Beaselfish
30-07-2010, 01:00 PM
Hi guys,
I have a little dilemma on my hands and i was hoping to get some advice/opinions from other professionals on this. I've recently been offered a permanent part time position working as a retoucher for this smallish photographic business and i have accepted with the boss but have not yet started. I have graduated recently in photography and although i have done some paid work before (as a photographer) and consider myself to be at an intermediate level as a retoucher, I have not held any positions in a commercial environment working with other professionals. I see this as a really fantastic learning opportunity and i like the people i have met so far, but my dilemma is that the pay is really low and its going to see me struggle abit financially. I have been asked to work on a contractor's basis even though the nature of the job is much more akin to an employer-employee situation. I will have to do all my own taxes, ACC, holiday pay etc which i have no issues in doing but once that is taken into account i am left working for quite abit less than the equivalent of minimum wage under an employee agreement. I am unsure whether this may be seen as being fair in this kind of industry bearing in mind my lack of "proven" retouching experience (after all, there are many people willing to do unpaid internships while starting out), or whether this might seem a little dodgy? What do you guys think??? Any thoughts would be much appreciated :)
P.S: I'm new to this forum and i must say it is so nice to finally see a New Zealand based photographic forum!
I have a little dilemma on my hands and i was hoping to get some advice/opinions from other professionals on this. I've recently been offered a permanent part time position working as a retoucher for this smallish photographic business and i have accepted with the boss but have not yet started. I have graduated recently in photography and although i have done some paid work before (as a photographer) and consider myself to be at an intermediate level as a retoucher, I have not held any positions in a commercial environment working with other professionals. I see this as a really fantastic learning opportunity and i like the people i have met so far, but my dilemma is that the pay is really low and its going to see me struggle abit financially. I have been asked to work on a contractor's basis even though the nature of the job is much more akin to an employer-employee situation. I will have to do all my own taxes, ACC, holiday pay etc which i have no issues in doing but once that is taken into account i am left working for quite abit less than the equivalent of minimum wage under an employee agreement. I am unsure whether this may be seen as being fair in this kind of industry bearing in mind my lack of "proven" retouching experience (after all, there are many people willing to do unpaid internships while starting out), or whether this might seem a little dodgy? What do you guys think??? Any thoughts would be much appreciated :)
P.S: I'm new to this forum and i must say it is so nice to finally see a New Zealand based photographic forum!