I don't get it. The Professional Internships make sense but it seems like the College Program is just a bunch of college kids working as Small World operators and cashiers at the Electric Umbrella. What's the big to-do about the College Program exactly?
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Someone needs to explain the college program
- Thread starter wizards8507
- Start date
They get training and a job and earn college credit for their time spent working and learning - and a foot into the Disney world - if they ever decide to apply to Disney later in life, those who have an employment history at Disney get preference.
https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/students/students.html
https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/article.html
It's cheap labor for Disney too.
https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/students/students.html
https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/article.html
It's cheap labor for Disney too.
Wilt Dasney
Well-Known Member
I got nothing in the way of tangible, transferrable career training from my CP, but I'm still glad I did it. It was just a great experience in its own right and unlike any other part of my life before or since.
For some people, it will have a deeper relevance, since they will choose to stay on with the company. For others, it's just an adventure...but what's life without a pointless adventure or two along the way?
For some people, it will have a deeper relevance, since they will choose to stay on with the company. For others, it's just an adventure...but what's life without a pointless adventure or two along the way?
joanna71985
Well-Known Member
I think it is a great opportunity (and I know others who agree with me).
dove_
New Member
The College Program is also a way for many students to get out of the normality of home/college life and truly live on their own for a while. It's also a pretty safe place for them to learn exactly how to live on their own.
The big to-do is really that these are kids who have wanted to live/work at disney for a LONG TIME and this is one way to do it without relocating or putting off other plans or things like that. When I described it to other people, I told them that it was working jobs that I could work at the local amusement park, but it's just so much better because I was getting 40 hours a week (and overtime pay!) and getting to go to Disney on my days off.
The big to-do is really that these are kids who have wanted to live/work at disney for a LONG TIME and this is one way to do it without relocating or putting off other plans or things like that. When I described it to other people, I told them that it was working jobs that I could work at the local amusement park, but it's just so much better because I was getting 40 hours a week (and overtime pay!) and getting to go to Disney on my days off.
Is it really "on their own" though? Don't they live on Disney property with a ton of other kids their age? Do people learn how to live in the "real world" from living in [essentially] a dorm with other college students? I feel like the programs that really prepare interns for the "real world" are the ones where you actually live alone, get yourself up at 6 AM, and drive to the office for an 8:00-4:30 daily grind.
I didn't mean to sound condesending when I said "the big to-do." I just genuinely didn't (and still don't) understand the difference between the College Program and a minimum wage summer job. I certainly understand the appeal of working as an on-stage cast member for the summer, but I don't see the justification of calling it a "College Program" versus "part-time, labor." To me, "College Program" implies some sort of education or career development system (i.e., the management and operations courses offered to certain McDonald's employees at Hamburger University).
Wilt Dasney
Well-Known Member
There are courses offered that students can take for credit, but it's entirely optional and dependent on your home college/university accepting the credit.
There are also Advanced Internships which do offer "real" work in more specialized and technical fields, but I believe you have to complete a normal College Program to qualify for most of those.
However, I really think if you're looking for an argument to dissuade you from the idea that this is essentially a way for Disney to acquire cheap menial labor, you're not going to find it — because that's pretty much what it is. I did it, and I'm not under any illusions to the contrary. I just know it was a lot more fun than my summer job as a movie usher/concessionaire a few years earlier was.
At best, it's a chance to take a few classes and (if you're interested) get yourself in a position to stay on with the company at the ground level, or qualify yourself to apply for a more legitimate Disney internship later on.
That's exactly what I was looking for. I was just confused as to what the program really was, and whether or not I was missing something. It seems like what you're saying is that the program is still a "great opportunity," but more in a "best-summer-ever" sense than a "get-ahead-in-your-career" sense.
Wilt Dasney
Well-Known Member
Essentially that is what I'm saying...but with the caveat that it can also be true in the second sense if you have a career goal that can be furthered by working in the parks.
Disney likes to promote from within, so if a management position in attractions/guest services/resorts and hotels is an intermediate goal of yours, then the CP can be a logical "foot in the door" step. If you want to become a character entertainer, I know people who have gotten hired into that department as CP's.
But if you're looking to become an Imagineer or CEO, I have to think your time would be better spent gaining real-world experience in creative design or business than selling popcorn for a semester on Main Street.
progroupie
Member
The college program is really what you make it. For some people it's a semester off school at Disney World. You can have a blast with minimal responsibility. But if someone is looking for a real internship at Disney, it's there you just have to go for it yourself. You're given the chance to meet executives in one of the biggest companies in the world and learn how they do business. There aren't many other ways to get such an indepth perspective into such a big company.
Plus it looks real good on a resume. The first thing every job interviewer has asked me about was my time at Disney. Even when it didn't have a thing to do with the actual job. And they were all impressed. You may not realize at first that driving a parking tram or selling Mickey Mouse shaped ice-cream bars is ever going to help you in real life, but you'd be surprised. If you want any kind of job that deals with the public, working at Disney is going to give you something beyond just regular people skills.
Disney is taking advantage of college kids looking for something fun to do that still looks legitimate on their transcripts, but those same college kids can take advantage of their time at Disney as well.
Plus it looks real good on a resume. The first thing every job interviewer has asked me about was my time at Disney. Even when it didn't have a thing to do with the actual job. And they were all impressed. You may not realize at first that driving a parking tram or selling Mickey Mouse shaped ice-cream bars is ever going to help you in real life, but you'd be surprised. If you want any kind of job that deals with the public, working at Disney is going to give you something beyond just regular people skills.
Disney is taking advantage of college kids looking for something fun to do that still looks legitimate on their transcripts, but those same college kids can take advantage of their time at Disney as well.