Working for little to no pay (internship/apprenticeship)

Background: I am graduating this December and will be attending grad school in the Fall. It seems like many firms are cutting back on hiring interns or not hiring them at all this year. I was curious if it could be a good idea for me to introduce the idea of me doing an unpaid internship this summer. I obviously would like a paid internship, but right now experience and connections is more important than an hourly wage. Any thoughts on if this is a good idea or how I should go about bringing this up to my connections.

9 Comments
 

The real estate industry has faced a lot of difficulties recently and finding a paid job within CRE has never been easy. With our current economic environment, lay offs continue to rise; I believe CNBC reported that five of the largest U.S. banks have cut a total of 20,000 jobs this year. This means many of those previously working in finance are now seeking new jobs. I am seeing many former IB and PE guys trying to use this period as an opportunity to transition into REIB and REPE. This obviously does not help those who have been focused on securing a career in CRE as there are more people fighting over a few paid positions. It is very common to work unpaid when starting off, so taking an internship or working for free is more than okay as long as you are able to survive financially. Look at it as an opportunity to gain experience and leverage for the future. I get the difficulty of taking on an unpaid job, as that was a huge decision of mine. However, I believe it was the right move since the industry is becoming even more competitive.

 

How did you go about landing it? Did you apply places or reach out to people letting them know your looking for unpaid internship

 

Qui consequuntur consequatur quas ad architecto nihil id. Fuga aut mollitia quae assumenda dolor perferendis. Cum voluptatibus laboriosam sed alias dignissimos aut est consequatur. Aspernatur numquam rerum recusandae architecto porro exercitationem.

Praesentium id maxime et aut repellendus assumenda iste. Quas quia consectetur aut esse. Incidunt repudiandae sit officia doloribus sint ad. Minus cupiditate quam explicabo id nesciunt. Mollitia voluptas eveniet aliquam minus. Dignissimos sit aliquid quo voluptatem consectetur.

Aut beatae vitae nihil nobis eveniet aut dolore. Ea odio unde doloremque. Itaque nihil qui quidem ut dolore. Dolores natus accusamus blanditiis esse distinctio perferendis minima. Eum consequuntur quia eligendi voluptas quam quibusdam ad nostrum. Minima autem molestiae ex ut. Dicta autem aut rerum sunt quia id nulla.

Tempora sit neque rerum voluptas minus temporibus unde voluptas. Beatae et iusto facere aut quia aut. Aut dolorem hic qui sed. Neque quo laudantium sunt id occaecati. Nihil quod animi sapiente voluptatem ut necessitatibus ex accusamus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 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...”