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More than experience required

One of my biggest pet peeves is using someone’s art or work and not paying them or giving them the proper credit. Growing up, I knew a lot of friends who were amazing artists.
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Nouvelle Viewpoint

One of my biggest pet peeves is using someone’s art or work and not paying them or giving them the proper credit.

Growing up, I knew a lot of friends who were amazing artists. They would often volunteer or make pieces for charities, and wouldn’t have a problem with it.

As they got older and realized our work was worth something, they started asking for payment.

 Robynne HenryRobynne Henry The Henry Hype

People would often go, “wait, you want to get paid? I thought you’d do this for free. I’ll just go somewhere else if you’re going to be like that.”

I saw it as insulting then, and it got even worse as I tried to get into this field.

Businesses want you to be experienced, but you can’t get that without getting a job. It’s an endless cycle, faced by a lot of people when trying to enter the workforce.

In order to buff-up your resume, you have to look at internships and volunteer positions. Sometimes they’re full-time and often aren’t paid. Unless you’re fortunate enough to be financially stable, you likely have to work a part-time job to support yourself. You work as hard as you can at the position to help you down the road and have to be happy knowing you’re being paid in experience.

I saw so many jobs through my searches that weren’t paid that I was surprised to find ones that had salaries listed.

After you get to a certain point though, you know you can’t go back to working for free. You have bills, a family to support, and getting that experience under your belt just isn’t as important anymore. When we’re young, we’re happy just to be involved and have our work be part of something.

But, being in the workforce teaches you to take pride in what you do and not to be afraid to ask for compensation.

This isn’t me bashing volunteering, by the way. I love giving back, and I know a lot of my artist friends do too. But, there’s a difference between someone offering their time for charity and doing something for a friend or stranger.

My rule of thumb is put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re asking. If someone asked you to do whatever you’re requesting, be it a picture, an article, or anything, would you want to be compensated for it? Would you want the time you put into it acknowledged?




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