This is exactly what I think.
Once I was freelancing, a big company asked me to work on some explorative concept, and then later if the results was good to employee me for other works. My reply was, ok, I’ll do that, but you have to pay my time, and they actually paid me.
Sometimes “despair” may lower the self-esteem level of people. We — as designer — should never demean the profession working for free.