Getting a Job out of College?

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bobbylong

Active member
alright, im graduating college in a week and still have no idea what to do with my degree. I am a BS in communication with a concentration in media production. I want to work more towards movies or tv shows, but still dont know how to get started. My friend graduated in december, and all he could find was a cameraman job at a tv station, which gives him no hours, shitty money and no benifits. I want to stay far away from this option

Im just wondering with my degree, what would be the best thing for me to do to get a job and what type of jobs will improve my filmmaking skills? i would love to move to California or New York or somewhere like that, but dont know how id go about getting a job there. An internship somewhere like that would be fun, but it would have to be paid for me to live there. Anyone know how to find a good internship or what i should do about getting a job with filmmaking? Everyone says you have to start off working for free... but i live near wilmington and tried, even working for free on a movie is impossible, the closest you can get is standing off to the side watching them work, which doesnt count on your resume or give you the skill you need to start working paid jobs.
 
First, congrats on graduating. Second, be prepared to be poor indefinitely especially if you want to go to LA or New York. Third, your friend's job may suck, but it's experience, income, a chance to network, and a stepping stone to a better gig if he plays his cards right. Fourth, especially if you move to a major market no one cares what your degree is in or where it came from. You are one of thousands of recent grads looking for work in quite possibly the most saturated industry on the face of the planet.

Where you should hunt first for a job depends on what you want to do. Obviously if you want to be in production try and get an entry level job at a production facility and if you want to be in post try and get an entry level job at a post facility. Pretty much everyone starts out as a PA or runner or other go-fer type position. How fast you move up after getting your foot in the door depends on you and luck. The biggest thing is not to lose site of your ultimate goal whether that's being a director of feature films, a cinematographer, a commercial editor, etc.,. Keep that goal in your head and every job you take should lead you one step closer to that goal. It's very easy to get sidetracked, give up, or just settle for "good enough" 'cause this can be a very grinding, draining business, but the ones that succeed are the ones that have the determination to stick it out. Not all the choices are easy ones either. Some times you'll have to take a calculated risk that a short term lose will turn into a long term gain.


Good luck. :beer:
-A
 
adkimery said:
First, congrats on graduating. Second, be prepared to be poor indefinitely especially if you want to go to LA or New York. Third, your friend's job may suck, but it's experience, income, a chance to network, and a stepping stone to a better gig if he plays his cards right.



Good luck. :beer:
-A
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Exactly!!
 
thanks for the quick info! Just wondering if anyone knows any good production places or a website with good internships i could check out?
 
Just remember, you have to start somewhere. Your friend might getting little money, but he is building a resume and working professionally.

It is hit or miss really. The more places you send your resume - the more chances you have at locking something down.

All the best!
 
bobbylong said:
thanks for the quick info! Just wondering if anyone knows any good production places or a website with good internships i could check out?
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Does your college have any sort of official placement program and do any of your instructors have personal connections they'd be willing to use for you? For job listing check out showbizjobs.com, mandy.com, craigslist.org, and entertainmentcareers.net. There are other job sites besides those but that's all I could think of off the top of my head. You can also search for post and production places in your area and cold call them.

Be prepared for a lot of rejection, but just keep plowing ahead. When I first started out for every 50 jobs I applied for I probably got 1-2 interviews and I probably applied for hundreds of jobs before I started to gain some traction. Oh, network yer ass off too. I don't mean you have to be Capt. Schmooze or anything, but find pros in your area and see if they are free for lunch/dinner/drinks on you sometime. Never ask them for a job though. Pick their brain about how they got started, what they've learned over the years, etc.,. and if they like you they'll keep an eye out for you so just touch base every now and then w/a "Hey, how's it goin'?" they e-mail.


-A
 
I work for a TV station (part-time) and agree with Adkimery and Filthyrich. There is actually a lot you can do and learn at a TV station. Unless you're somewhere that just does straight news, master control (piping mother ship shows through) and that's it. Most stations have promotions, commercial production, and if you find one with good management, a lot of flexibility to get out and try new things and get a lot of experience.

I hate to be blunt, but if you were expecting good money or a lot of job openings right out of school you picked the wrong major. Communication or media of any sort, or just about any liberal arts degrees are often poo-pood in the working world. A degree something like global finance, or anything in hard science, be it physics, biochemistry, or something more current and specialized like laser technology or environmental sciences would have been much wiser with a lot more opportunities for good work with higher pay.
 
bobbylong said:
I want to work more towards movies or tv shows
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Get to LA... sleep on someone's couch (mine's taken, btw).

Its pointless to be anywhere else if you want to go movies/tv and this is the ideal
time in which you're going to be able to 'afford' working your way up the ladder.
 
live cheap, live where things are happening, and lower your goals monetarily for now, it will save you great frustration and keep you excited about getting work and networking. then when you're tired of living poor and cheap figure out how to hustle your skills and your experience so far into earning money
 
If you live in the British Isles your f*cked.

America, LA / NY, has alot more oppurtunitys like Greggl said. Yet again I failed my Media Course. (Was occupied with shooting a film) Ironic, tell me about it.
 
i just heard about the Turner t3 trainee program, at www.turner.com/t3 - this is exactly what im looking for but i think the deadlines past for this year and i dont know when they do it again... does anyone know any other type of trainee programs out there similar to this?
 
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