Why I disagree with the “never work for free” argument.

I always see this in every creative community I belong to on the internet. People are offended at the prospect of working for free and condemn anyone who even suggests such a thing. I find this misleading and sometimes damaging to someone’s career growth, especially when they are in the early phases trying to get started.

For the record, this does not apply to seasoned professionals. If you are an expert in your field with credentials, you should get paid. I’m talking about folks who are just getting started and are looking to get their feet wet. In the beginning sometimes working for free is the best way to get started. I’m not talking about slaving away on a big budget project either. If someone on a similar beginner level stage is looking for help on a project and doesn’t have a lot of money to get it going, help them out for the sake of gaining experience and/or a piece for your portfolio. The best part of volunteering your time is that you are not under any obligation to do anything outside your comfort level or availability, and if anything were to go south there’s no contract that obligated your involvement.

I can tell you from experience that getting involved in small projects is also a great way to experiment with different roles. If you are looking to make a career jump into something new and aren’t sure whether it’s right for you or not, try it out by volunteering your time to someone in need. If it doesn’t work out just don’t do it, but odds are you’ll have made some friends or possible work connections along the way.

Also, it is unlikely to just jump straight out of school and start making tons of money. You have to have experience to get jobs, and while you should try to make money as soon as you can, don’t be so quick to deny volunteering on projects simply because it’s unpaid. Be open to the opportunity to try on a different hat or add something new to your portfolio to boost your ability to get hired and lead to that good paying job you’re after.

Throughout my career, whenever I would be out of work or in between jobs, I’d always try to get involved in whatever I could, whether in acting gigs, video shoots, motion design work, whatever. If I had the time or the desire to try out something new, I’d help out for free. If it ever became too burdensome or if it conflicted with actual paid work, I’d back out, no harm no foul. Even now with a full time job, if there are things friends or family need help with, I still try to lend a hand if I have the time. But looking back on getting to where I am in my career, I can honestly say that it was the willingness to jump into projects solely for the experience it offered or the connections I made that got me to where I am today.

I expect this to get a good deal of criticism as I know most don’t share this viewpoint. But I hope that if you are in the early phases of your career that you will consider that getting involved in projects could be a fun opportunity to build your credibility and ultimately lead to the paid roles you’re looking for.