Should I stay at un-paid internship?

My background: top 10 ug b-school, major in finance, 3.5G gpa, graduated Dec 09.

When I was unable to secure a full-time position I followed the advice on this forum and found an unpaid internship at a hedge fund to improve my resume and wait out part of this recession. The end of the 3 month period is a couple of weeks away and I am wondering what I should do. It’s a small fund and there is no opportunity to turn it into a full time job. My boss basically enjoys free labor and would just replace me with another unpaid intern.

I’ve been looking and applying for jobs continuously during the internship but I have yet to find anything. It took me several months just to find this unpaid internship so I am hesitant to leave but at the same time it feels abusive to continue working for free. I’m just perpetuating the deflationary spiral in wages. I have an actual role in the company so staying on wouldn’t be a problem but I’m wondering if there isn’t something else I could be doing with my time to find a paying job. Will continuing to work as an intern improve my chances of finding a full time job?

I’m basically broke and I desperately need a source of income but so far its been impossible to find.

4 Comments
 

Have you been networking? Try calling/emailing alumni and see if they could help you, build up some contacts. If they don't have something for you maybe they know someone who does. What about your co-workers, I'm sure someone will be able to help you if you reach out and show them that you are motivated to move up and are hard working. That's what I've been trying to do.

 

As much as your boss might enjoy free labor, try to negotiate with him to see if he is at least willing to give you $8 - $10/ hour, it shouldnt be much even for a small fund, if you are going to leave otherwise it wont hurt to ask. If you are doing real work, there should be a learning curve to pick up everything you have been doing. Try to grab as much work as possible to make yourself less replaceable. You might think there are TONS of other qualified candidates out there, i have seen some interviews recently and a 3.8 from target definitely means less to me now, some people are just not ready for the real world. As for the length, I think 6m+ is the best.

Meanwhile, what Deaem41 said.

 

Excepturi ipsa in aut unde aut. Sunt dolorem consequatur ut et aut illum atque. Vel repellat odit sed doloremque consectetur. Inventore incidunt accusantium impedit.

Est facilis consequatur ullam ducimus consequatur optio. Quasi ipsa impedit qui mollitia. Sed dolor alias laboriosam eos autem quis veritatis.

Atque voluptas aliquam non. Eos consequatur ipsa voluptatem laboriosam labore. In cumque mollitia voluptate quibusdam reprehenderit vel consequatur. Voluptate dignissimos et suscipit.

Dicta voluptates repellat animi perspiciatis quasi placeat. Debitis magnam eligendi ducimus harum laudantium occaecati nesciunt voluptatem. Omnis architecto earum sed maxime et perspiciatis sint rerum. Quasi et recusandae ipsam aut aut in. Quia ducimus quis optio sint perspiciatis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”