This is in reference to this thread from yesterday: https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/zspmji/work_unpaid_in_london_for_two_years/ , which I found to be both illuminating and a little frustrating when I attempted to explain why tattoo apprenticeships are often as described in that OP.
The general consensus was that apprentices should be paid at least minimum wage while learning how to tattoo. Ok, let’s work with that scenario for a minute:
I’m a professional tattooer of 22 years who went through the approximate process as described in the thread noted above. Let’s say I’m approached by a potential apprentice who wants to learn from me. I like their artwork so far and I see potential so I offer them minimum wage so they can support themselves while learning. I don’t own the studio I work out of but the studio allows me to take on the apprentice if they will do odd jobs to help the shop out as they aren’t bringing any money in to support the shop’s expenses. The shop itself isn’t paying them because why would they? They’re my apprentice, not theirs.
Let’s say I personally bring in an average of around $10 000 per month at 50% commission, so $5000 goes to the shop. In Ontario, minimum wage is $15.50/hr so at 160 hours per month I pay my apprentice $2480. After the first year or so (close to $30 000 paid) the apprentice starts working on simple tattoos for clients but because there is much to learn beyond theory they make imperfect tattoos that need to be touched up for free, which costs the shop extra supplies and time that could’ve been used on a paying client. There are a lot of touch ups, doesn’t matter how good of an artist they are, almost everyone sucks when they start. At the point they start to work on clients they switch from hourly pay to commissions like the rest of the established artists so they must rely on their effort if they want to make decent pay, just as I and every other tattooer has to do. Because of their inexperience and knowing that many touch ups are an inevitability they start at the lower rate of 25-30% to help cover the costs of their mistakes. I, as the artist/mentor don’t get a cut of the remaining 70-75% because they’re now working under the shops name, benefitting from the reputation of the shop.
Under this hypothetical, during the first year of apprenticing someone I will have lost nearly half of my own earnings, dropping my commission down to around 25%. Considering the hundreds of hours that I’ve spent on careful and close instruction with them, what precisely is my incentive to train them? They benefit greatly and I lose out. If anyone has a solution to this conundrum I am all ears. What is my time worth while training them? Nothing? That’s why they work to pay for their instruction. It’s tuition.
School costs money, a tattoo apprenticeship costs you time. There’s no guarantee that you’re going to be working directly after graduation in your chosen academic field or industrial trade. As a tattoo apprentice, you’ll be working as soon as you reach a certain standard of practice. This is not a normal field of work so the parameters have to be different but as I said, I’m all ears. Teach me.