At the Career Exploration Center, we view internships as learning opportunities, whether paid or unpaid, which are designed to fulfill the dual purpose of reality-testing and skill building. Reality-testing is the process of clarifying a student's choice of career direction. Skill-building is the chance to gain valuable experience in a specific career field or work environment. If learning is the emphasis, it is an internship.
Compensation comes in many forms.
In some cases, interns are paid at or near the prevailing wage for an entry-level professional. It also helps students to focus on the internship because they do not have to work a second job and possibly attend school at the same time. Some employers offer a stipend, a set amount of money that is awarded without regard to the number of hours completed in an internship. Before offering a stipend, however, employers should check with state regulations concerning stipends to ensure that all appropriate regulations are being followed Non-profit groups often cannot afford to pay an intern, and so compensation in other forms should be considered. For example, an arts agency may provide the intern with free tickets and backstage passes to performances.