Internships

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by jschoice, May 14, 2019.

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  1. jschoice

    jschoice Avatar

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    I am curious why the gaming industry does not work more closely with schools that that offer programs in game design, art design for gaming and other areas.

    A small studio like port could benefit with connecting with students and the students have a great thing to put on their resume.

    I did a internship for my career and I know someone in radio broadcasting that is also doing one at a local radio station.

    I would assume Richard, Starr, and Chris would have connections with the programs in that he area.
     
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  2. Helvig Ingvildsdottir

    Helvig Ingvildsdottir Avatar

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    In order to offer internships you need an office. And someone that can invest the time to coach and supervise the interns (which I know pays in the end, but if you have a high workload, the initial time investment hurts).
     
  3. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

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    Great idea!!
     
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  4. Sentinel2

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    Agreed.

    It's been suggested before. There were some less than virtuous conversations stating it could be illegal. Dunno if that's the case. I know of several organizations during my career who benefited from unpaid Internships. And the Interns benefited with gaining work experience.

    In one case, we ended up hiring the intern for a FTE position. Already trained and with experience how things work. It was an easy transition. Others ran the course and eventually found something else. The work experience helped improve their skills.

    Personally I don't see the problem. I've seen it done many times successfully. And everyone was happy with the results.

    I'd say go for it Port!
     
  5. Sentinel2

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    I was thinking they can start with shipping the remaining boxes and working from there :D
     
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  6. Cordelayne

    Cordelayne Bug Hunter

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  7. Lord Tachys al`Fahn

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    Yup... with the loss of the office, this ship has sailed.
     
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  8. Cordelayne

    Cordelayne Bug Hunter

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  9. Sentinel2

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    Chris has an office in his basement. Lots of boxes there to be shipped as well.

    Saw it in a twitch stream or two ;-)
     
  10. jschoice

    jschoice Avatar

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    I am not aware of it being illegal as I have supervised several interns myself. If you are interning an artist they need to be doing art or things that is part of the course as students earn grades for interning so it can't be just any labor but related to their course of study.
     
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  11. Sentinel2

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    Same. I recall the last time this was brought up, there were disparaging comments made. Someone even mentioned it was illegal (if I recall right).

    Either case, I agree it should be explored. At the very least, an Intern can help with customer service and even help moderate the forums. Things that would free up the devs to work on the game.
     
  12. D'Weasel

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    I thought we brought in young people to do menial labor to discourage them into another field of study. My bad.
     
  13. Lord Tachys al`Fahn

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    Having been an intern, there is absolutely nothing illegal about it, and is an accepted practice for damn near any college-trainable field.

    However, if you do not have the manpower to even maintain a forum post describing what your 12 person team is doing each day (or hell, week???), then you don't have the manpower to properly supervise and mentor said intern, and would be doing them a huge disservice in hiring them.
     
  14. Sean Silverfoot

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    Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act

    This fact sheet provides general information to help determine whether interns and students working for “for-profit” employers are entitled to minimum wages and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).1

    Background
    The FLSA requires “for-profit” employers to pay employees for their work. Interns and students, however, may not be “employees” under the FLSA—in which case the FLSA does not require compensation for their work.

    The Test for Unpaid Interns and Students
    Courts have used the “primary beneficiary test” to determine whether an intern or student is, in fact, an employee under the FLSA.2 In short, this test allows courts to examine the “economic reality” of the intern-employer relationship to determine which party is the “primary beneficiary” of the relationship. Courts have identified the following seven factors as part of the test:

    1. The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa.
    2. The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
    3. The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
    4. The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
    5. The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
    6. The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
    7. The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.
    Courts have described the “primary beneficiary test” as a flexible test, and no single factor is determinative. Accordingly, whether an intern or student is an employee under the FLSA necessarily depends on the unique circumstances of each case.

    If analysis of these circumstances reveals that an intern or student is actually an employee, then he or she is entitled to both minimum wage and overtime pay under the FLSA. On the other hand, if the analysis confirms that the intern or student is not an employee, then he or she is not entitled to either minimum wage or overtime pay under the FLSA.

    Where to Obtain Additional Information
    This publication is for general information and is not a regulation. For additional information, visit our Wage and Hour Division Website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov and/or call our toll-free information and helpline, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone, 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).

    Footnotes

    1 - The FLSA exempts certain people who volunteer to perform services for a state or local government agency or who volunteer for humanitarian purposes for non-profit food banks. WHD also recognizes an exception for individuals who volunteer their time, freely and without anticipation of compensation, for religious, charitable, civic, or humanitarian purposes to non-profit organizations. Unpaid internships for public sector and non-profit charitable organizations, where the intern volunteers without expectation of compensation, are generally permissible.
     
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  15. Lord Tachys al`Fahn

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    Just clearing the air....? Usually posting something like this is followed by a comment on how this supports a side of an argument...
     
  16. Sean Silverfoot

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    It's the rules in the US for determining if someone is eligible to be an intern or has to be considered a regular employee. To me #6 is a huge hurdle, among other things.
     
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  17. Lord Tachys al`Fahn

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    Well, #6 is a key example of why they COULD have had a couple to handful of interns when they had 25+ people on staff. Now? No way in hell could they pass this off as (edit: ) more than just just trying to get an artist or level designer (as examples) for free.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
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  18. Lord Tachys al`Fahn

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    However, there is one thing to note here. This is not a step-by-step checklist where you have to meet all the wickets for a position to be considered an internship or paid-for-work one.

    The most important part of that whole post is:

    So that being said, if they had the office, and all but #6 could be easily demonstrated, then it is very likely a court would consider the position an internship.
     
  19. Alleine Dragonfyre

    Alleine Dragonfyre Avatar

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    What we need is their willingness to accept community contributors that will take in-game assets as payment.
     
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