Okay, now, we're not going totally against the idea of an unpaid internship - apart from the fact that they actually harm the industry they're in and thanks to landmark cases with Vogue and other major companies, they're also pretty much illegal. Internships can be a really useful stepping stone into some of the most competitive and inaccessible industries in the world, and when you're in your twenties, you can, in theory, deal with the long hours and the lack of pay by picking up work elsewhere or relying on your family. However, they're also awful - largely because when you're working hard at an unpaid internship, a lot of the time it means that you're living with the worst of both worlds. Sure you're gaining experience, but you have no job security, no wages, and no guarantee of landing a permanent job after this. Plus, all those hours means that you're usually too exhausted to go work at a bar or Starbucks. On the other hand, if you drop out of one, it can sometimes be like getting sucked straight back to square one, depressing you even more. Great. Time to go on another coffee run...
