Internships for college students are hard to come by in today’s declining economy. Many students are forced to accept positions for the experience and not the pay.

This has been a climbing trend in recent years with companies making budget cuts. But is taking an unpaid internship a good thing?

For some students, the question is a no-brainer. They can take the job over the summer and have their parents assist them with living expenses.

However, for students with limited help from their guardians, they have no choice but to only work paid internships. How else will they pay their rent, utilities and put food on the table?

This is limiting students’ opportunities as graduation draws closer. The perfect internship may await in a big city, but how are they going to afford that?

There’s only one answer for students with limited resources: loans. They are forced to borrow even more money just to get the working experience that they need.

Is it all worth it?

In this depleted job market, the answer is yes. Getting a job after college is entirely about marketing yourself. You have to know more people than the other applicant to get the job.

An internship at a major company helps, even if you dig yourself into deeper debt. While the situation seems bleak, President Obama said he is looking to change everything.

Last year, Obama started to campaign against companies taking advantage of college students. According to a story on Fox News, the U.S. Department of Labor says it’s often illegal for companies to employ unpaid interns.

These internships are only deemed legal if it is structured towards the benefit of the intern instead of the company.

Even though Obama is working towards a better system, is it going to work?

Most companies can’t afford to pay students unless the government subsidizes the project.

Until this mess is sorted out, college students are forced to decide between a valuable working experience and money.