Want to work at WDW!!!???

OK, here's my problem-I dont do well in school-well i mean i do well but typical A's and B's and the occasional C. Well My parents want me to become a Profesional Soccer Player and i wont lie and say that i dont want to be one-my life dream is to play for Manchester United. . . that wont happen. so my next best choice is to work for disney! but i dont want to start sweeping or cleaning up after people-i hate cleaning up after my self! what i would be most interested in is probably working a ride and or helping out with making firework shows! Working a ride- because it's fun and i interact with people vary well! and Making Firework Shows- Because i'm good at it i can take any song and make a firework show out of it on RCT3 (aah technology today:sohappy: )- Any way if anyone knows what schooling would have to go into being one of those people, i would love to know!!! or i could be the next or the one after that CEO:lookaroun -any way all i want to know is if there are levles or something!?

thanks for your help!

MickeyMan101

uh this prolly isn't going to help much but you could look into the WDW college program... i don't know what to tell ya though, hope you find the advice you're looking for! :wave:

duh

Good idea why didnt i think of that my self!! thanks tho!!

MickeyMan101

The first thing you need to do to establish a good career is to get a good education. Work hard at school, and try to make those C's into B's and those B's into A's. Trust me, this will open up many doors for you.

Next: diversify your interests. Try out art. Try out writing. Try out economics. See what you're interested in. But the only way you can learn about yourself is by diversifying your activities.

Remember that Disney is a company which draws in talents of all kinds. There are tens of thousands of role types within the company. Granted, you don't need a college degree to operate an attraction or sweep the floors, but you do need education in engineering or the arts or the business sciences to progress into a well-paying, more secure job.

If you're taking Pixiedust's advice and looking into the WDW College Program, be sure take internships. Try out a variety of roles.

It seems that you have many interests and your passion for Disney can mix well with that. But be careful - the Walt Disney Co. isn't the most stable of places. So look for your hidden talents (i.e. your apparent interest in show design) and see how they can work to improve the products or brand of other companies.

After you have a good understanding of your talents, pick a college (I'm assuming you're a middle or high school student) that has a good general education - or a good program in engineering or the arts. But remember - to get into competitive colleges, you'll need to work on the grades.

And don't give up soccer. . . just in case.

Good luck!

I see what your saying General Grizz- I see what your saying i plan to keep the family "thing" going(my sister went to Indiana Univesity and my brother is going there now) so i want to go there but the thing i was wondering most is if collage might rouen what one of my dreams that could come true would be-and yes my grades are better than they were at the beginning of the year!! and just a question what do you mean by Arts- are you talking Show biz -such as being a proformer?- or what? Liking the ideas!!!

MickeyMan101

Arts: literature to painting to graphic design to digital media to live performances.

Examine your passions. Then look at what you do best. Then look at the best opportunities available.

Your career interests seem to range from being the CEO of a major corporation to working as a show designer for fireworks. That variety of interests is great. Remember, however, that you should have just as much interest in whatever career path you choose - or whatever interest you nurture best - whether you work for Disney or not. And throughout your college years, you can make changes to your major(s).

Perhaps take internships through the Walt Disney World College Program to experience operating Disney rides or working at the parks. But open up your college major to something much greater.

If you're still in middle school, you have a lot of time to explore your interests. If you're in High School, research colleges on the Internet. See what types of programs Indiana University has on its website - and see if they match up with your interests. If you're a senior, you've got some decisions to make soon.

I'm glad to hear your grades are improving. Keep it up.

Please go to college! Nowadays a college education is almost a necessity. Find out what you enjoy and do your best to make a career out of it.

If you go to college, then the WDW College Program becomes an option. There you can maybe take an internship in a field you are interested in. ie: the development of Pyrotechnic Shows. Then maybe one day you can become an imagineer and develop a night time show for us all to enjoy.

Just remember to never give up on your dreams. "If you can dream it, you can do it"

As a non College Graduate, I did attend college, I think you should goto college its a way to fall back on something. And it honestly does not matter what degree you get in most cases. Because something like 65 percent of college graduates dont stay in the same field in which they got there diploma. I make very good money for not having a degree but i would get more if i did. And I plan to finish one day.

Go To College And Do The College Program!!!

There is no question that you should go to college. Once there, you can apply for the college program. I did the college program in the Spring of 98 (I was on the opening cast for animal kingdom) I don't know how old you are but it is probably the best time you will ever have in your life! (aside from going on Spring Break in college!) The thing about Disney (and the real world) is that you probably are going to have to work some crappy jobs at Disney before you get a position you really want. EVeryone that works there (college program or not) wants to work as a ride operator or monorail pilot, but everyone can't. I worked in the parking lot from 5:30am-11:30am, five days a week. Not glamorous, but still pretty fun. Once you have done one college program, you can apply for more specific internships that may tailor more towards what you really want to do. You are also free to make all the connections you want while on your college program, i.e. shadowing managers in other positions at WDW for the day.

GO TO COLLEGE, then apply for the WDW College Program...you will not regret it!

How old are you ? If Pyrotecnics is in your dream then shoot for that !!!!

