Money doesn't actually talk. We do.

Did You Do an Unpaid Internship? We should talk…

Ever worked for free? Or for a crappy stipend that barely covered your transportation?

Unpaid internships have become a rite of passage for eager undergrads who yearn to get hands-on experience. At their best, they offer an inside look at enticing industries. At their worst, they’re filing, answering phones or copying for bosszillas. Often, the most prestigious gigs are unpaid, working for monstrous companies with booming annual revenues that could totally afford to pay minimum wage.

You’re qualified. You work. You don’t get paid. What gives?

Well, we don’t know, but we aim to find out. How? We’re seeking nominations for our first FiLife Wall of Shame, which we’ll erect after we launch the full site (soon, very soon). The Wall seeks to smoke out policies and practices in the areas we cover, call out companies and organizations that are responsible and demand that they explain themselves to our readers. This first Wall will be about companies that don’t pay their interns, but we’ll be looking at 401k policies, credit-card practices and other topics before too long.

Please send your nominations for companies or organizations that should be on the Unpaid Intern Wall (or any questions) to me.

Here’s what we’ll do with this information: We’ll call the institution, confirm that they require credit or don’t pay, tell them what we think of that practice and give them a chance to comment. Then, we’ll post those the offending institution with their comments on the Wall.

Here’s what we won’t do with this information: We won’t publish your name (unless you want credit for nominating the offending institution, which is cool with us – just be clear in your e-mail). We won’t send you spam. We just want to give you a shot at outing folks who may need a little nudge to do the right thing.

Things that are fair game for this particular Wall: Requiring academic credit, no pay, low stipends, getting paid in food or anything that is less than minimum wage for every hour you work.

Because we can save the world, one bitter intern at a time.

-Mary Pilon

P.S. In case you were wondering, the White House Interns, including Monica, are unpaid.

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