A Reddit user’s frustrating experience with a remote internship has reignited discussions about the widespread culture of unpaid work in India’s rapidly growing tech industry. The post, titled “Free work culture in India. Why is it so difficult to pay for work?”, describes how the user was left without any response after completing a two-day assignment as part of an internship application process.
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User @socialblazes explained that after submitting their task within the stipulated deadline, the company called to explain the work environment and benefits. However, when the user asked about the promised stipend, the company abruptly went silent and never responded again. The internship posting had clearly mentioned a stipend of 8,000 to 10,000 rupees, yet the user was left unpaid and ignored. “It’s not like I was going to ask for a fortune,” they wrote. “Why is it so difficult for Indian managers to pay the bare minimum? Yes, we get experience, but we don’t float on air.”
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{{/usCountry}}Voices from the tech community
The Reddit post attracted a lively response, with users sharing mixed but often critical perspectives on unpaid work. One commenter urged, “Never work for free. Make their assignment a public portfolio repo for yourself on GitHub and host it on an app store. It’s only two days of work after all.” Others echoed this sentiment, with one saying they would never recommend working for free or solely for experience.
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Some users attributed the problem to the oversupply of candidates willing to work without pay, noting, “They expect free work because there are a lot of people ready to do it. It’s just supply and demand.”
Several users warned against ever working for free unless there is a clear pathway to employment, suggesting that only reputable startups or companies offering future job prospects warrant such exceptions. One user stated, “If not you, there are lakhs of other people willing to work for lower compensation than you. That’s the core reason.”