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My son has just secured a "job" as an unpaid intern in the film business.
He moves to NYC in about a month. He has learned, though he now says he knew ahead of time, that most in that field start work, working for nothing or as an intern.
I have been researching this and it seems like this is the norm, in the "biz." I know I do not know.
From you guys experience, does this "free interning" normally turn into a paid job, or is it just a step to add to resume for a more senior paid job.
I guess as long as young people will work for free, the market is taking advantage of it, but I remain stunned that he has a "full time, intern job."
Any hope, do you think, that an intern job will magically turn into a paid position?
I am afraid I have been put into the position of funding this endeavor. A position I can neither afford nor expected. I did not spend $100K on college to work for free...or did I? Yikes!
My son has just secured a "job" as an unpaid intern in the film business.
He moves to NYC in about a month. He has learned, though he now says he knew ahead of time, that most in that field start work, working for nothing or as an intern.
I have been researching this and it seems like this is the norm, in the "biz." I know I do not know.
From you guys experience, does this "free interning" normally turn into a paid job, or is it just a step to add to resume for a more senior paid job.
I guess as long as young people will work for free, the market is taking advantage of it, but I remain stunned that he has a "full time, intern job."
Any hope, do you think, that an intern job will magically turn into a paid position?
I am afraid I have been put into the position of funding this endeavor. A position I can neither afford nor expected. I did not spend $100K on college to work for free...or did I? Yikes!
LLN
If you check out a film shoot in Manhattan, you will see "staff" all over. It's because they aren't paying, they can afford to have "production assistants" stand around doing almost nothing. I would imagine that it is not hard to secure an unpaid internship, no matter what your experience. I do know someone that managed to get a job at a cable television station a few years back after interning, but that was all done during college.
Had a paid internship with the city of NY a decade ago. Because of Bloomberg budget cuts that year I couldbnot be hired full time as an assistant IT. Overall internship was a good experience.
As a native New Yorker who's trying to break in to the local Film/TV industry with his measly B.A in film production, I unfortunately agree that most of us start working for little to no pay. Having a decent skill-set and only one internship under my belt before graduation, my post-college job search was a disaster, which led me to pursue another internshup this past Fall. Thankfully I've been able to network and bolster my skill-set with this one, but my future in this field still looks uncertain.
Some of the fellow interns I've met moved on to better things, working at TV/cable/movie networks and whatnot, while others are still slumming it in the internship circuit like myself. I feel that you have to actively network and prove your worth to supervisors and higher-ups to increase your chances for paid and/or freelance work after the end of an internship.
This whole internship system sucks, and I often find myself frustrated and ready to give up because, as a working-class New Yorker, unpaid work cuts into the precious time I could be spending towards paid work (which is hard to come by). But then I rationalize, think about the long-term rewards (if any) and grasp on to the little hope I have, finding the motivation to keep on going. *sigh*
Good luck to you and your son OP, it's a short-term sacrifice with long-term rewards.....if he takes the initiative to network and put himself out there.
I have been involved in several industries, include film and music through the years. Mostly as investor or guarantor. I have had interns, always paid. Not highly paid, but paid. I have them screened, then interview them. I use them still in investment business.
They get to meet a wide variety of people, they do a great deal of "grunt" work and research. They work with senior staff so they are "in the room" to see how things work. A few were hired by us, anyone who survives can count on a letter of recommendation or a call to someone who is looking to hire.
If someone wants you to intern for free, think very carefully before you agree. You ought receive some type of stipend, and possibly a housing allowance.
Totally agree and I don't see why you would fund it. I'm a parent and no way am I paying for my children to "chase their dream". My sister was an unpaid intern at MTV....they worked her to the bone...knowing that no one would support her, she went on to get a job with benefits outside of media.
Such is life.
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