To only do voluntary work as an undergraduate student?

[Ahsoka2001]

I'm 20 and and have just finished the second year of my undergraduate degree. Despite choosing a course that isn't exactly known for its job opportunities (Film and Creative Writing!) I've managed to secure two voluntary positions relevant(ish) to my degree.

One is working with a local film society, helping with event set-up at their screenings (outdoor and drive-in) and social media marketing. The second involves writing YouTube descriptions (which will later be put into a forthcoming cookbook manuscript) and social media posts for a local restaurant owner, who I also manage a Facebook group for.

I love both positions (and indeed, my degree itself, which I've achieved a 1st for in both years) and think both can open up a lot of doors, but sometimes I feel a bit bad that I'm not doing any paid work. Money isn't an issue, but I just feel bad that I'm not working "properly" if that makes sense. Most of the work is done from home (film society events aside) and so it feels like I still have a lot of free time on my hands for the summer. Maybe I'm just one of those people who's been conditioned to feel productive constantly...

Do you think it's OK that I technically don't have a "job" per se, even if these unpaid experiences will - in the long run - be a lot more helpul to my career ambitions than a paid job irrelevant to my degree....

Pros and cons of unpaid internships aside - so many people are doing the exact same thing that it won’t bring you any value. All of what you’ve just mentioned would be done by the ‘social media/publicity officer’ for any decently sized university club or society.

If you can’t find a paid job volunteer for a reasonably large organisation or a large event that attracts lots of publicity as part of a team. Otherwise it’s not worth it.

Also to add - being part of a team with a targeted social media campaign etc and will enable you to actually learn and grow a lot.

She is doing better than people with no social media or publicity experience. She could add other roles, I agree.

But I wouldn't sniff at what she is now doing, bearing in mind that there are other people doing what she is doing.

Everybody has to start somewhere. The worst possible thing is to do nothing and get left behind.

@mathanxiety

She is doing better than people with no social media or publicity experience. She could add other roles, I agree.

But I wouldn't sniff at what she is now doing, bearing in mind that there are other people doing what she is doing.

Everybody has to start somewhere. The worst possible thing is to do nothing and get left behind.

@mathanxiety Thank you for your supportive comments, but I should point out that I'm actually a male...

Sorry - the default here is female, and what difference does it make?

@mathanxiety

Sorry - the default here is female, and what difference does it make?

No difference to the topic itself, I suppose. It's not the end of the world, just thought I'd point it out.

I get paid for everything your doing for free for the restaurant role. I also do it for multiple other business. No one has ever asked me to go it for free and every business values my experience.

A curry won't be put a roof over your head. If you want to get ahead in life you need to be assertive in your own worth and skill set.

Ps you can also get google analytics and google adwords certified directly through google at your own pace which will also help you justify charging if you feel you need additional reason to do so.

If you can't be persuaded that what the restaurant owner is doing is illegal, exploitative and just plain shitty, then just consider how limited the experience would sound in an interview - I post twice a week on Facebook and check analytics. That is not going to get a foot in the door compared to an internship with a household name. Time to think bigger!

And you absolutely don't need a masters to get into marketing.

@mathanxiety

She is doing better than people with no social media or publicity experience. She could add other roles, I agree.

But I wouldn't sniff at what she is now doing, bearing in mind that there are other people doing what she is doing.

Everybody has to start somewhere. The worst possible thing is to do nothing and get left behind.

Not sure what the point of this post is? From what I can tell OP's question is whether what they are doing is worth it. Yes, this experience is better than people who have 'no experience' at all. But when competing for jobs you compare yourself to the people who are likely to get them, not the ones at the bottom of the heap. OP is at the end of their second year at which point plenty of people will have secured a paid internship. Or even an unpaid internship working alongside a team of professionals.

The answer is therefore 'no, working for free is not really worth it'.

If OP wants to get a job in something related to media and communication there are better opportunities that can give them the skills they need. As the market is quite competitive.

