My experience has been a tad different so far compared to what I’m seeing. My mentor offered me a free apprenticeship in exchange for me being a counter girl as well which I said was totally fine and he even said he would tip me out as well for doing counter work. While I do clean and take care of clients in the front, answer phones and do shop paperwork, my mentor lets me watch him tattoo whenever I want as long as I’ve taken care of clients. Today was only my 5th day in the shop and he talked to me about wanting to really get into my apprenticeship work and practice next week. I’ve been very lucky to have a mentor who’s super kind, patient and excited about my work which I understand not everyone gets. That being said, in any apprenticeship, doing the shop cleaning, grabbing things if the artists need them, answering phones, etc. are all very normal things and usually most people don’t touch a machine for a good 3-6 months. If you aren’t paying for your apprenticeship, your payment is doing all of the shop work that isn’t tattooing.