Should I take an unpaid internship

I currently a Junior finance major. I was just offered an unpaid internship position at a small family office private equity firm. I am going to be doing actual company analysis so I believe it to be illegal to not pay me. I am not interested in being taken advantage of. I think he uses interns as a way to avoid having to hire full-time employees. At the same time I could really use the experience to put on my resume. I am curious what others think of the situation and what they think I should do.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

As a junior in undergrad, you should be thankful that you are even getting an unpaid opportunity that many people (i.e. myself in undergrad) would kill for. Unpaid internships can be rough during its duration but the experience that you gain from it will differentiate yourself tremendously from the 1,000+ applicants that you will compete against for every high finance position ever posted. Even though not getting paid sucks, you are entering a very competitive labor market where differentiation does matter. I had to suck it up as a masters student taking an unpaid IB internship during my program but the reward of getting a 6-figure plus compensation package down the road was well worth not getting paid at the time.

 

Accusamus quas et dolorem voluptatum quia laborum. Amet et ipsa illo laboriosam commodi expedita. Sit aliquam quis ut aut. Iste officiis sit accusantium. Ut quis id voluptates sunt et quia est. Tempora fuga vero quia. In totam enim aut optio. Est quo quo quae saepe enim sunt beatae.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
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...”