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The_Dunedan · 12-08-2009, 06:02 PM

My face needs food stuffed into it on a semi-regular basis. I have bills to pay. I have better things to do with my time than expend energy which could be used in;
1: Finding a paying job, or
2: WORKING a paying job,
... to work for free. My time is valuable, and (were I unemployed, as I have been in the past) my primary concern would be making sure the rent/bills got paid and my belly got fed. Until then, my working time directly translates into keeping my happy ass alive, and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste that time in work that does me no good. Networking has its' benefits, but those benefits are meaningless when they're (maybe) months down the road and I need to pay the electric bill the day after tomorrow. Volunteer work is a luxury consumed by those who don't have to worry about money.

Edited to add: Volunteer work being a luxury in many senses does not mean that it is a bad thing; far from it. Charity is a good thing. However, there are many people in this world who's situation does not permit such things, a fact which seems sometimes to get lost in the TFP echo chamber: bear in mind that I immensely value the quality and quantity of well-educated people here. But unfortunately in such an environment it can be easy to forget at times that for a lot of people, life is WORK; whatever work they need or can get.

12-08-2009, 06:02 PM	#12 (permalink)
The_Dunedan Junkie	My face needs food stuffed into it on a semi-regular basis. I have bills to pay. I have better things to do with my time than expend energy which could be used in; 1: Finding a paying job, or 2: WORKING a paying job, ... to work for free. My time is valuable, and (were I unemployed, as I have been in the past) my primary concern would be making sure the rent/bills got paid and my belly got fed. Until then, my working time directly translates into keeping my happy ass alive, and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste that time in work that does me no good. Networking has its' benefits, but those benefits are meaningless when they're (maybe) months down the road and I need to pay the electric bill the day after tomorrow. Volunteer work is a luxury consumed by those who don't have to worry about money. Edited to add: Volunteer work being a luxury in many senses does not mean that it is a bad thing; far from it. Charity is a good thing. However, there are many people in this world who's situation does not permit such things, a fact which seems sometimes to get lost in the TFP echo chamber: bear in mind that I immensely value the quality and quantity of well-educated people here. But unfortunately in such an environment it can be easy to forget at times that for a lot of people, life is WORK; whatever work they need or can get. Last edited by The_Dunedan; 12-09-2009 at 06:37 AM..