Unpaid Internships

<p>Does this ad posted on Craigslist (http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/med/1858869415.html) fit the criteria for unpaid internship? I thought unpaid interns shouldn't replace regular paid workers, nor should the employer derive advantage from the intern/trainee (the training is entirely for the benefit of the intern, and the Department of Labor indicates a trainee would actually on occasion impede operations):<br /><br /> </p>

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<h2>Photography and Studio Internship (Washington DC-Chinatown)</h2>

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Date: 2010-07-23, 12:23PM EDT<br />Reply to: <a href="mailto:job-xzqhh-1858869415@craigslist.org?subject=Photography%20and%20Studio%20Internship%20(Washington%20DC-Chinatown)&body=%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwashingtondc.craigslist.org%2Fdoc%2Fmed%2F1858869415.html%0A">job-xzqhh-1858869415@craigslist.org</a> ^{[<a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/replying_to_posts" target="_blank">Errors when replying to ads?</a>]}<br />

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<br />One of the top portrait and advertising photographers in DC seeks competent, motivated, easygoing intern. <br />My business has grown quite rapidly, and to be honest I need someone to help me handle a lot of the administrative aspects of my operation. This will include editing images, helping to retouch, organizing and tagging images, helping out on new websites, coordinating with clients and helping manage my time. This wont suck as much as it seems though, as you will also get to come with me on photo shoots, ride around and go on shooting adventures, meet some of the top creative talent in DC. You may kick it with Wale, Hi Five Hillary, Joke with John Waters...or you may just be doing the busy work in between that gets us to those places. On top of that, I have a kickass studio and a lot of gear that you can play around with! <br />While its unpaid, it will be much more of a mentorship than an internship. I happily share knowledge and love to help people on their path's and am in a very fast paced time in my work so a lot of exciting things are happening. Clients range from Travel Channel, Puma, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Washingtonian and the Wall Street Journal. <br />Ideal candidate will be far more organized that I, have a passion for life and insight on all sorts of things I know nothing about. You can see my work at www.joshuacogan.com or my most recent interactive at www.livehopelove.com. Please email if you have any questions. <br /><br />What You Need To Have: <br />Time Commitment: I am looking for someone to give 15-20 hrs a week, whether I am in town or not. <br />Passion for the Craft: This is something you really care about, not just dabbling in, or checking out <br />Technical Profiency: Please understand photographic basics: Light, Exposure, Film Speeds, Lens Speeds, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, Uploading and Downloading, Workflow and Data Management. <br />No Sense of Entitlement: It takes a lot to make it in this industry, if you think your hungry enough and willing to put in the time you can make it. If your in a rush to make money and find fame, you wont. I interned and volunteered for years until things started clicking, there will likely be opportunities to get paid, but your motivation on this should be to learn. <br /><br />

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<li>Location: Washington DC-Chinatown</li>

<li>Compensation: None</li>

<li>This is an internship job</li>

<li>Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.</li>

<li>Please, no phone calls about this job!</li>

<li>Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.</li>

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PostingID: 1858869415

 

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<p>"Compensation: None"</p>

<p>...and more than 100 years after the Civil War has ended, some nice dude thinks (perhaps) <strong>slavery should be encouraged</strong>.</p>

<p>Oh well....</p>

 

<p>You might find more success getting an answer in some other type of forum as your question didn't ask anything about the photography business itself or how it relates to whether workers are displaced, employers deriving advantage, ect. Here's a link from a reliable source that addresses your question... http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf</p>

Blake, are you a student looking for internship credit from a college or university? If so, check with your advisor to see if this qualifies. Unpaid internships for college credit are fairly common, but this ad reads as if it's just a greedy photographer looking for free labor. Other than college credit, there's not much in it for the intern.

<p>Will, I was just miffed by how brazenly this ad seeks to trade purported access to celebrities and the glamorous world of photography for free labor. It seems aimed squarely at a star-struck or inexperienced person, with no qualms about seeking free labor to replace what should be done by a paid employee. I just wasn't sure if it was disingenuousness on the part of the photographer, or if the photographer (who seems to have a well established studio), is just trying to be completely honest and this is how he sincerely views the role of an intern. But what he describes would seem likely to get him in some trouble with wage and tax requirements and other penalties. </p>

<p>Craigslist is full of ads like this, and you are exactly right about the role of an intern-they need to be learning, not doing work that should be done by a paid employee. Precisely because of the abuse of the concept of unpaid internships, a lot of colleges have stopped offering college credits for unpaid internships. My school actually didn't allow paid internships, which I thought was pretty ridiculous, although I think their reasoning was that an unpaid intern can't just be the coffee fetcher, copier operator, filing grunt, but it often worked out that way.<br>

What I don't get is that if this guy is so successful and amazing, why doesn't he have a studio manager that this intern would be working with?</p>