We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their unpaid intern horror stories. From getting coffee to being forced to do unethical work, the tales are a good reminder that unpaid internships are oftentimes unethical and, in general, just suck.
Here's what they shared...
1. The intern who had to get a coffee, but received backlash in exchange.
"I remember one fashion week, I was getting a buyer a coffee. She just wanted an espresso, so I go back to prepare a tray of snacks and her coffee. As she didn’t specify, and we weren’t allowed to speak to them because we were interns, I made her a double shot so she had extra if needed. I bring her the tray, and she tells me she wants a single, so I had to go back to the kitchen to pour out half of it down the sink. 😩 She could have just left it!!"
2. And the intern who was asked to come back into work JUST to bring coffee.
"There was a meeting at 7 p.m., and I prepared the room and everything before I left for the day, because I finish work at 4 p.m. My boss asked me to come to work at 7 p.m. to bring them coffee. I lived 30 minutes away, and she KNEW that, but she still wanted me to drive 30 minutes to work, to bring them coffee, and then go home again."
3. The intern who was given a "gift" they never asked for.
"My boss gave me (20 at the time and never having had a dog) her Pomeranian when she moved in with her boyfriend and didn’t want it anymore."
4. The intern who worked for a boss who asked (and did) WAY too much.
"I had to complete an 880-hour unpaid internship to become a substance abuse counselor in Minnesota. My intern supervisor ended up getting fired for (seriously wild) unrelated reasons a few months after I started, but not before she completely took advantage of me.
She made me pick up her small children from school, daily, while I didn’t have car seats or booster seats to transport them, made me help her throw a birthday party for her daughter and required me to buy her a gift, gave my personal cellphone number to her brother in hopes I would date him, and encouraged me multiple times to purchase Pure Romance stuff from her.
After she got fired, she thought it was because of me and in return tried getting my then-boyfriend (now-husband) fired from his job. 😳"
5. The intern who was put at risk for COVID-19...for under $2/hour.
"I was interning at a college counseling center when the pandemic hit. Administration was pretty slow to respond, but what really got me is that their initial plan was to actually INCREASE the number of clients we saw face-to-face by adding walk-in hours because 'it's a stressful time, and we're anticipating more students will want to check in.' There was no talk about safety precautions or the possibility of telehealth even though we were working with a bunch of college students who already had laptops and internet access.
This was presented in a regular weekly staff meeting with the center director, a few permanent/senior counseling staff and supervisors, and four interns earning a stipend of a little under $2/hour.
None of the supervisors or senior staff said anything. I pushed back and was eventually able to get the director to look into changing the plan and moving to telehealth.
We saw decreased client demand anyway. We were going to increase risk of getting COVID-19 for nothing."
6. The intern who was asked to work well above their experience level.
"I interned as a residential home for the elderly admin. They made me do CNA (certified nursing assistant) work because they were constantly short-staffed. I quit in less than a week. Hell the fuck no!"
7. The intern who witnessed some awful things at a fashion show.
"Working at a luxury brand, we were told to not wear branded clothes, but this was backstage (at a show), so no one from press or public were allowed in.
An intern came in with a black top with a slightly faded logo on it; they yelled at her in front of 50-plus people and made her go into the corner of the art museum we were in, take her top off, and turn it around!!
They didn’t even let her go to the bathroom. It was surreal…"
8. The intern who was sent on questionable and unethical errands.
"I interned at a residential substance abuse treatment center for minors. One of the first few days, I was sent to the pharmacy alone to pick up unknown medications for kids I had JUST met with just their name and birth date. I had no identification to prove I was authorized to do this, and it still weirds me out to this day.
What would have happened if I’d been stopped by a cop? 'Yes, officer, I’m carrying several bottles of drugs. No, I do not know what they are or who they’re for. This guy I met a couple days ago sent me to pick them up.' 😳"
9. The intern who unexpectedly got turned into the head coach.
"I co-coached an eight-week basketball class for 6- to 10-year-olds as part of my diploma program. I have zero interest in basketball (hockey is my sport) and knew nothing, but quickly picked up the basics from watching the other coach in our first session.
Second session, the head coach was so late that he missed the first class and only made it for the last 15 minutes of the second. Third session, he didn’t even show up. I spoke with the supervisor to ensure the coach would be there next time, and they said, 'Oh, he quit. Didn’t you know?' They asked me to finish coaching the term, and how could I say no to those great kids?
So, I studied as much as I could on coaching basketball and got a few friends to help me with technique. Clearly that wasn’t 'enough' for the parents because one of the dads who watched the classes tried to take over. He brought his own whistle and everything and would just shout over me. When they asked me to coach another session, I politely said, 'Fuck no.'"
—mysa
10. The intern who had no experience and was forced to take on clients their very first day.
"I had an internship at a residential treatment facility for clinical substance use disorder/co-occurring mental health disorders.
Was told, “You’re going to be carrying half of the agency’s client caseload because we’re short staffed, but since you’re not technically licensed yet, I’ll be signing off on your clinical notes — we use GIRP (goal, intervention, response, plan) notes. If you don’t know what those are, google it because I need your notes to pass the state auditor’s inspection of client files.'
No training, no supervision, no opportunity to observe — I had a 10-client caseload my first day in the field."
11. And finally, the intern whose learning experience consisted of literally hauling garbage.
"I had to take the bins out! The actual rubbish bins. Only the interns had to do that, nobody else."
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.