The cost of an Internship

An analysis of the cost of living in London and Manchester for interns on six month work placements, by the Sutton Trust, concluded that taking an unpaid internship can cost £926 a month in London or £804 in Manchester and that this means that only people with wealthy parents can afford to do unpaid internships. The figures are based on average rental for a room in a shared property, household bills, council tax, food and miscellaneous spending, but excluded transport costs as these are often paid by interns' employers. They say that 31% of graduate interns are unpaid and that, "Internships commonly represent a first step in the ladder towards a professional career in the most competitive sectors, including fashion, journalism, politics, law, finance and the charity sector, and because these areas are so competitive, employers are often able to offer internships as completely unpaid positions." It says that, "These issues make unpaid internships a serious and pressing problem for social mobility."  [ source: GTA ]