College Program - Orlando Sentinel

[fillerup]

I didn't see this posted, but if it is let me know and I'll delete this.

Guess I'm putting this in the News forum because this article is on Page 1 of today's O'Sentinel - Sandra Pedicini.

Headline and 3 sub-heads:

"Disney College Program lures thousands of workers"

Many Disney College Program workers find experience invaluable

Some workers lament losing hours to Disney College Program participants, who make up 5 percent
of workforce

Disney College Program has been praised for career advantages, but critics question educational value


Full Article

 

[eblaz37]

As a College Program alum, I don't even need to read this full article to know I disagree. I know there are a ton of members here who will also be offended at that as well. Sure, the CP is not for everyone. I know some people have done it and left feeling like they didn't get much out of it. It all depends on what your career path goals are and what kind of personality you are.

I will say, I was in a job interview this week, and having The Walt Disney Company on my resume still gets recruiters to give me a second look, and they always want to hear about the experience. I have gotten two jobs solely because I worked for TWDC.

This article should be in the Opinion section. And she should only be writing it after she's done the program herself.

 

[roj2323]

Former CP here.

The thing with College programer's (CP's) is they are worked full time hours with no benefits or holiday pay. Additionally up until the recent Union contract signing they were getting paid the federal minimum wage which was in most cases much less than part time or full time cast starting pay was for many positions. This lead schedulers to prioritize scheduling to College program cast.

DID I think the program helped me? Sort of. Having disney on your resume is a great conversation starter but beyond that it will not get you a job.

 

[MarkTwain]

Former CP here.

The thing with College programer's (CP's) is they are worked full time hours with no benefits or holiday pay. Additionally up until the recent Union contract signing they were getting paid the federal minimum wage which was in most cases much less than part time or full time cast starting pay was for many positions. This lead schedulers to prioritize scheduling to College program cast.

DID I think the program helped me? Sort of. Having disney on your resume is a great conversation starter but beyond that it will not get you a job.

Agreed.

I also did the program and I certainly found it enjoyable, enough to do it a couple of times. But valuable? Ehh. Maybe something that gets touched upon in an interview, but certainly not as valuable as an internship in the field of my actual profession would be. I think the word is getting out, to employers and the universities that endorse the program alike, that what is billed as "professional experience" is really comparable to any service industry job most CPs could easily find just about anywhere.

I think that's the biggest problem with the DCP, how it is marketed. Many students go in expecting a professional experience, to learn about what makes the company great, or the opportunity to move up in the company. But the true professional opportunities are scarce, beyond a few "how to write a resume" classes. Where's the tour of Team Disney Orlando, or the professional career fair allowing CPs to meet the people in the fields they want to work in? There aren't any.

The training? A four or five hour course at Disney University, giving you a VERY abridged history of the company, lots of stressing the importance of their safety standards, and a tour of Magic Kingdom's utilidors. Instructions in actual guest service go as far as the famous two-fingered-point; beyond there it's the manners your mama taught you. After that you have a few days where you learn to make change or properly clean the counters you're working on. A Keys to the Kingdom tour provides as much insight into the company.

And opportunities to move up in the company? Depends on what you mean by moving up... Many CMs do stay and take on seasonal and part-time jobs, and if they do them long enough, they may be lucky enough to get promoted to that full-time job that comes with *gasp* health insurance. That's right, after years of hard work your table-bussing or tram-driving skills now are rewarded with health insurance. After several more years of hard work, you *might* get a job as coordinator (now making a few dollars MORE than minimum wage), and if you really, really work hard and stick around long enough, you MIGHT even become a manager. If a job, you know, opens up somewhere.

A LOT of DCP students I talked to got frustrated with the program and found Disney's promises about it misleading. Many even dropped out or "self-termed". If you're looking for a few months of free park admission and lots of social interaction with other Disney fans, you got it. But a professional experience it ain't, except maybe on paper (provided the guy reading your resume doesn't actually ask what you DID at your job, which they always seem to).

And the way Disney uses the program to avoid holiday pay, and deprive full-time employees of longer shifts, is undeniable.

EDIT: If you're considering the DCP, please don't be turned off by it just because of this post. I did the program several times and LOVED it. But I also didn't go in any of those times (well... after the first one) with professional intentions. Just do your research and know what you're getting into.

 

[brava_centauri]

I've been a lurker on these forums for a long time, but this is a subject I feel my opinions about and knowledge of are substantial enough to warrant breaking my silence. I completed my CP a year ago this past January; I can see how some of the points in the article may apply to certain locations and students, but based on my experiences, I feel confident in saying that the CP is not a uniform co-op for every student who participates in it. At my work location, the full-timers were mostly older individuals who had retired and wanted to come in as early as possible and leave by mid-afternoon. This left the late morning to close shifts, which none of them wanted, to the CPs. The part-timers would sometimes take portions of our shifts but even they usually felt overworked to the point where they didn't ask for more hours; very often, it was more difficult to get a shift covered than to pick up hours.

As to the educational component, I had a radically different experience than that the article describes. As an engineering student, I was allowed to enroll in a weekly seminar that focused on the disciplines and practices of engineering at WDW. Every week involved talks from different onsite departments of engineering, tours of backstage locations, and the ability to ask engineers at Disney questions about their backgrounds and how they got involved in the company.

Near the end of the program, they hosted an engineering competition including tours of attractions at Epcot and a team project that constituted redesigning Wonders of Life as a weather-themed pavilion, complete with an E-ticket attraction and layout of shops and restaurants, culminating in the presentation of our concepts in the old MetLife VIP lounge. I had the ability to network with engineers in my discipline and received contact information of individuals who I hope to speak with again after I graduate. The same woman has been running the course for several years and is amazing at helping individuals be placed in top roles at the company; several students who had recently graduated were offered Professional Internship roles directly out of that class.

My biggest word of advice to an applicant is to do research beforehand and be prepared before the program begins. Registration for classes occurs before the program starts, and the seminar I participated in filled up quickly and had a waitlist. If there is a class tailored to your major or something you're passionate about (entertainment, hospitality, etc.), absolutely make sure you enroll in that course. It will make a huge difference in the outcome of your program, elevating you from a Cast Member to someone with connections at Disney. If you're a student, try to talk to someone in your major who has completed the program and see what kind of benefits it may have for you specifically.

Were we overworked? Absolutely. There were days that certain CPs were scheduled to both open and close, having done so 3 days in a row (with some CPs being scheduled shorter shifts, since the computer assigns shifts randomly to different individuals, leaving some to work more hours than others). During the winter holidays, we all worked 12 hour shifts for 8 days straight. That being said, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I got to work at my dream park (Epcot) and live at Disney World for six months. I made friends who now live all over the country and who I still get to see every now and again. Most significantly, I felt like I was recognized by the company for doing something I enjoyed and now hopefully have a chance of returning there after I graduate with a little more experience under my belt, which I think should be one of the major draws of the program.

Thanks for letting me get all of that out there; I promise not all of my posts will be that long in the future.

 

[Biff215]

It's hard for me to believe, but next week it will be 15 years since I arrived for my CP in 2000. I was a lifeguard at Blizzard Beach and loved everything about the program. Did it get me my job today as a teacher? Certainly not, but the experience was still valuable. As others have said, it's largely about expectations and individual experiences. I'm the first to admit it's not for everyone. While it no doubt benefits Disney, I still feel I benefited just as much in the long run. If nothing else, it certainly gives me a great story to tell my kids and students, not something just anyone can say!