It's hard to consider this a profession if
pilots are willing to use their hard earned
qualifications without expectations of remuneration.
Offering your services for free enables less desirable operators to under bid legitimate
operators, which has a negative effect on the industry, an industry in which the so called "professionals" are under payed for the responsability and complexity of the job. It is a profession in which the long term earning potential is limited.
To paraphrase a contributor from another forum " graduate accounts don't go counting numbers for free just so they can practice being an accountant."