One of my longtime friends is a certified audio engineer. We’re approaching our 5th year in college as he took a gap year in order to get that certification. He trained at a legitimate studio that does soundtracks for major motion pictures.
Yesterday was his first day at his new internship in NYC. He was thrilled because this studio is in the heart of Times Square. The photos on Google looked great; like a legit recording studio. He went through three interview rounds, months of communication and reassurance that he’s experienced enough to use the equipment, sent over some of his music, and even got scammed by someone while apartment hunting. Alas, he finally found an apartment and is all paid up for the entire summer.
He shows up, and says the building looked magnificent on the outside. Again, right in Times Square. He takes the elevator up to the 5th floor. The doors open, and he said it resembled a hardware store. Looked nothing like the photos he saw online. The front desk was to his left, and a man, the manager, was sitting there.
(F: friend… M: manager)
F: “Hi I’m here for the intern training.”
M: “the…what?”
F: “the training that starts in 10 minutes…”
M: “OH, right. Yeah it’s gonna start later than that.”
F: “okay? Why?”
M: “I’m running to get some coffee.”
#1
He said they put him and 5 other interns in one of the “studio’s.” This “studio” consisted of two microphones that he said “looked like they were from Kmart.” The manager proceeds to ask the first and only question related to audio engineering (something about amps and condenser microphones. I don’t remember.) my friend answered correctly. The manager then says he’s incorrect. To double check, he flips to a page on his clipboard. The manager proceeds to say “oh, heh, you were right F. Sorry, mic’s aren’t my thing.” F said that it was the FIRST thing he learned while training and in his classes a while back, hence why the manager probably asked that question first. But didn’t even know the answer.
After that embarrassment, the manager gets into the training. This is when F realizes that he will NOT be seeing or touching any piece of equipment that he is trained to use for the entire summer. Instead, they will be CLEANING. Mopping floors, dusting equipment, even cleaning the BATHROOMS. ALL UNPAID.
F is PAYING to be there to gain experience. To make connections. Instead, he’s paying to do manual labor that he was not made aware of. It’s an embarrassment to him because he is trained and experienced to use this equipment.
Today was his second day and he said despite being unpaid (was written and signed… acknowledged), they handed the interns a crisp $10 bill for the entire day. To me, that’s even MORE of an insult than not being paid. They KNOW what they’re doing is wrong and embarrassing, so they feel the need to mask their guilt behind a $10 bill. On top of that, in todays economy (especially in NYC), that will buy him a sandwich. MAYBE.
Advice/scripts to wring out the managers when he leaves this week is much appreciated.