
Ask HN: Unpaid job at a startup. What can be done to get the most out of the xp? - biznerd
My friend has no professional experience but has been coding for several years. Through networking, he was able to land an unpaid job.&lt;p&gt;It&#x27;s a dating startup, which means the competition is fierce. The founder has a programmer and a couple people in India on board.&lt;p&gt;They have not discussed anything like being paid in shares. What&#x27;s the best strategy to maximize this?&lt;p&gt;Also what can he do to get the most out of the experience? We both thought he should stay at least 3 months.&lt;p&gt;Thanks!
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aba_sababa
The most productive thing is to quit. Anyone who, in 2014, is still not paying
interns is most likely not someone who can teach you anything. There is still
plenty of time to find another internship for the summer.

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biznerd
Well the thing is he's never used the framework so he won't be hitting the
ground running. He's not in school.

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Pyrodogg
Most employees starting at a new business have no idea what the internal
processes are. That applies to programming frameworks just as much as the
procedures for refilling the coffee maker.

That basic learning is takes place in the first days/weeks of anyone's new
job. There is no basis that the employer should not pay him just for not
knowing how to 'hit the ground running'.

He would be much better off taking the time to look for other opportunities.

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CocaKoala
If it's unpaid, then he should be getting lots of educational value even to
the extent that it interferes with the business of the employer. I'm not
making that up, it's one of the requirements of an unpaid internship [1]. If
he's not getting education out of it, then he's working for free and he should
not be working for free.

So the best strategy is to sit down with the boss and outline a plan that
either a) clearly explains the things that your friend is going to learn
during this internship (and it is an internship) and a timeline for learning
them.

That's a lie, actually; the best strategy is for your friend to find somebody
who's willing to pay him money for services rendered. But assuming for some
terrible reason he absolutely has to stay with this startup, then he should
figure out what he's going to get from it and the timeline for said getting.

[1]:
[http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm](http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm)

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jonaldomo
This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard of. Why not just apply for jobs
on elance, odesk or guru.com?

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ASquare
The question for me is whether the friend is in it for the earning or the
learning?

See this for more: [http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/11/04/is-it-time-
for...](http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/11/04/is-it-time-for-you-to-
earn-or-to-learn/)

