[HunterV]

You have to remember that while liberal, NYC is at its core a business focused city that has a long history (for US standards at least) in business. With that in mind "internships" i.e. unpaid labor for the inexperienced is almost expected proving ground for the up and comers. In reality, the "best" internships can go unpaid because their target market is students from top universities who come from affluent backgrounds whose parents could easily afford an apartment in NYC over the Summer. That being said, I'm being general here. A lot of startups pay (and should pay) for programmers. Actually, us programmers have it pretty good. Try to a paid business internship in NYC sometime.

[johnrgrace]

If you're in "real" business not a creative industry like Fashion, Music, or Publishing you can get paid professional level salaries, for instance Investment banking interns get paid get paid a few thousand a month.