‘Ramen noodles budget’: EU moves to end exploitation of unpaid internships

Unpaid and low-paid work takes a toll on people’s mental health, and female interns are paid even less than their male counterparts. Photograph: fizkes/Getty Images/iStockphoto

By day, he was mostly an unpaid intern, getting a glimpse of day-to-day life in university research as he networked with potential employers.

Nightfall would often send him rushing to his second shift; this time, at a library in the suburbs of Paris as he strives to pay his bills.