why the hell isn't this a paid position?

Originally Posted by CollectiveConfusion

Paid internships... basically don't exist. Especially at indie labels haha, if they can get it for free, why wouldn't they?

yeah, that's my point, why would anyone accept an internship that wasn't paid

Originally Posted by shwaz499

Because its hard as fuck to get a job and an internship can very often lead to a paid position. I started as an intern at an independent production company and as soon as the head guy caught wind at my skills as a video editor I started getting paid. Two years later I'm cutting a reality show. Pay your dues people and kill it. (with that said I've done work for the head honcho of Razor and Tie and he's a huge dick.)

No. I hate this argument, because it guarantees nothing. "Pay your dues" and "kill it?" Please. You could be the best intern, doing mountains of extra work and the company still could not hire you. It is hard to get a job and internships look good on resumes (that's why I had a two year one, and it paid). No internship should not come without at least a stipend. I never accepted unpaid internships and no one should. It's disgraceful for a company to not invest in people that do as much work (sometimes more) than people on their payroll. And it's disrespectful.

Originally Posted by shwaz499

Call it whatever you want but with the economy right now its become a staple of modern companies. If you can get a paid internship or job right off the bat that's great but there's many people who can't. To those people I would recommend to put themselves in a situation where they can show their work ethic and work hard. You may get disrespected and feel like you're getting taken advantage of and you WILL have to get people coffee but you're in a position where you can show people what you can do.

But you are missing the point - you have grown acceptable to the fact that this is widespread practice. That's not a pathway to progress, I publicly speak out against any company or corporation that does not pay its interns. Only if other people can be bothered by this, the rights of the worker can be changed.

Originally Posted by shwaz499

alright, man. you keep being a political hero then. i'm just giving people some practical advice.

But people can think for themselves and realize they are being enslaved for no real promise of a job. I personally think it's a breach of the thirteenth amendment, because it is a form of unfree labor.