Photographer's assistants that actually assist.

Assistants or Interns. I remember when getting into a studio and working alongside an established professional photographer was the ideal way to develop the skills needed and pick up tricks of the trade that only came with working at the sharp end with experienced people. Continually exposed to some of the daily little problems that needed creative solutions. These little gems of knowledge could include seamlessly putting a big shoot together involving many different  personalities and needs of clients, stylists and talent. Learning to balance the requirements of the clients needs with often changing conditions on the day, and all within the ever shrinking budget.
Working with experienced professionals would  still seem to be an ideal path for new and emerging photographers, however I see many photographers trying to find people who are sufficiently motivated to get involved. This appears to be another negative condition the Internet has highlighted and fed, amongst others. I'm referring to how today's mass communication and the flood of all things online have produced a culture of "yeah I can do that, I have a camera and photoshop"
Add to this mix the now massive stock of images available to tempt the lesser creatives to just "recreate" an image, so creating an culture of copies of copies that are copies of images and are devoid of the soul and emotive elements of the original. The obvious danger of this culture, apart from flooding our visual world with even lower grade crap, is that it inhibits original thought and perceptual development.
This difference between being a photographer and creating photographs. We can now see a sea of guys with cameras wanting to "be", rather than wanting to create or express, motivated by the desire to join a club.