handles people like this!

I definitely think interns should get paid minimum wage. I am a college graduate who moved to NYC to pursue a career in fashion and upon arriving here, I landed an internship at a leading fashion magazine. I worked full time as if it were a real job and did it for free. The lack of compensation added so much stress to my life as I had to worry about rent and bills, so when the money I saved ran out, I got a job at a restaurant and picked up babysitting jobs. Trying to juggle work and a full time internship is exhausting. I was doing so many things and my body was wearing out. I just wanted to focus on fashion. I began to resent the fact that I was an intern and didn't really even feel appreciated. Breaking into this industry is not a walk in the park, it is hard and it is meant to be hard. Pay your dues so to speak, but when does that end? I don't want a huge salary. Minimum wage is enough compensation for me because at least I am working toward a career goal and making some money to make ends meet. When I had internships in college, I was happy to not getting paid because the compensation was school credit. If interns are only allowed to be students, how will anyone who ever wants to pursue fashion be able to break in the industry if they don't attend school in New York or Los Angeles? Students can't devote as many hours as college graduates because they have class schedules also, which will definitely slow down companies with interns.

You mention unpaid assistants on set. Thats the problem with the fashion industry. You don't know the difference between intern and assistant. Ive been in the industry for four years now, including “doing my time” with unpaid internships. Just this week I got a call from two different stylists to “INTERN.” I worked on staff at a magazine, was paid to assist several different stylists and its all on my resume which they looked at. I started saying no, I don't care if its the most famous stylist in the world. You dont pay me, I dont work. Magazines want to stay a float? Stop making pay scales so top heavy and leave budget for assistants. Unpaid interns in school are fine as long as they get a stipend for travel and lunch. When you want them to run the show, the closet, make call ins, help on set….thats an assistant.

The biggest joke about unpaid internships is that you are actually PAYING to work for free. My internship course I took was $600 for the credits. So I essentially had to pay $600 for a semester to work 30 hour weeks.

Internships are there to show who really wants to be in this industry. Everybody wants a check, but it helps to weed out the slackers and find the hardworking, make it happen individual. I feel that although I would love to come by a paid internship, If I had to choose between the two, I'd still go with non paid. IT is more competitive and rewarding; people you meet and what you learn are priceless.

Interns should definitely vw paid, I am an intern now and I also will be interning this summer and it's hard to work 20+ hours a week for free when you know at a real job you could be paid for all of that time. It's especially hard for many of my friends that can't afford to work for free but would like to gain experience in their field. You really shouldn't have to sacrifice financial stability for career experience.

Also doing internships for credit has negative aspects as well. I go to NYU and 1 credit (the minimum you can do an internship for – the max is 4 credits) is about 1,500 dollars. Definitely a steep price to pay.