To Intern or Not to Intern- That is the Question

Hello again everyone,

I'm back from SIGGRAPH and a whirlwind adventure through Canada and Dallas (still not over) but I wanted to shed light on something pretty important. Internships.

Internships are awesome, amazing ways to break into the industry and network with veterans. The weight of knowledge taken away from internships could be worth the weight of -- well, your entire tuition in school. They are the crown jewel students seek in college, but there is a dark truth to SOME internships.

Now don't get me wrong, some companies value students, their employees and what they bring to the company. Others.....want free work. Period. Be EXTREMELY careful when you take on an internship. It is safe to say a paid internship and one provided by a large, REPUTABLE studio will be worthwhile. However many smaller boutique studios and mid sized studios will take advantage of starving students. I can speak from experience.

I was given a "job" that I was supposed to be paid for. I quickly found the owner of the company looked at me as an intern who will only get paid if I land HIM a large project. I worked LONG hours, juggled multiple projects, I took my work with me while on vacation and I did things that I never had experience in (after being told I will be trained...which I never was. Shocking.) To digress for a moment, I believe people should ALWAYS do things that are not in your job description because, A) You can learn something awesome, that you could possibly add to your resume, B) you become a more dependable employee/co-worker, C) people will appreciate you for your dedication, & D) standing out apart of the herd is great for future promotions. Having said that, during the time I held this "job", I did a many things outside of my initial starting position because of the values I listed above. They took advantage of it. They got mad if I ever asked for a day off for something important (like my sisters wedding - how dare I).



Long story short - I was wildly unappreciated. It took a toll on my own self-esteem as an artist because if you are not getting paid anything, you feel all your efforts were worth nothing. In essence I thought if I have yet to make an impact with all that I've done -- how on earth could I ever make any impact at all. I had already given it my all!!! Eventually I came to a point when I decided before we took on another project I was done. I went unpaid for 3 months. It was essentially an internship. The owner did not take it well and said I was ungrateful for the opportunity I had, and when I mentioned I had taken the position under the assumption it was a paid full-time position he scoffed. The movies I had worked on I never received credit for. The gaming apps I worked on also launched without any credit to me.

I cannot describe the mentality of people who run unpaid internships because I have never ran one and never could. So I cannot say WHY people treat others this way. Business is business. It cares not for you, your career plans or your emotions.

So is taking an UNPAID internship worth it? In my humble opinion - absolutely NOT. If you are going to work for someone for free - WORK FOR YOURSELF.

For the sake of drilling it into your head, I'm gonna say it again:

IF YOU ARE GOING TO WORK FOR SOMEONE FOR FREE - WORK FOR YOURSELF.

And I'm not talking about doing what you've been doing. I don't mean apply for jobs for a couple hours a day, work on demo reel stuff at night and then start over. I mean seriously work for yourself. From 8am - 8pm you work hard on something you have been wanting to work on. Make sure people around you know you are working and you have work hours. Stay focused and give yourself deadlines. 
For example:

At the end of today I will have X number of shots blocked in.

At the end of the week I will have X number of animation shots done.

At the end of this month I will have X number of 3D models created, and the end of each week I will check off the ones I have done and keep track of whats left.

Work on something that the industry cannot ignore. You will build a name for yourself and more importantly you will show you have moxie. Your hardwork and dedication WILL get noticed. Become a professional salesman when it comes to selling your own work. Go to all the expos, conferences and networking events you can. The art you create and friendships you build are just as valuable and CAN BE worth as much as an internship. Its all in the mindset. Do not let yourself to get stuck in the mental trap that "If only I had ___, I could accomplish ____".

Refer back to my post about Struggles of Confidence. If you have endured all those things. If you have endured art schools, critics (both professional and personal), if you knowingly took this path full of struggle and occasional bleak outlooks and STILL want to work in this industry --- YOU ABSOLUTELY BELONG. You belong here. You are going to be a part of something incredible and your humble, optimistic outlook will get you there. Bet on yourself.
Double down on yourself. Be your own boss. You are an artist and you already have all the tools you need. If you say you cannot create something unless you have something else you are doubting your own creativity.

At the end of the day if you are working for free for someone else, everything you make belongs to SOMEONE ELSE. It will not be appreciated as much if you had created it for you. And whats worse is you are replaceable. Whether you want to believe it or not, there is someone more desperate than you willing to take that unpaid internship. The work you will be assigned in a studio will be irrelevant work within a year. Really - just think about it. Either the project will be done or it will have gone under. You will have moved on to something else and may not have valued the project itself anyways. But if you made something FOR YOU - that will be forever. You can forever brag about the work you did. Whether it is a short film, or a collection of Greek God models, or you recreated every still scene in Titantic- lit and textured to perfection. It will be work you can be proud of and show off to future employers (who will pay you for your talents).

I cannot blame you if you take an unpaid internship. The opportunities and potential riches offered to you always seem amazing. I fell for it myself. Be sure to cover your ass though. Get everything in writing. Credit you will be given, the promise of a full time position after the internship, the start and end date - EVERYTHING. Get everything in writing or save copies of emails exchanged at work.

Unpaid internships after 3 months will rack you up - $0.
A project or job you did for yourself - Priceless (okay its also $0, but the rewards cannot be measured in terms of money).

Good luck out there. Make the best of EVERY SITUATION you can. Make the best of what you have.
I'll see you all next time.