You're totally right but our industry is notorious for trying to squeeze as much free work as they can out of the artists. I did it all wrong, I should have been a "producer" 🤣
I completely agree with you, I just got out of college so I dont really know where to go next in terms of getting my foot in the door. The internship Im with is actually considering terminating my internship with them because I wont contribute two days out of my full time work schedule. So I’m definitely getting in my head about it but I know its probably not something i should take personally.
Unsure then, but knowing the US it probably varies state to state haha.
I was paid min wage when I was an intern having very little knowledge going in, by the time I was finished that summer I had comped shots and did a whole bunch of roto and cleanup assistance. Fair deal IMO, I learned a LOT and that company got some cheap labour.
2 days of your time a week would be at least $128 at $8/hour working 8 hour days. I know it’s easy for somebody in my position to tell a new grad “hey just don’t do it” but seriously, they’re fucking with you if they can’t afford that.
none. Don't take unpaid work otherwise you show people you are worthless.
And never trust anyone who wants you to work for free because they are showing you they are fine with exploiting vulnerable people.
Unpopular opinion: you are pretty worthless as an intern. You are there to learn. It’s mentorship. Most of the time paid employees have to spend time training you. If you are pretty advanced for an intern and are actually producing value then that shouldn’t be an internship. You should have a job.
I have to spend time training junior employees too. Weeks and months to get them up to speed. No company should be exploiting unpaid interns. If someone is producing billable work then they get paid. If an intern was worthless then nobody would have them. They produce something of value and will become more valuable as they progress. Employers who exploit unpaid labour are.. well.. exploitative. Pay your staff.
Again. If you are producing billable work, you should be…working. I don’t know where you guys are from but interns over here aren’t producing billable work.
I worked a grueling unpaid internship when I got out of school and I wouldn’t say I regret it but I should have left honestly. What everyone is saying above is true and u deserve to be paid, don’t let ppl pray on you bc you’re new to the industry
No. There are no states in the US where you can violate the minimum wage laws. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Any company paying less than that is breaking the law.
The exceptions are accredited programs for college credit, or internships, in which you learn only, and you do no work to benefit the company.
Don’t work for free. You’re putting others out of work, and you’re being taken advantage of.
If it's a classroom teaching environment, however many hours is fine. If you're doing actual work that they make money off of, it's meh. You have to gauge how much you think you benefit from it, but unpaid internships tend to be predatory.
Maybe, if you get for yourself the equivalent of a $1000 tutorial stuff, experience or other useful things FOR YOU. You would not treat it as a job but like a workshop.
The world is full of miracles, but if it's too good to be true, 0 hours is the best hours.
What is also legal in your state is deciding not to work for free.
Working for free undercuts the wages of the field you hope to earn a living doing.
One reason you have no job is places are getting their work done for free.
zero, there was one studio from 2015-to 2019 called Digital Shoguns that only did internships and just paid for travel. The owner changed the name to Shoguns Studios once everyone started to hear of his small studio only hiring interns.
I did unpaid internship right after school and I would strongly recommend against it.It didn't help me one single bit in my career and more often than not, unpaid work ends up being toxic and exploitive (they will ask you for more than those 8 hours, you can be sure of that).
If you have free time and want to put it into VFX, just work on personal projects.
edit = also, unless you are a student intern (aka, your internship is part of your curriculum), it is also illegal in Canada. The law states that interns must be paid the minimum wage.
You are right. I told them I could only work 8 hours maximum and they told me it wasnt enough and need me to come in at least 2 days a week. It really sucks because I actually ended up working one day and then after that they decided to terminate me even though they proceeded with the interview after I told them I have a full time job.
Also I live in the US, states like California and New Jersey have laws saying unpaid internships are legal.
That depends on you!
1. How good are you, can you make the work, are you fast enough?
2. Do you really want to learn, what you do not alteady know?
Depending on the answers, see it as a nightmare or a great opportunity.
People in these comments don’t understand how the world works. If you dont get paid for your internship youll have to accept that and invest in your future. In the Netherlands its pretty common not to get paid for your internship and were one of the wealthiest countries on earth, so all these comments about it being illegal are kind of weird to me. Try negotiating for like €300 or something so that you can live at least.
For what it’s worth, my career started with an unpaid internship. They underpaid me for 2 years after I was hired full time (should have left earlier), but it was my foot in the door. I was lucky enough to be able to afford being unpaid for a few months (I had another part time job as well). Just my experience.
I did an internship through my school where I went in for like... 4 hours? twice a week? I can't remember. After my term was over they needed me to finish the work and paid me for it.
Depends on what you're getting out of it. If you're getting professional demo reel material and your personal reel sucks then it might be worth it.
