Interns get trapped in extended unpaid roles
11 posts across 6 communities in the last 60 days; 27% from r/ITCareerQuestions.
“Hi guys, So I’m currently a Information Systems senior and ever since June I’ve been working as an Information Technology Intern for an architecture company. I pretty much just help people in the office/different offices with any issues going on with their devices along with…”
“Hi everyone, I'm a 2024 BTech graduate with a nearly 2-year career gap, and I recently joined a small startup with around 25 employees as a Full Stack Developer Intern (MERN stack) . This is my first internship, and I would appreciate some honest advice. Here are the terms of…”
“I’m 22 and a 2026 B.Tech Computer Engineering graduate. I completed around 9 months as a SOC Analyst intern in cybersecurity, where I worked with SIEM, alert triage, phishing investigations and log analysis. I received a PPO but left due to location/commute issues. I’m now…”
Recent graduates in cybersecurity and other fields face indefinite unpaid internships that exceed expected timelines, leaving them financially strained and career growth stunted. Many report extensions beyond initial agreements without conversion to full-time roles.
SOURCES (15)
“Hi guys, So I’m currently a Information Systems senior and ever since June I’ve been working as an Information Technology Intern for an architecture company. I pretty much just help people in the office/different offices with any issues going on with their devices along with…”
“Hi guys, So I’m currently a Information Systems senior and ever since June I’ve been working as an Information Technology Intern for an architecture company. I pretty much just help people in the office/different offices with any issues going on with their devices along with troubleshooting issues with the applications they use. I also pretty much re-image devices to the latest version of windows in the office I work at along with doing feature updates remotely for another office in South Americ”
“Hi everyone, I'm a 2024 BTech graduate with a nearly 2-year career gap, and I recently joined a small startup with around 25 employees as a Full Stack Developer Intern (MERN stack) . This is my first internship, and I would appreciate some honest advice. Here are the terms of the internship: Work mode: Work from home initially, with a possibility of hybrid work later if the company allows it. First 3 months: Completely unpaid. Next 3 months: Performance-based stipend, but the amount hasn'”
“I’m 22 and a 2026 B.Tech Computer Engineering graduate. I completed around 9 months as a SOC Analyst intern in cybersecurity, where I worked with SIEM, alert triage, phishing investigations and log analysis. I received a PPO but left due to location/commute issues. I’m now working as an IT Support/L1 Engineer in a pharmaceutical company at ₹2.5 LPA, handling Windows, AD, hardware/software troubleshooting, Outlook, printers, assets, backups, etc. I’m confused about my long-term direction. I’m int”
“Hey folks. I recently completed my Post Graduation in Computer Science and looking for internship opportunities in India. I have completed 2 end to end projects and deployed them in AWS. Any referal would be highly beneficial for me.. And pls suggest any resume upgrades submitted by /u/NervousResult641 [link] [comments]”
“I'm a BSc Computer Science fresher looking for QA/software roles. I got a call from a small IT company (works in cloud/networks, web development) offering an internship — unpaid for the first 3 months, with a job offer if my performance is good. I wouldn't mind this if it were just 1 month, or if it was right after graduation, but my family's financial situation isn't great right now, and I need to start earning as soon as possible. I've been applying and interviewing elsewhe”
“Hey everyone, I’m a 2026 CSE graduate from India and I’m trying to get into cybersecurity. I’ve received an offer for a 1 year cybersecurity apprenticeship under NATS at a well-known company. I can’t disclose the company name, but it’s an established company and they’re currently expanding their cybersecurity/InfoSec team. The role is close to my hometown, so I’m considering taking it. The stipend is **below ₹20K/month**, which is quite low. They mentioned that there *might* be a full-time oppor”
“Hey all, looking for some real advice as I head into my last semester and job search. Quick background on me: graduating this December with a degree in Computing & Informatics and a cybersecurity minor, 3.8 GPA. 1.5 years as a security analyst in my university's IT security office, day-to-day vulnerability management and log analysis Cybersecurity fellowship at Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College over the summer, working on a small research team, published 2 papers out of that research (”
“I'm a Nigerian CS student wrapping up a 22-week industrial training placement in cybersecurity. The training went roughly: security fundamentals and threat modelling → security domains/controls → blue team/red team basics, incident response, threat intelligence → log analysis, SIEM, penetration testing → crypto and OS security → Kali Linux, VPNs, proxy chains → email security/header forensics → OSINT. I'm now trying to figure out what to go deep on next rather than staying broad. The nat”
“I’m graduating this December with a degree in cybersecurity, and I’m trying to figure out what I to the next few months to put myself in the best position to land a full-time job. I had an IT internship from September 2025 through July 2026. Going into it, I was hoping there would be an opportunity to extend the internship and potentially transition into a full-time position after graduation. I felt like I was doing well throughout the internship. I never received any negative feedback from my m”
“A few months ago, I was unemployed and applying everywhere. I had worked in a customer support role at an MNC, but I knew I didn't want to build my career there. I was trying to move into cybersecurity. At one point, I happened to meet a Security Operations Director from an MNC while travelling. We had a good conversation, I shared my resume with him, and he told me he would try to help me if there were any opportunities. I followed up later but didn't hear back, so I eventually moved on”
“I’m a Cybersecurity student, full time, double majoring in Information Technology. I should have my degree in Cybersecurity at the end of this year and my BAS in IT by the summer of next year. I have learned much at this internship and have been continuously revamping my resume. I’m lucky, in this job market, to even land an internship. I’ve actively tried networking at my school and job, yet it seems no one is actually putting in effort to help me except a couple of people. And, in saying that,”
“Hi, I am a software engineering student pursuing a career as a full-stack web dev. I recently got an invitation to an interview for the unpaid internship role. The company is based in Finland and it is a remote job. The company is very small. The question is: Do I take the job if I get accepted? They mentioned they can contact in the future if interns do well. Meaning there is an opportunity to get hired in the future. Or is it not worth the risk? For me, getting paid in a foreign currency sound”
“Hi everyone, I'm looking for some honest career advice from people working in cybersecurity. I graduated in 2024 with a degree in Computer Science. After several months of job searching, I got an opportunity in April 2025 as a SOC Intern at X company . I'm still working there, but my internship was extended instead of being converted into a full-time position. My current extension is expected to end in October 2026 . During my internship, I've gained hands-on experience with: Alert t”