Over at FXGuide they have an interview with “Victor”, a young starting VFX professional traveling and working VFX internships in Los Angeles in shocking conditions.
Victor’s annual income is under $10,000. In Los Angeles the poverty level for a single member household is $11,490. He has healthcare because the Affordable Care Act mandates that he can stay on his parents plan, but that coverage is effectively limited to the Emergency Room.
Surely this isn’t the norm, but it is a testament to the recent plummets in the VFX industry that it has become a bit of a flooded market in the US, and unfortunately several professionals are finding it difficult to get work in reasonable conditions.
I am Victor. I want the world to know I have left that situation but with dwindling options at hand. I have a few days out until I don’t know what will happen or where I will go.