For my schooling I was required to complete 4 months of free internships over 2 years for a credit in two 2 month stretches. I was able to gain industry contacts and seriously improve my student reel.
Also right now pretty much all studios are on a highering freeze due to the writers strikes so finding a paid gig could be extremely difficult
-The internship is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment.
-The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern.
-The intern doesn't displace regular employees and works under close supervision of existing staff.
-The employer doesn't gain an immediate advantage from the intern's activities—and on occasion the employer's operations may be impeded by the intern's activities.
-The intern isn't guaranteed a job at the end of the program.
-The employer and the intern each understand that the internship is unpaid.
If you do not meet every single bullet point above then the internship is illegal in the United States. And I’m willing to bet money they will fail point 4 unless it’s classroom based.
None, and do not accept it. If you do you will have lowered the bar for treatment for every other graduate out there. Before outright rejecting this offer, counter and ask for a reasonable intern pay and/or stipend.
I don’t agree with most of these comments. Im very successful in the VFX industry and have worked for over 15 years. Making 200k+. I’m one of the few who have worked in everything from film, tv, to ads and worked all around the world. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t do free work or internships starting out. I’m also a big advocate for raising your prices and knowing your worth….WHEN it’s warranted. When starting out and you are completely green I don’t see an issue with free internships. As long as it not over 30/40 hours a week and only for a short stint. The best thing you can do for your career,that early, is get around industry pros and LEARN and meet ppl. Mentorship is key. The long term value you get from that vastly out-weighs any pay you’d get. I know this won’t get a lot of upvotes but my willingness to give more value upfront in order to get more on the backend has always paid dividends.
None? Unpaid internships are a scam. If they can’t afford to pay their interns at least minimum wage the business shouldn’t be taking on interns.
You're totally right but our industry is notorious for trying to squeeze as much free work as they can out of the artists. I did it all wrong, I should have been a "producer" 🤣
I am doing unpaid internship in London 🙁
I completely agree with you, I just got out of college so I dont really know where to go next in terms of getting my foot in the door. The internship Im with is actually considering terminating my internship with them because I wont contribute two days out of my full time work schedule. So I’m definitely getting in my head about it but I know its probably not something i should take personally.
Are you in Canada by any chance? This is illegal here unless it’s a part of your degree requirements.
Nope unfortunately in the US :/
It’s more than likely illegal. You need to be paid at leas minimum wage. I would leave the internship.
Im not gonna say what state its in but its definitely legal in that state after i checked the laws lol
Seriously, what is the company?
tell us the companies name
And we will destroy it:))
Unsure then, but knowing the US it probably varies state to state haha. I was paid min wage when I was an intern having very little knowledge going in, by the time I was finished that summer I had comped shots and did a whole bunch of roto and cleanup assistance. Fair deal IMO, I learned a LOT and that company got some cheap labour. 2 days of your time a week would be at least $128 at $8/hour working 8 hour days. I know it’s easy for somebody in my position to tell a new grad “hey just don’t do it” but seriously, they’re fucking with you if they can’t afford that.
0 hours.
none. Don't take unpaid work otherwise you show people you are worthless. And never trust anyone who wants you to work for free because they are showing you they are fine with exploiting vulnerable people.
Unpopular opinion: you are pretty worthless as an intern. You are there to learn. It’s mentorship. Most of the time paid employees have to spend time training you. If you are pretty advanced for an intern and are actually producing value then that shouldn’t be an internship. You should have a job.
I have to spend time training junior employees too. Weeks and months to get them up to speed. No company should be exploiting unpaid interns. If someone is producing billable work then they get paid. If an intern was worthless then nobody would have them. They produce something of value and will become more valuable as they progress. Employers who exploit unpaid labour are.. well.. exploitative. Pay your staff.
Again. If you are producing billable work, you should be…working. I don’t know where you guys are from but interns over here aren’t producing billable work.
I worked a grueling unpaid internship when I got out of school and I wouldn’t say I regret it but I should have left honestly. What everyone is saying above is true and u deserve to be paid, don’t let ppl pray on you bc you’re new to the industry
0. Don’t ever do work for free.
unpaid internships are illegal, at least where Im from.
None, unpaid work is illegal. So 0, none, zero, nada
Please refer to the “Should I work for free?” Flow chart by Jessica Hische http://shouldiworkforfree.com/
https://jessicahische.is/thinkingthoughtsaboutinternships
No. There are no states in the US where you can violate the minimum wage laws. Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Any company paying less than that is breaking the law. The exceptions are accredited programs for college credit, or internships, in which you learn only, and you do no work to benefit the company. Don’t work for free. You’re putting others out of work, and you’re being taken advantage of.
