Most of us don’t work because we enjoy working, per say, we work because we are paid and income is necessary for life. During the early stages of your career, however, perhaps while you are still in college or high school, unpaid internships can serve an important purpose. Even if you plan on starting your own company, as this guy did selling AP biology notes and AP US history notes, taking unpaid internships is still a good long-term career decision.

When applying for a job, particularly in the business world, everyone wants to know if you have prior experience. Academic certification in the form of a college degree in business or an MBA will certainly help you get a better job, but true work experience is what separates the sheep from the goats in the job interview world. It’s harder to get a job if you don’t have any experience. You clearly can’t become experienced and knowledgeable if you don’t have a job. So how in the world are you supposed to escape this Catch 22, chicken and egg problem?

One of the best ways to get on the job experience working at a real company, not just flipping burgers at McDonalds, is through (as you may have guessed) unpaid internships. Companies are more willing to hire people without experience for these positions as they are unpaid. In addition, the very fact that you are willing to work for free demonstrates your seriousness and intention to succeed. People who take internships are willing to invest in themselves and their own human capital, which will shed a very positive light on your resume when the time comes to apply for a real, paying job.

I mentioned that internships can be used as an opportunity to work for a relatively large, and hopefully successful, company. Working in such an environment will teach you what it is actually like to be a businessperson, and can help you determine if you genuinely want to pursue a career in business. It’s always best to find out whether you would really enjoy working in a specific sphere before you devote your college and perhaps even graduate school credit hours to that subject. For this reason, I suggest that you to try to work a number of different environments as possible and see which type of work seems most attractive. You never many to wake up one day and find out that you don’t actually enjoy that job that you’ve spend so long preparing yourself to do!

So in conclusion, internships are a great way to build your resume, as they provide you with real work experience and on the job insight. So don’t scoff at the next unpaid opportunity that comes you way: who knows, it may lead to the job of your dreams down the road!