I work in the IT field and a couple of years ago, I had two internships that was free, one in a PC store and one in a corporate office, I did not get paid $hit but got some experience to put on paper which helped later on, and though I dropped out of school but now will be taking myself back to school soon to finish up my AS in IT studies, at least I have the experience to back it up.
I was a hiring manager for years at a couple of engineering firms and I made sure we hired college kids. It was good for them, as we paid them well and great for us as they always did billable work.
Almost all of the kids were eventually hired full time.
The point is, if you are studying something that no one will even give you a summer job in, then it is not likely you will get a full time job in that field either.