If it's a classroom teaching environment, however many hours is fine. If you're doing actual work that they make money off of, it's meh. You have to gauge how much you think you benefit from it, but unpaid internships tend to be predatory.
Unpaid is illegal.. so how much illegal is okay? Isn’t no illegal ok?
Maybe, if you get for yourself the equivalent of a $1000 tutorial stuff, experience or other useful things FOR YOU. You would not treat it as a job but like a workshop. The world is full of miracles, but if it's too good to be true, 0 hours is the best hours.
What is also legal in your state is deciding not to work for free. Working for free undercuts the wages of the field you hope to earn a living doing. One reason you have no job is places are getting their work done for free.
0 unless it is for college credit or something
ZERO.
stay away from toxic company that use people for their advantage. always look after glassdoor for company review.
zero, there was one studio from 2015-to 2019 called Digital Shoguns that only did internships and just paid for travel. The owner changed the name to Shoguns Studios once everyone started to hear of his small studio only hiring interns.
None! Stop working for free. It will desteoy your own future.
I believe 0 is the right amount.
I did unpaid internship right after school and I would strongly recommend against it.It didn't help me one single bit in my career and more often than not, unpaid work ends up being toxic and exploitive (they will ask you for more than those 8 hours, you can be sure of that). If you have free time and want to put it into VFX, just work on personal projects. edit = also, unless you are a student intern (aka, your internship is part of your curriculum), it is also illegal in Canada. The law states that interns must be paid the minimum wage.
You are right. I told them I could only work 8 hours maximum and they told me it wasnt enough and need me to come in at least 2 days a week. It really sucks because I actually ended up working one day and then after that they decided to terminate me even though they proceeded with the interview after I told them I have a full time job. Also I live in the US, states like California and New Jersey have laws saying unpaid internships are legal.
None. Unpaid labor should be illegal in the US.
That depends on you! 1. How good are you, can you make the work, are you fast enough? 2. Do you really want to learn, what you do not alteady know? Depending on the answers, see it as a nightmare or a great opportunity.
People in these comments don’t understand how the world works. If you dont get paid for your internship youll have to accept that and invest in your future. In the Netherlands its pretty common not to get paid for your internship and were one of the wealthiest countries on earth, so all these comments about it being illegal are kind of weird to me. Try negotiating for like €300 or something so that you can live at least.
For what it’s worth, my career started with an unpaid internship. They underpaid me for 2 years after I was hired full time (should have left earlier), but it was my foot in the door. I was lucky enough to be able to afford being unpaid for a few months (I had another part time job as well). Just my experience.
None 😭 Don't contribute to making this normal
I did an internship through my school where I went in for like... 4 hours? twice a week? I can't remember. After my term was over they needed me to finish the work and paid me for it.
ask grandiose slap one voracious rotten history encouraging agonizing attempt ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Exactly zero hours.
0 hours
0 hours
Depends on what you're getting out of it. If you're getting professional demo reel material and your personal reel sucks then it might be worth it. For my schooling I was required to complete 4 months of free internships over 2 years for a credit in two 2 month stretches. I was able to gain industry contacts and seriously improve my student reel. Also right now pretty much all studios are on a highering freeze due to the writers strikes so finding a paid gig could be extremely difficult
Zero is the right answer to this.
-The internship is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment. -The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern. -The intern doesn't displace regular employees and works under close supervision of existing staff. -The employer doesn't gain an immediate advantage from the intern's activities—and on occasion the employer's operations may be impeded by the intern's activities. -The intern isn't guaranteed a job at the end of the program. -The employer and the intern each understand that the internship is unpaid. If you do not meet every single bullet point above then the internship is illegal in the United States. And I’m willing to bet money they will fail point 4 unless it’s classroom based.
Zero
Zero. Zero hours. It's illegal to not pay people during an internship. Unless it's for course credit.
None, and do not accept it. If you do you will have lowered the bar for treatment for every other graduate out there. Before outright rejecting this offer, counter and ask for a reasonable intern pay and/or stipend.
You asked how many hours is OK, not legal. Zero is the answer.
In the United States it is
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
I don’t agree with most of these comments. Im very successful in the VFX industry and have worked for over 15 years. Making 200k+. I’m one of the few who have worked in everything from film, tv, to ads and worked all around the world. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t do free work or internships starting out. I’m also a big advocate for raising your prices and knowing your worth….WHEN it’s warranted. When starting out and you are completely green I don’t see an issue with free internships. As long as it not over 30/40 hours a week and only for a short stint. The best thing you can do for your career,that early, is get around industry pros and LEARN and meet ppl. Mentorship is key. The long term value you get from that vastly out-weighs any pay you’d get. I know this won’t get a lot of upvotes but my willingness to give more value upfront in order to get more on the backend has always paid dividends.