If the OP wants to work in something else, anything else, and just needs generic 'teamwork blah blah' skills then they are better off doing paid work.

Also to add I am probably quite vocal about this because of the number of times I've been asked for free services (there's even one restaurant I stopped going to because I had a friendly chat with the owner and she wouldn't stop asking me to provide free services).
People don't value what they don't pay for. Marketing is a legitimate business expense.
If a business can't pay for services and make money then they really shouldn't be in business.

Well, I spoke to my careers team and they agreed with some of what everyone's been saying but not quite all.

They said that he might well be taking advantage, especially as numerous other restaurants pay to have the work done. They thought that as I'm not really developing new skills there (at least not anymore) I should indeed start looking for more ambitious roles. However, they denied that what he was doing is illegal (apparently this would only be the case if I wasn't a student) - even if it might not be moral - and said that the work I HAD done would look good on a marketing/social media CV, even if it was unpaid.

My film society boss said she'd be happy to let me help out with some of the work she's doing for the paid pizza marketing role which I (stupidly) turned down, so that's something. I need to start looking for other roles myself too, though, like the ones you've all posted.

I guess whatever happens next I'm gonna have to have a very honest conversation with the curry boss. If we can't come to an agreement whereby I either get paid or can learn some new marketable skills (at the end of the day, I care more about experience than exploitation, rightly or wrongly) than maybe it would be best to call it quits...

I'm trying really hard to make the best out of this stressful situation. Thank you to everyone who brought this to my attention - sorry if it's ever sounded like I don't appreciate the advice. Even the comments that sound critical and harsh on the surface have been tremendous help!

Talk about Thatcher's grandchildren... Call me a rabit Marxist but it should be obvious that by working for free for a money-making business you are undermining the market for people who rely on their wages to pay their rent.

You may well be a rabid Marxist if you think the only section of society experiencing the effects of the sharp edge of capitalism is the lumpen proletariat.

Of course not. Just pointing out (as have others) that person A's decision to work for free impacts person B's ability to pay their rent, as that didn't seem to have occurred to OP (who, TBF, has now taken that on board it seems).

Person B might not have the skills to do the work being done by Person A.

what, posting on social media? Pretty sure there are unemploed copywriters out there who could manage that.

Forgive me for cynicism, OP, but your uni careers team mainly thinks about their own KPIs to meet.
They need to show that they provided X hours of internship opportunities to Y students. They don't really care, deeply inside, whether it is chopping onions for a curry, moderating a Facebook group or editing recipes for a future cook book.

@forinborin

Forgive me for cynicism, OP, but your uni careers team mainly thinks about their own KPIs to meet. They need to show that they provided X hours of internship opportunities to Y students. They don't really care, deeply inside, whether it is chopping onions for a curry, moderating a Facebook group or editing recipes for a future cook book.

This is true. I have even had unis offer students internships within their own department solely for the ‘in employment or education 6 months after graduating’ which were made up. Careers department advised students with no prospects yet to take it.they did nothing at but looked great for the stats.

Speak to your seniors OP - they’re the only ones who will tell you the truth

Pretty sure there are unemploed copywriters out there who could manage that.

Presumably they would all be too busy creating content of their own on blogs, vlogs, etc. Hustling, getting known..
www.bbc.com/news/business-57185042

Bump

UPDATE TWO MONTHS LATER - In the end, I spoke to curry man and he agreed to formalize my role and make it paid, feeling I'd gone "above and beyond" what he initially expected. It's now an 8 hour per week role (minimum wage, which equates to around £50 a week for me) that's gone more in-depth. On top of the social media, I'm writing press releases, designing flyers, helping film promotion videos and organizing events for the venue, to give a few examples.

Additionally, I'm also actively looking for a normal part-time job to do during my third-year (retail, waitering, fast food, etc.). It'll give me some much-needed extra life experience and put me in a better position for when I graduate. Thank you to everyone on this thread for helping me realize my mistakes and become someone a bit better prepared for the real world now :)