3 ms·

Don't intern for free. Your time is worth at least minimum wage. Plus, it's illegal is most places to work on "real work" if you're not getting paid.

jgv 16y ago
Interning for free is usually really hard on people, it became really hard on me. I also understand the whole legal gray area. That being said, the fact that I interned with the company I'm with before taking a job with them was incredibly advantageous to me in the hiring process. If you can do freelance work (maybe 2 or 3 days a week) while interning for a company that you think may hire you (when you're not freelancing), I would recommend it.
joshuacc 16y ago
"Don't intern for free. Your time is worth at least minimum wage." I second this. Part of my assignments the final semester of college was to intern in an IT related business. With no previous contact, I was able to get an internship paying a bit more than minimum wage. It was invaluable experience. Not to mention that once the internship was over I had a great job just waiting for me to say yes. :-)
sajithw 16y ago
Actually, I think it's worth considering the other side of the coin. Either work for free or ask for a wage that is comparable to your skillset (i.e. well beyond minimum wage). Working for free is a great way to build your portfolio of projects and get some "experience" to put on your resume. Go find a startup or small business and basically tell them you can build stuff for them for free for a month. After that period, if they like you then they need to hire you full-time. However, I do agree there is a fine line between doing this for portfolio/resume building and being used for bitch work.
Zak 16y ago
Plus, it's illegal is most places to work on "real work" if you're not getting paid. The way this is phrased seems to imply that the person doing the work is doing something illegal. I believe that only the employer is violating the law in this case. It's an important distinction: if you feel the arrangement is in your interest, the illegality is the employer's problem, not yours. That said, if you can actually produce working code, your time is valuable and you should not work for a for-profit business without appropriate compensation.
donohoe 16y ago
My point is to get experience with a solid company then use that. I think working for free is ok, obviously far from ideal, but the ends justify the means if it gets you where you need to go.

jgv 16y ago

Interning for free is usually really hard on people, it became really hard on me. I also understand the whole legal gray area. That being said, the fact that I interned with the company I'm with before taking a job with them was incredibly advantageous to me in the hiring process. If you can do freelance work (maybe 2 or 3 days a week) while interning for a company that you think may hire you (when you're not freelancing), I would recommend it.

joshuacc 16y ago

"Don't intern for free. Your time is worth at least minimum wage." I second this. Part of my assignments the final semester of college was to intern in an IT related business. With no previous contact, I was able to get an internship paying a bit more than minimum wage. It was invaluable experience. Not to mention that once the internship was over I had a great job just waiting for me to say yes. :-)

sajithw 16y ago

Actually, I think it's worth considering the other side of the coin. Either work for free or ask for a wage that is comparable to your skillset (i.e. well beyond minimum wage). Working for free is a great way to build your portfolio of projects and get some "experience" to put on your resume. Go find a startup or small business and basically tell them you can build stuff for them for free for a month. After that period, if they like you then they need to hire you full-time. However, I do agree there is a fine line between doing this for portfolio/resume building and being used for bitch work.

Zak 16y ago

Plus, it's illegal is most places to work on "real work" if you're not getting paid. The way this is phrased seems to imply that the person doing the work is doing something illegal. I believe that only the employer is violating the law in this case. It's an important distinction: if you feel the arrangement is in your interest, the illegality is the employer's problem, not yours. That said, if you can actually produce working code, your time is valuable and you should not work for a for-profit business without appropriate compensation.

donohoe 16y ago

My point is to get experience with a solid company then use that. I think working for free is ok, obviously far from ideal, but the ends justify the means if it gets you where you need to go.