Plus, it's illegal is most places to work on "real work" if you're not getting paid.
I second this. Part of my assignments the final semester of college was to intern in an IT related business. With no previous contact, I was able to get an internship paying a bit more than minimum wage.
It was invaluable experience. Not to mention that once the internship was over I had a great job just waiting for me to say yes. :-)
The way this is phrased seems to imply that the person doing the work is doing something illegal. I believe that only the employer is violating the law in this case.
It's an important distinction: if you feel the arrangement is in your interest, the illegality is the employer's problem, not yours. That said, if you can actually produce working code, your time is valuable and you should not work for a for-profit business without appropriate compensation.
Working for free is a great way to build your portfolio of projects and get some "experience" to put on your resume. Go find a startup or small business and basically tell them you can build stuff for them for free for a month. After that period, if they like you then they need to hire you full-time.
However, I do agree there is a fine line between doing this for portfolio/resume building and being used for bitch work.
I earned my new job directly as a result of my new employer discovering me through my blog and I won a lot of contract work to help pay bills in college as a result of the projects I posted on my blog.
Think of it as a way to differentiate yourself from everybody else by showcasing your unique experiences and learnings in a way that's expressly you.
3) http://www.linkedin.com/in/crgwbr
Thanks! I'll try going around HR to get to the top. As far as unpaid interning, its not really possible since there is absolutely no work where I live (middle of no-where, western PA). I'm not opposed to relocating, but relocating for unpaid work is tough.
Obviously being here helps but it is just as hard anywhere you go. Going to college is going to be your best option.
Moving to a major city won't hurt either.
Just put yourself up on elance / rent-a-coder, use that to build a portfolio.
Firstly, you might not be creating stuff that you will want to put on your resume/portfolio (my experience from that world is clients who want hacks and weird specs).
You will also find that going rates are pretty low because you are competing with off-shore labour (this is not a rant against off-shore, just an observation that this is how common markets work)
- Blog on your work, what you do, problems solved, lessons learned.
- Build a online resume or portfolio. Languages uses, screenshots, code samples
- Get a LinkedIn profile, and get people that you've worked for (or with) to write up a Recommendation.
When job hunting, ignore HR. Research the hell out of the company and find out who the manager/director is who'd have the main say in hiring you or not. Reach out to them directly and introduce yourself. Provide direct links to blog/online resume/portfolio and why you'd be a great fit.
In addition, if you are in a position to do so, offer to intern for free at a known company/design-shop/etc for a few months for experience. Insist on real work and not just making coffee.
Best of luck.