" #SpecWork " Good or Bad?

  As excited as I've been about designing lately, I often wonder if I'm going about it right. Should I be taking classes or pursuing my Masters in Art & Design? While battling these thoughts, I spend my free time designing posters and art work with hopes of landing my first winning design via Creative Allies. My work there has been featured for the third time in a row in their Editors' Picks Galleries [1 2 3]. Yay! I get excited with each notification until I find out that I am not the contest winner. Maybe I will be luckier next time, I think.. Right? Wrong.
  Although I hold mixed feelings about these contests, there are many professional designers that are totally against this practice. I understand because I don't believe amateur designers or any designer should bid their hard work and receive little or no pay. The short video below summarizes the issues with this practice, known as spec work, and leaves me to think that this month will mark another turning point in how I handle my art and design work. What are your thoughts? Is spec work so bad?