Pre MBA Internship (Unpaid)

This is more of a rant than anything else, but shocked to see how prevalent this is. I get interning a freshman in college unpaid for a summer who has no skillset / is probably a drag on productivity, but have seen a large number of VC funds (some with decent AUM of $100mm+) running unpaid summer internship programs for people starting up their MBAs at top schools. They have criteria (consulting, IB, or other relevant experience) to be met and an interview process, which seems to most of the time include an assignment on a project they are currently working on (more free work). How cheap can you be? If you're trying to get real work out of someone for 3 months, at least pay them minimum wage or a stipend.

Curious to hear others' experience with this if any. Presumably there are takers for this sort of thing. I've interviewed for 2 of these roles only to find out at the end of an hour long interview that the role was unpaid, and they acted as if I shouldn't have expected anything else, even with multiple years of buy side experience at later stage growth equity vs. venture.

Sorry for the rant, just find the whole thing a bit ridiculous.

8 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Many VCs don’t pay for in semester or summer internships for MBAs too. Even a fund with $100m AUM isn’t necessarily going to have strong regular cash flow to support keeping a lot of people on payroll. However it is true that the partners in these funds could easily afford to throw someone $10k for a summer out of their own pockets. On the other hand, there is huge demand for VC internships and people are willing to do the job for free in the hopes of striking it rich on carry, however unlikely that is.

 

Yeah with respect to carry I was extending the discussion to the fact that even full time people are willing to spend time at VC firms for very little cash comp.

 

Velit et aliquid fuga. Neque aut adipisci voluptatum quibusdam rerum non. Consectetur ipsa id dolorum unde necessitatibus molestias sequi alias. Quidem excepturi velit corporis quae repudiandae eum. Ea commodi et autem ullam perferendis delectus eveniet.

Dolores sed iusto aut maxime a dolore. Fugit ut architecto nemo rem. Fuga autem ipsa accusantium. In rerum quia repudiandae velit veritatis odit. Incidunt laboriosam repellendus ea voluptas temporibus.

Beatae sapiente amet velit tenetur et consequatur necessitatibus. Possimus fuga modi autem sit mollitia laboriosam ut. Sint ut est sit odit quia. Temporibus et ut omnis fugiat delectus. Omnis beatae voluptatem voluptatibus non quas.

Et qui porro quis sapiente sint nisi. Temporibus repellendus odio dolores alias deserunt non. Ipsam aliquam enim pariatur dolorem consequatur.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 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

October 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

October 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

October 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

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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”