In Your Debt: Get skills, not bills, at an unpaid internship

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. According to Carlos Mark Vera co-founder and executive director of Pay Our Interns, a nonprofit fighting to end unpaid internships across the country in all sectors, unpaid internships disproportionately harm specific populations. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS The U.S. Department of Labor has guidelines on what constitutes a legal unpaid internship — your work can’t displace that of a paid employee, for example. FUND UNPAID WORK WITH PAID WORK “I would combine an internship with other side gigs or part-time jobs,” says Mark Reyes, a certified financial planner at Albert a financial wellness app. USE STUDENT LOANS INSTEAD OF CREDIT CARDS You can use funds from your student loan for living expenses if you’re doing an unpaid internship for college credit.