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  • pseudonym
    Senior Member
    • Jun 2009
    • 154

    #16
    I agree with Faust almost entirely on this. I could not afford to do an internship while in college, and it was optional within my program of study, so I didn't do one. As someone else mentioned, I too had to pay for the credits at my college for the opportunity to work for "free". I can see the value of learning which takes place of the money, but not when I had to actually pay money for it. I already had over $50K of debt in my senior year, and could not justify any more loans than necessary to graduate at that point.

    Ideally: I pay time, not money -in exchange- They pay experience not money

    Needless to say, I performed 2 internships after graduating and moving to NYC, in addition to having a full time job. I have to say, that its because of those internships that I was able to launch my career, and I would not have the job I have today without them, especially the second one. At least I did not have to pay financially for the internships going this route.

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    • i-d-g
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2012
      • 113

      #17
      I'm gonna bump this thread in hopes that some users could share more personal experiences with fashion internships. I just love the idea of this thread in general, and I think it'd be beneficial for myself and other fashion students that browse sz.
      “Man has somehow always feared this search, and I fear it even now. Suppose all man ever does is search for the reason, crosses oceans, sacrifices his life in the search; but to search it out, actually to find it, he’s afraid. For he senses that once he finds it, there will be nothing to search for.”

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      • princess
        Junior Member
        • Dec 2013
        • 11

        #18
        Originally posted by i-d-g View Post
        I'm gonna bump this thread in hopes that some users could share more personal experiences with fashion internships. I just love the idea of this thread in general, and I think it'd be beneficial for myself and other fashion students that browse sz.
        "Personal experiences" is a bit general. I'd love to take part in the discussion if you would like to ask more specific questions. I wrote up a fat reply (I have a lot of thoughts on fashion internships) but ended up deleting it because it got really long. I've had a pretty broad range of experiences.

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        • Ahimsa
          Vegan Police
          • Sep 2011
          • 1879

          #19
          Originally posted by i-d-g View Post
          I'm gonna bump this thread in hopes that some users could share more personal experiences with fashion internships. I just love the idea of this thread in general, and I think it'd be beneficial for myself and other fashion students that browse sz.
          The sad fact is that, chances are, you're gonna have to do unpaid internships. The ones that do pay are usually very boring evening wear, with little chance of getting hired. Just make sure you're in the proper financial position to do this.

          From what I've seen, your degree means very little. I've actually met very few Parsons students in higher positions, rather mostly just as interns. The degree you have can also be very unrelated. I have a BS and AAS in fashion design, and was hired for digital marketing, web design, and social media. Having a good foundation is what really matters. Being knowledgeable at your internships and showing off your proficiencies can get you hired. Make sure you're well rounded, because you're gonna have to do a million things even if it isn't your job.

          It's also very much being at the right place at the right time. Don't be one of those people that leave at 7 right on the dot. Stay late and show commitment. Enthusiasm for a brand goes a long way. Sometimes even more than actual qualifications. Diligence is what it's all about.

          *Also, make sure you ask around before applying to what might seem as a good brand to intern for. For instance, Marchesa is notorious for being a horrible work environment.
          Last edited by Ahimsa; 09-28-2014, 10:51 PM.
          StyleZeitgeist Magazine | Store

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          • i-d-g
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2012
            • 113

            #20
            Originally posted by princess View Post
            "Personal experiences" is a bit general. I'd love to take part in the discussion if you would like to ask more specific questions. I wrote up a fat reply (I have a lot of thoughts on fashion internships) but ended up deleting it because it got really long. I've had a pretty broad range of experiences.
            Thanks for the reply. Apologies if i wasn't specific enough. I'd be interested in hearing about members' experiences specifically with design internships, but if you have good personal anecdotes of more marketing/business oriented internships, I'd love to hear about that as well.

            A few questions off the top of my head:

            -Has anyone here interned with any designers popular on this forum?
            -I'm a fashion design student, but I wouldn't mind working in other parts of a brand. Have you had any experience working or interning in a business position?
            -How long is too long to do an unpaid internship?
            -How can you tell if a company is actually interested in hiring you after you do an internship? Is this something that should be discussed before or during the internship?
            -Obviously, unpaid work is extremely undesirable. Are there any good routes that involve paid internships? Do those paths result in jobs afterwards?

            Also, since you said that you have a broad range of experiences.. do you know of any path in fashion which allows you to live comfortably that most don't consider?

            I'd love to read the long reply that you wrote up! And if you can't address all of these questions, that is fine. This post is just a stream of curiosity that has been hanging around my head for a while. Cheers.
            “Man has somehow always feared this search, and I fear it even now. Suppose all man ever does is search for the reason, crosses oceans, sacrifices his life in the search; but to search it out, actually to find it, he’s afraid. For he senses that once he finds it, there will be nothing to search for.”

            Comment

            • i-d-g
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2012
              • 113

              #21
              Originally posted by Ahimsa View Post
              The sad fact is that, chances are, you're gonna have to do unpaid internships. The ones that do pay are usually very boring evening wear, with little chance of getting hired. Just make sure you're in the proper financial position to do this.

              From what I've seen, your degree means very little. I've actually met very few Parsons students in higher positions, rather mostly just as interns. The degree you have can also be very unrelated. I have a BS and ASS in fashion design, and was hired for digital marketing, web design, and social media. Having a good foundation is what really matters. Being knowledgeable at your internships and showing off your proficiencies can get you hired. Make sure you're well rounded, because you're gonna have to do a million things even if it isn't your job.

              It's also very much being at the right place at the right time. Don't be one of those people that leave at 7 right on the dot. Stay late and show commitment. Enthusiasm for a brand goes a long way. Sometimes even more than actual qualifications. Diligence is what it's all about.

              *Also, make sure you ask around before applying to what might seem as a good brand to intern for. For instance, Marchesa is notorious for being a horrible work environment.

              I'd be interested to see your response to some of the questions that I posed in my post above^^.

              Also, it's actually reassuring to hear you say that the degree isn't the most important thing. I was looking at the "big" schools here in the states for a while, but 40-50k per year in tuition is madness. I ended up finding a great school in Italy where my degree will cost $40k total, for all years.

              In response to your statement about time commitment.. I actually have a friend who was interning for Ann D for a while. He said he worked long days, 7 days a week. I'm fine with the idea of doing that, but I need to have a job opportunity in the company afterwards.

              Lastly, do you know of some notoriously good brands to intern for?
              “Man has somehow always feared this search, and I fear it even now. Suppose all man ever does is search for the reason, crosses oceans, sacrifices his life in the search; but to search it out, actually to find it, he’s afraid. For he senses that once he finds it, there will be nothing to search for.”

              Comment

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