Slavery in journalism?

Lets move to London and pursue a career in journalism. Or better yet, freelance writing. Travel blogging, food and wine reviews, investigative reporting, feature writing. Maybe even write a memoir. All the good stuff. The city is so inspiring and you are obviously such a talented, dedicated young thing. Yes, lets do it. Smoke cigarettes and drink copious amounts of coffee, while you positively absorb the city.



So whimsical. Wikipedia describes whimsical as 'lightly fanciful'. Which is a really nice way to put it. I would describe the above fantasy as, just that, a fantasy. Naivety at it's best. Which is why I never really decided to come to London to "be a writer." (The real sordid reason is another story...) And thank god for that. It's true the city is inspiring. It's about the most perfect city you could possibly hope to be a writer in. So much going on, so many lovely places to inspire, so many places to work. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't applied for any journalism positions.



However, there is some major furor in the UK at the moment, both to do with the graduate job market, and the media job market. And now I'm glad I haven't put any pressure on myself, or had any preconcieved notions about what I would be doing during my time here. (Me: Ummmm maybe something 9-5ish, so I can travel on the weekends. Maybe an office job so I can wear pencil skirts. Oooh, and wear, like, glasses.)



Currently, everybody in the UK has a degree. Much like the rest of the globalised world, a degree seemingly guarantees you a good, high-paying job at the end of your studies. A secure future. Maybe even some little letters by your name. And much like the rest of the globalised world, the more graduates there are, the more competitive the job market becomes as we all have exactly the same education and skills. And now the only thing setting us apart is our ability to be employable. In other words, our work experience. But how do you get work experience if nobody will hire you?



Two words. Unpaid internships. Internships aren't big in New Zealand. I never really saw any advertised. They were more like word-of-mouth, lucky if you landed one, 'I worked in my friend's uncle's fish n chip shop for a week so I could learn how to be a chef'. In the UK though, they are Big. There is an internship for everything. Everything. There are data entry and administration internships. There are internships at recruitment agencies for godsake.



And the problem is that they have become so popular that they are The Norm. Nobody just walks into a job after graduating anymore, they do a stint as an Intern, and then, suddenly, they are employable. And so as the unpaid internship becomes more desirable, the companies that offer them become more powerful, and the jobs become less work-experience and more, like, well, slavery.



Well according to this website anyway. GraduateFog (Google is your friend) is a staunch advocate for being kind to your interns. Paying them. And they have a point. According to one of their articles, Tesco's has offered unpaid internships for the grocery giant's magazine. Tescos. As in, billions of billions of profit a year Tescos. And they can't afford to pay their employees? Sad.



And why do I care? I have a point. I promise. For journalists work experience and internships are a rite of passage. Once upon a time it was your street smarts working for a small paper that got you the best jobs. Not the fancy degree. All talk and no walk. And since I've arrived in London and discovered that it is a Very Competitive Job Market, I have fancied the thought of doing an unpaid stint at a newpaper or magazine, and doing the pub thing at night.



I've discovered though, that the internship/ work experience thing is just as hard to get into as the whole job market thing. Figures. Can't catch a break, can I? Me, I can shrug it off and keep applying for other roles. But it made me think, when reading about these Poor, Exploited Graduates, how lucky are you really?



Pretty lucky, I should imagine. Some of us just want to write. Or photograph. Or film. Or watch others write. Or photograph. Or film. If somebody came up to me tomorrow and offered me an unpaid position at a magazine or newspaper or website, I would jump at the chance. What's the difference between being a full-time uni student and working nights and weekends to keep yourself afloat, or being a full-time un-paid intern and working nights and weekends to keep yourself afloat?



So long as your not this poor chap http://internsanonymous.co.uk/2010/01/20/sick-of-the-sunday-times/ then why not suffer for a week, a month, six months. And you know what they say. If you find something you love to do, then it won't feel like work. And of course, who gets paid to have fun anyway?

So there it is. My two cents. Back to the job hunt now though. Wish me luck. I really do want to wear a pencil skirt.