Internships are often necessary for college students who want to gain real-world experiences. A common question students ask when looking for internships is whether they’ll be paid or unpaid.

Opportunities can vary depending on the field of study, and students have noticed that specific majors tend to have better access to paid positions.

R. Drew Sellers, an accounting internship advisor, noted that accounting majors often have an easier time obtaining paid internships than students in other fields.

“All of the accounting majors’ internships are paid,” Sellers said. “The demand for our accounting students is strong.”

Internships in the accounting program also often serve as a direct bridge to full-time employment, Sellers said.

“Most students do their internships in the spring semester of their junior year, and many internships lead to full-time positions,” he said. “So, a fair number of our students start their senior year with a full-time job already lined up.”

Alaina Pelland, a sophomore accounting major at Kent State, landed a paid internship right after graduating from high school and was recently hired for another one set to begin next year.

While students like Pelland have found success securing paid internships, the overall picture for college students across the country is more mixed. According to Zippia, only about 60.8% of internships in the U.S. are paid, while the remaining 39.2% are unpaid.

However, there’s a shift happening, as a Forbes article from 2023 reported, “Across the Handshake jobs platform for Gen Z and early talent, roughly 75% of all internship postings seen by students in 2022 were paid positions — a 15-point increase from the prior year.”

Despite this progress, unpaid internships still disproportionately affect certain groups. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, women and students of color are more likely to get unpaid internships compared to white men.

Acknowledging the realities of unpaid internships for many other majors, Pelland shared her stance on the matter.

“If I were offered an internship from the same company without pay, I would not have jumped to accept it right away,” she said. “College is already expensive as it is, and I need to ensure that I can financially support myself while gaining experience.”

While students in fields like accounting may have a clearer path to paid internships and jobs, that’s not always the case for other majors.

Carolina Vargas, a junior fashion merchandising major, took an unpaid internship in content management to gain experience in her field and to earn college credit.

“Many of my roommates have received multiple paid internships, but in fashion, a lot of the internships I have looked into or been offered tend to be for school credit,” she said.

Vargas suspected that the remote nature of her internship may have influenced its financial aspect, resulting in it being unpaid.

Hillary Stone, an internship advisor for the school of fashion, acknowledged the difficulties fashion students encounter in finding paid internships. This is especially true in competitive markets like New York City, where many students usually intern or participate in Kent’s study-away program.

“I think if you want experience in New York City to work with certain designers or certain companies, they will be unpaid,” Stone said. “It is the student’s choice to gain that experience working with certain designers.”

Stone understands the frustration that comes with the lack of compensation, regardless of the work involved.

“I hope that they would be paid, but I am powerless over somebody else,” Stone said. “And that’s what’s most frustrating because you want people to be paid for their time.”

However, this challenge isn’t exclusive to fashion students.

According to Strada Education Network’s findings, fields such as political science, journalism and human development are also prone to higher rates of unpaid internships.

Despite the frustrations, Stone advises students to be clear about what they hope to gain during their internship to make the most of their experience.

“I think students should clarify their responsibilities with their supervisor and understand both their own expectations and those of the employer,” she said. “You need to make sure you have clear expectations and really know what you’re going to gain out of your internship.”

Erin Lavinder is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].