Pedestrian TV

How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love Working For Free Without The Guarantee OF Future Employment  November 1, 2009

Thanks to V Raw the past few weeks have seen Aaron, Tully, Jade, Vanessa and Meg (our tireless interns) grace Pedestrian HQ with their presence. During that time the intern crew have transcribed interviews (sorry guys), suggested content ideas, interviewed talent, written posts, taken photos and blown our minds.

And rightly so, interning is a media rites of passage that almost all budding writers, magazine editors and public relations gurus must endure. But exactly what does it entail? Well in many ways it's like an apprenticeship but instead of 8 dollars an hour you're paid in by-lines, the occasional freebie and good faith - and the only conceivable occupational health and safety issue is RSI by data entry.

In exchange you'll receive A) Experience, B) Industry contacts, and C) A kickass reference - but is a month's worth of shit kicking really worth those benefits? In short, yes it is. And I should know I used to intern at Pedestrian.

Let's drive the DeLorean all the way back to the Summer of ‘06...Back then I was a fresh-faced Journalism/Business student with way too much time on my hands, shitloads of enthusiasm and Asian subservience in my DNA. In short perfect intern material. During my Uni holidays I would apply for internships at places I thought were rad and that Summer I nabbed three: Dazed and Confused Australia, Modular Records and Pedestrian.
Now most people think interning is all menial jobs, Excel Spreadhseets and social media management - a temporary state of slavery made bearable by its brevity and a vague notion that fetching other people's coffee will fast track your career. But most people are wrong. Let's debunk some assumptions.

Tully, Jade, Head honcho Oscar and Vanessa.

Interns do menial jobs. On my first day at Dazed and Confused I reviewed video games. Seriously. Video games. Do you know what that's like for a kid who memorized Tekken button combinations and large slabs of Final Fantasy dialogue? Also Luke, the Editor at the time was the nicest guy on the planet. He was open to editorial suggestions, let me interview bands, ran my articles and on day five he bought me lunch.

Interns get zero recognition. Faceless photocopiers you say? Well at Modular, a shower of free CD's, gigs and vibe - their A&R guru Glen (who was also the nicest dude ever) repaid my toil with bromantic praise in their mailout…

We have a work experience kid in the office this week from Brisbane, name's Ashley. He comes in everyday looking that much better than us it makes us want to give up and go home. Thanks Glen you should see how shit I dress now!

Interns have no job prospects after they've finished. Wrong. I was hired as a direct result of interning at Pedestrian.

Anyway I really do miss interning and occasionally I'll work at media outlets for free only now it's called 'freelance writing'. Hell the only reason I'm writing this post now is because of internships and thanks to initiatives like V Raw you can do the same. There's a slew of positions still available on the V Raw website so get your foot in the door and apply now to kick start the career of your dreams. You won't regret it, I promise.