Stay in school and get as much education as possible .I dont think disney exercises the "over qualified term ". So learn , learn and learn.
As stated above , get involved in the (IP )formerly known as the (CP )
John

Some great advice here. It's so enlightening after some of the other talk in other threads these days.... :brick:

Let me add my own advice.
I agree with what others have said about staying in school and getting that education. I got my undergrad in business/marketing and have enjoyed careers in photography, the medical field and currently high tech. None of which reflect my degree. I have seen a 6 figure income and have allowed my wife to not have to work and stay home with our 2 children. I relate this solely to the fact that I continued my education and got my degree. I dropped out for 4 years before going back and finishing. And am I glad I did.

One thing you should keep in mind. Although it would be great to create fireworks displays, you need to understand what your future would be should Disney cut back on such needs. Are there other needs in this field elsewhere? Broaden your opportunities from the get-go. I have found that once I have achieved certain goals, I'm ready for new ones. So although working for Disney may be a dream right now, there may come a time that you no longer have the desire to work for Disney and you'll want to expand your career. Give yourself the tools to do so.

I guess what I'm saying is, walking on the moon would be really cool. Once you've done it, you may want to walk on Mars. Just make sure you give yourself the tools to go beyond the moon or your one day dream will become your daily routine and that could get old...

Good Luck!! :sohappy:

PS.. You like RCT. Have you thought about a career in technology where playing RCT would be your job?

MickeyMan101 said:

...so i want to go there but the thing i was wondering most is if collage might rouen what one of my dreams that could come true would be...

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HOLY COW!!

PLEASE stay in school. A spelling error like this on a resume will get it tossed more quickly than a used tissue.

And don't poo-poo (!) the idea of working in custodial. They often end up having LOTS of guest interaction.

That would work for me!!!! playing RCT for a job!!!

Anyway thanks for the ideas and keep yhem comming!!!

Mickeyman101

As for the college decision, going to IU is a great thing. You have some wonderful schools in Indiana. Take advantage. The key is to go somewhere, like Grizz said, that will offer you lots of options. I just graduated from DePauw up in Greencastle this past year with a degree in biology, but I did work in communications, philosophy, etc. I did my CP in biology, and it was great, but it showed me that I don't really like science. Now I'm in Law School, and it's been a lot of fun, but I still am trying to figure out just what I enjoy doing. That is the key. You need to find something you really are interested in and then go for it. If you have a degree, you will be amazed where it might take you. The larger the school, the more offerings. However, that carries the danger that you will have too much to chose from, too. Have a good long talk with yourself about things (ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING) you enjoy. Any interest or talent can turn into a career.

Best of luck!

MickeyMan101 said:

That would work for me!!!! playing RCT for a job!!!

Anyway thanks for the ideas and keep yhem comming!!!

Mickeyman101

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Just to keep it real, being a photographer, I love photography. So I landed a job working for Kodak testing their EasyShare software, which meant I played with digital cameras all day and testing them against the software. And I got paid!
A guy who worked there with me was a video game junkie. He's working for ATI testing graphic cards by---you guessed it---playing video games. The jobs are out there and somebody has to do it. Just get yourself ready as best you can to grab any opportunity that might arise. You never know when they'll happen.

MickeyMan101 said:

I see what your saying General Grizz- I see what your saying i plan to keep the family "thing" going(my sister went to Indiana Univesity and my brother is going there now) so i want to go there but the thing i was wondering most is if collage might rouen what one of my dreams that could come true would be-and yes my grades are better than they were at the beginning of the year!! and just a question what do you mean by Arts- are you talking Show biz -such as being a proformer?- or what? Liking the ideas!!!

MickeyMan101

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have you thought about Purdue? they have a great engineering program.

i have the same problem! i do real gud in skool but it bores me and i no that i would probably get bored with a job in which i do the same thing every day but to bring a smile to peoples faces well wow how could u get bored!does ne one no newer on the net i can find out about a career in disney

pls post links if u no of ne!

wow

so i know i'm young but i'm going to sound like a little kid with what i say now- if you've seen Light's, Motor's, Action! you might know what i'm going at -well I think I would be a perfect LMA driver! wow you should see me on a quad-and i know that your going to say- a quad is different than a car! SO they are close to the same- so i think i would be perfect! but any way i will keep my options open and such. I think that would be fun!!! but the pay would have to be good as well to suport a family any way there is another option! hey Grizz-it's an art:animwink:

MickeyMan101

Back- burner that working for Disney dream and work on a good education. Learn and read , read, read about the things you love in great detail. That will eventually lead to a good career that will allow you to visit Disney often. And think about this. "Build your dreams in your own "backyard" ...so to speak.

Also chiming in on the importance of education. Go to college no matter if you get all C's you'll have a degree, you need a degree to go ANYWHERE in Disney unless you want to sweep the streets. And sometimes you need a masters to get into anything that pays really well within Disney as well as an advanced internship with Disney AFTER you complete the college program.

Unfortunately (but fortunately for employees) they prefer to hire from within. So to get into management, sometimes you have to start with sweeping the streets.

I can't tell you enough how invaluable the College Program was for me. Not only did it help me get better, higher paying internships while in college after, I had the time of my life. I also met my fiance there and we're getting married in Disney next fall. I can't tell you enough what a great time it was professionally as well as personally.

Good luck!