Just because you love what you do, doesn’t mean that you should be happy to do it for free. That is one thing that a lot of artists would love for people to know.
You wouldn’t ask your doctor to work for free even if they love healing people. You wouldn’t want your pilot to fly the plane for free even if they love soaring through the sky. Nor would you demand a cook at your favorite restaurant to make you food for free even though they love making people happy. So why would you ask a photographer, who loves their craft, to take pictures for free?
Well, one photographer had enough of hearing endless requests to work for free, so they printed out and hung up a witty sign, asking for people living in Chicago to apply and do their own jobs for nothing.
A photographer was tired of being asked to work for free, so they posted this satirical job ad
Image credits: reddit
When the photographer’s friend Alexispaige1124 shared a photo of the sarcastic sign on Reddit, the internet loved it. Nearly 40,000 people thought the post was worth upvoting. While another 510 Redditors left a comment.
Unfortunately, in modern times, some individuals view artists not as technical professionals, but people who love their craft so much that just doing what they do is supposedly reward enough. They believe that passion shouldn’t be monetized because, in their opinion, art is all about pleasure and good vibes. Why would anyone want to sully that with something as mundane as money? Yuck!
What these people forget is that artists, just like anyone else, need compensation for their time in order to buy food, pay for rent, use transportation, and pay for all the hundreds of small things that it takes to live like a civilized human being, not an opossum in a dumpster.
They also don’t see the large amounts of effort that artists put into their projects. What might seem like a simple sketch here or a quick snapshot there takes up more time than most of us realize. Not to mention all the blood, sweat, and tears that artists sacrificed to get to the point that they’re at now.
Dear Pandas, what do you think of people who ask others to do their jobs for free? Have you ever been in a situation where you were pressured to work for nothing? Share your story with us and other Pandas in the comments below. And remember to support your local or favorite artists with something more tangible than exposure and smiley faces.
Here's how internet users reacted to the witty jobs-for-free ad
