Pay Me

Exposure will not pay my rent and paying me less will not make you a billionaire.  

Words by Bhavni Sidhana

A dream is sold to us. As an international student, I was also a victim. It starts like some sort of horror story, and unfortunately it is. 

Back in my country, we often hear positive stories from neighbours, relatives, and our own friends, “My brother studies business analytics in the USA. He has an amazing lifestyle”. I used to think about what it must be like to live outside your own country.

Well, here I am. When I came to Australia I experienced a feeling called burnout. Everyone, once in their life, especially during their university  days, experiences  this feeling.  

What is burnout? In simple terms, it is when your body is giving you signs that you cannot function beyond this point, and your brain is reminding you of all the things that are still left on your to-do list. Crazy how some people still show up after experiencing this emotion. It is some sort of a war between your body and mind.

I remember when I experienced this. It was a random Tuesday. I just finished my night shift and realised I had a class at 9 in the morning. I showed up to my class somehow.  Then on top of that, I was assigned a group project due the next day. However I again had a night shift, which I  needed to go to, as my rent was due.

There was a battle going on inside my head about what I should do while the discussion about the assignment had already started.

Is this the dream life I had been dreaming about? People would say, ‘You can ask for money from your parents?’ or ‘You can work next week?’ I cannot work next week as I have an unpaid clinical placement starting next week, and I cannot ask for money from my parents. Isn’t it enough that they are paying thousands of dollars for my education?  Isn’t it fair that I, as a 22-year-old, pay for my own expenses?

But this is how we learn about life.

Instead of enjoying my student life, I am part of an ecosystem where I have to fight for one casual shift, finish my clinical placement as well as three assignments due at the same time. I have to figure out what to cook for dinner, how to get groceries, how to pay my rent that is due next week. I have to recharge my Metro-Card.

If all of this isn’t enough, as international students we face wage theft and being underpaid. The worrying part is not that these things happen, it’s the fact that it is normalised. I am not the only legendary student to manage this. Everyone does.  

Well, what is the solution you may ask?

There isn’t one, because these things will teach you an important lesson: how to survive. It is tough and frustrating, but you learn. These underpaid jobs teach you how important education is. These tough times teach you how to manage the money instead of spending it all in one place. These assignment deadlines will soon turn into your project deadlines, and you must learn how to work under pressure. Those unpaid clinical internships will teach you that some opportunities will feel more of a burden than a learning experience. But once you apply all those ‘topics’ you learnt in your class to your placement, you will understand how important it is.

Every lesson will not be taught in a class. A lot of learning will happen outside your lectures.  

As a student, I don’t ask for much, for my work to be valued. Do not pay me less just because I’m a student.

Fortunately, like every student, I will think of every task as an opportunity and will invest my time, creativity, and money into it. Do not call it ‘exposure’ just to get your work done for cheap or free. We value opportunities, do not gaslight us. Be honest about the opportunities you are offering.  Because exposure will not pay my rent and paying me less will not make you a billionaire.  

This article was first published in Issue 2 of Empire Times.