Art Associate

I am currently “working” for Park West, as an Art Auctioneer.
I’m sorry that I had not written about my experience before, in fact I worked 3 contracts in the bar department for Carnival and 2 for the Park West Gallery …
I applied online on their site, went through three rounds of Skype interviews and after that they sent me paperwork for physical, and a letter of employment …
The costs were: medical + Visa + air ticket + at least $500 spending money that you have to have, we will explain later why …
I bought a ticket to Miami (they provide a letter of guarantee so I got the B1/B2 visa for 10 years worth), arrived there following their instructions, took a taxi and came to Miami Lakes. They paid for hotel accommodation and food. There was a 10-day training. Before the training, while I was home, they sent me the script from which I learned about the job. The training was tough, 8-16h, full of tests, presentations, you study in training and coming back to the hotel in the afternoon, you study some more …
There were about 60 of us in training, some were sent home, because of bad results, or because of drinking and partying too much …
When the training ended for us 10 (last 10 on the list, since it all counts) they did not have a boat, so they sent us home to wait …
After 2 months I got my ship Carnival Fantasy (ticket home and back to the ship was paid by them, but all other costs, fees, hotel when you have to stay overnight somewhere – you have to pay for it, and they give you a refund when you get on the ship) …
The positions are: art conservator (he moves paintings around, not selling, and is usually person without training), followed by usually only one art associate (that would be me),on some ships two or three, only one gallery director and one art auctioneer …
Art associate helps in preparing paintings for auction, he makes sales, after sets the gallery, when the ship is in port works about 4-5 hours and it’s nothing, mostly makes flyers and advertising material, but on the sea day day starts at 7 pm-1am, not kidding … literally all day long with the two breaks of one hour.
The second ship I was sent to was Carnival Imagination and now new thing for them is to send in art associate instead of art prep because he can both move the paintings and make sales.
The three of us were on the Imagination, one guy from the South Africa, one Romanian and I. We were drowning in work, since Gallery Director and auctioneer refuse to lift anything heavier than paper.
The pressure is enormous, they constantly move people from ship to ship, if you sell nothing, they blame only you, the auctioneer is paid by commission only and if no sale is made, he is very angry.
In most cases they are arrogant idiots, with rare exceptions of course …
As far as earnings go, you get $1,000 + commission, which is very small, in the end depends on how much is sold but the average monthly is $1.500-2.000.
Your wages are always “delayed” for two months, so if you earn your money in April, you’ll get that money by the 15th of June, which means that you have to live without money for two months.
Every two weeks auctioneer evaluate your work performance, pushing you for more sales, constantly threatens to send you home if you do not sell at the following auction, etc …
If anyone has any questions just ask freely, … basically, had I known, I would have never left a bar department!!!!