Majors for Careers @ The Parks

[AdLibSean]

Ok, here goes... big long question/post.

I'm attending college in the fall and plan on double-majoring in Theatre Design and Marketing. After completing the college program. I want to move down to FL and work in the parks for a few years, performing, attractions, and so on. Later on , I'd like to think I could move into a position of design, but it sounds like imagineering is not only hard to get into, but a dead-end when it comes to income and job security. Is designing parades, and shows in a different dept. than Imagineering??? If I don't pursue that, is having a major in Marketing enough for me to be able to move up into management position later on. I LOVE the parks, I do, but when I'm 30 or so, I'm not gonna want to be selling merch in the Emporium. Are these two majors appropriate for what I want to do? Any comments are welcome but, Please don't crush my dreams!

 

[mkt]

the people who design the parades are the Show Directors. For the most part, WDW show directors have some disney experience (Corey, the MK director is an ex-Kid of the Kingdom) as well as "legitimate" theatre/stage experience. While Imagineering does have some say in the show, they have more say in the technical aspects than they do in the creative aspects. The creative aspects are done mainly through Walt Disney Entertainment (who I currently work for) and I will say this now.. show director positions are few and far between, and next to impossible to get. In my knowledge, the youngest WDW Show Director is in his early 30's and has EXTENSIVE theatre/dance/film experience.

To get a position like that, it is not necessary to have a degree, but it helps.

Oh yes, I hope this shakes some peoples minds... imagineers don't design parades. They make the reality, but not the idea (for the most part.. I can get into specifics via email, since there are exceptions to EVERY rule).

Also, when a parade or show is being designed, prepare to work with MANY other departments (Imagineering to see if something can work and theatre layout, operations for crowd control setups, costuming for.. DUH- COSTUMES!, and tech for props, as well as the rest of entertainment.

 

[AdLibSean]

Ok thanks so much for the info! Appreciate it a lot!

 

[cm1988]

Looking for $$$ in your career?

Three letters:
M B A

 

[cm1988]

Re: Looking for $$$ in your career?

Originally posted by cm1988
Three letters:
M B A

From what you've written, it sounds like $$$ is not your first priority (certainly wasn't mine, either!) But in case you decide to go for the gold, you may want to consider the MBA path.

 

[Maria]

I would suggest you to not base your decision on Disney... please, base it on what YOU would like to do, not on where you would like to work. :animwink:

 

[cm1988]

Good point

Originally posted by Maria
I would suggest you to not base your decision on Disney... please, base it on what YOU would like to do, not on where you would like to work. :animwink:

For some, knowing what they want to do is far more difficult to decide than where they want to work. How can a person know if they will enjoy a profession before they've experienced it? Far easier to conclude, "I like being at WDW. The people there are making other people happy. It's a good place, so I want to work there."

It is important where you work. The best hours of the best days of the best years of your life are invested there. You want to put your life's energy into a place where you can feel good about the product. Surely any person working at WDW can have that assurance. If they have any doubts, let them stand at the bridge in Frontierland where they can see people who've just swooshed down Splash Mountain. Watch for an hour, if they need to, and they'll see nothing but joy, laughter, smiles... happiness from people who for at least a minute have forgotten any trouble they ever may have had.

But as you say, Maria, career decisions are best based on "what YOU would like to do". There is no shortage of worthwhile places, some with goals arguably more lofty than happiness... for instance, hospitals, where the battle for life itself is won. Schools, police stations, laboratories, government buildings, houses of worship, community service institutions, libraries... a person can bring their talents to amazing good use at any of those.

What really makes a person happy at work? Being at a magical place can be a factor. At the same time, the question of "am I, myself, happy doing this?" will soon creep into mind.

To me, that was the tougher question to answer, because I needed to experience something to really know. Looking back, there were little clues even in early school years, in daydreams and things most wanted, and what seemed most fun at play.

But if in looking back and looking inward a person doesn't know where they should invest their career, maybe they'll need to try a few things, for a few years. Maybe they'lll see something in others as they're working. Maybe they'll go to some websites and take personality tests... those are always fun.

The good news is, career choice is not a one-time decision. Even your choice of school or technical training can be undone or redone. If you just give it some thought, then do what seems best at the time, you'll at least be on a good path. There will be plenty of "forks in the road", twists and turns available ahead!

Again quoting Wm. Least Heat Moon, "The traveler who misses the journey, misses about all he's going to get." And having quoted a Native American let me quote a cowboy as well: "Happy trails to you."

 

[joefox97]

And just to add one last piece of advice to the already stellar suggestions made thus far...

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

~The Sunscreen Song~