Before moving to USC-Marshall last year, I worked in the world of entertainment here in Los Angeles for 13 years. At least once a year, I get an e-mail from my mom’s friend’s daughter or cousin who wants to make the move out to LA and is looking for advice about getting a job in film or television. I always start by asking the student/soon-to-be-transplant what his/her plan is, how much money has been saved, if he/she has prior related experience, and most importantly, if the person is OK with moving out here before landing a job.
At this point, most are stunned. They haven’t thought that far through the process. There’s a dream and a goal—but no traditional recruitment strategy (like in investment banking or consulting) for how to actually secure an entry-level role that will get them on the right path. Many aren’t even aware that they need to physically be here in LA before applying for jobs.
Because Hollywood (and entertainment in general) is such a strange beast, I wanted to share a few talking points that might help in guiding students who are looking to pursue creative job functions unique to the film, TV, and gaming industries. To be clear, these are roles in areas such as writing for TV, casting, visual development, acting, and physical production (camera, grip, editorial) that are available in a growing number of cities across the world. Since jobs in traditional avenues within a studio (like accounting or HR) follow a recruitment process that is closer to what is "normal" in other industries, not all of the following considerations may apply.
How comfortable are you with risk and uncertainty?Depending on the time of year, it can easily take up to six months to secure your first paying job. Even a survival job, if you are freelancing. And unless you are employed by a studio in a permanent support function (like an assistant to a development executive) the majority of the creative or production facing roles available are project hires. If you are hired as a post-production production assistant (PA) on a TV show, you are only employed for as long as the editorial department is needed. Even if you are on a long running show like Grey’s Anatomy, there is no guarantee, especially at an entry-level role, that you will be invited back for subsequent seasons. If you work as a set PA on commercials, you may only work for a few days or a week at a time. You are independently responsible for finding your next job. Are you OK with not knowing when or where that next job will come from? Do you have the mental and emotional stamina to endure this as a working lifestyle over an extended period of time?
Is living paycheck to paycheck feasible for you? LA is expensive. Even if you are extremely lucky and get consistent work at $150/day, that’s still less than $40K per year before taxes. Between rent, minimum student loan payments, gear, gas, car insurance, and food, many people find themselves deeper and deeper in debt just trying to survive. I have seen a lot of people, both students and professionals looking for a career change, leave LA in less than two years because they didn’t account for the cost of living and how difficult it would be to find full-time survival jobs, let alone the creative ones. Those who save up ahead of time and have a bit of a cushion save themselves a lot of stress and anxiety.
This might also be a time to pitch the idea of starting out in a city other than LA or New York to gain experience. There are a number of growing production hubs around the world. Some with significantly lower costs of living. It might be worthwhile to consider starting out in Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Atlanta, or Wilmington. There are also a considerable number of opportunities for Canadian passport holders in Vancouver, BC and Montreal. In Europe there are large pockets of opportunities (especially in animation) in London and France. And Asia, China, India, and Singapore host production office and/or outsourcing efforts for Lucasfilm and Disney as well as many other direct to DVD animated projects.
Do you know what qualifies as relevant experience in your desired field? Do you have that?Don’t assume that because you are qualified for a traditional business job, that you will be a top choice for a production or creative position. The majority of hiring managers are looking for the most experienced individual, even for entry-level positions. You want to work in development? Find an internship where you can write script/media coverages or do project research. Want to work in a talent agency? Get an internship where you learn a strong set of administrative skills and get to do a lot of scheduling. Though you may have the right attitude, relevant experience is key. Find a way to show the hiring manager (on paper) that you know what is important to the job. If you’re looking for advice specifically about getting a production gig as a PA check out the
Anonymous Production Assistant Blog.
Can you commit to a five- to 10-year investment (in time) before you start seeing significant progression in your career/title/status? Are you in this for the long haul?Jobs in entertainment (regardless of location) can be insanely long hours. Ten hours would probably be considered a relatively short day for most. It may not be intense in the same way as investment banking, but working long hours over a prolonged period of time will wear on most people. Are you up for that challenge? Realize that in order to reach the job that you ultimately want to have, it will likely take five to 10 years to achieve that position. And you will also have to sit in traffic both ways, regardless of what time you leave home or the office. Even when I lived relatively close (less than eight miles) to my office, my commute was at least half an hour each way. For most places I’ve worked, it’s been closer to an hour each way. For that reason, you also need a car. Public transportation exists, but it’s not great. For most entry-level jobs, you will even be asked if you have reliable transportation as a part of the interview. It’s a must!
These can be tough questions to face—but it’s important to bring them up early. This will give students an opportunity to prepare mentally, emotionally, creatively, and financially so they don’t experience a huge gap in time between graduation and when they are able to start pursuing these types of creative opportunities. Or, if they need to save money first, it gives them time to build out a plan of action and timeline for what this long term pursuit might look like.
Here are a few things students can do while still in school to help set themselves up for long term success.
- Save money (I would recommend $8K to $10K if considering LA or NYC).
- Research cost of living per location.
- Learn what entry level jobs in your industry pay.
- Make a budget.
- Build an understanding of what entry level skills are needed to be a competitive candidate.
- Get your headshots and/or reel finalized before you move to cut down time after you arrive. If you are applying for roles with major agencies, studios, or production companies, don’t start submitting applications more than six weeks in advance.
The world of entertainment is a tricky place. There aren’t nearly as many resources or pipelines or blogs about how to break into the field. It takes a lot more one-on-one outreach and networking. Still, I’m convinced that these practical tasks, like building a budget, are even more critical for students entering an uncertain field. If we can help them ask these types of questions early—we encourage them to take more ownership of their journey and the outcomes down the road. I’ve never known anyone who truly wanted to build a career in entertainment (be it as a writer, actor, or editor) who was willing to get their hands dirty and put in the time in low level roles and wasn’t able to build a fulfilling career over time. It takes specific goals, intentionality, networking like crazy, and humility. It is totally possible, but not for the faint of heart.
NACE members who would like to include information from this blog on the career center website, look for the student-directed version of this article in Grab & Go.