Secrets From Within (Part 1?)

The title of a recent Ed2010 post, "Where have all the jobs gone? They've turned into internships," makes a pretty solid claim as to the current state of the magazine industry. Internships are usually a big part of the pre-full-time-employment conquest, and in this career path that oftentimes spills over into post-grad life. But with things the way they are now, some report that their magazine staffs suddenly consist entirely of interns--that is, other than the most senior-level editors. It's entirely exploitative, but it's also rather puzzling. If internships generally require school credit, how do you score the clearly-necessary internship after graduating from said accredited university?

Ah, Red is sneaky in her ways. She's learned a secret that she'll happily divulge to you, dear readers. Credit doesn't have to go to a university... no, no, university students need to take off for midterms and finals, and though they work hard, they're not as reliable as suffering post-grads who are willing to do anything for that full-time offer. That's why major publishing houses will stretch the rules a bit and let you "work for credit" as long as you can show you're enrolled in any kind of class--university or not. Now, I'm wondering, does it have to be academic or can I just use this as an excuse to take cardio kickboxing at the local gym? Somehow, I think a class on Travel Writing might be more in order...