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‘At least money comes in’: Why this Indian student’s choice to pick Zepto over a corporate internship is sparking debate

According to the viral post, the college student consciously chose paid part-time work after considering his family’s financial situation.

3 min readNew DelhiJan 15, 2026 06:42 PM IST

The post shared that he asked the student why he had not taken up an internship instead (Representational image/Unsplash)

An X post reignited discussion around the harsh realities of today’s job market, after a college student in India explained to his brother’s friend why he opted for a Zepto delivery job instead of pursuing a corporate internship.

Sharing the interaction, X user Swapnil Kommawar said his friend’s younger brother works part-time delivering orders after college hours.

“I met my friend’s younger brother. He is doing his degree. After college, he works part-time at Zepto. Carrying bags. Delivering orders. Earning pocket money,” Kommawar wrote.

Kommawar further shared that he asked the student why he had not taken up an internship instead, to which the student responded that paid internships are difficult to secure. “Internships are easy to find. But paid internships? Very hard,” the student replied.

In the post, Kommawar added that the student consciously chose paid part-time work after considering his family’s financial situation. “So he chose part-time work by understanding family conditions. At least money comes in. At least he is not sitting idle. Not a big job. Not a big salary. But a big lesson!” he added.

See the viral post here:

I met my friend’s younger brother.
He is doing his degree.

After college, he works part-time in Zepto. Carrying bags. Delivering orders. Earning pocket money.

I asked him, Why not do an internship?

He smiled and said, Internships are easy to find. But paid internships?
Very…

— Swapnil Kommawar (@KommawarSwapnil) January 14, 2026

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The post has fuelled a broader debate on the “exploitation” of unpaid internships and the increasing reliance of India’s youth on gig work to make ends meet. “Interesting , but internship is for skill development.

Free internship in a high skill job would be ideal,” a user wrote. “This hits different. It’s not about the job title, it’s about the mindset,” another user commented.

“Internships = exploitation in our country, at least as much as I have seen. You cannot buy someone’s time in return of a stupid certificate that no one is going to bother about. Unless there is a major brand, or decent real life learning, most unpaid internships are a scam,” a third user reacted.