Decent-paying jobs that use film skills?

C

ChocolatePudding

Hi everyone. My daughter has a bachelor's degree in film and of course, her dream is to make a living as a filmmaker. However she knows that it is a dream, something she will continue to work toward for years, and not something she can bank on right now.

But to pay the bills, she would ideally like a job that can still utilize her film degree, experience, and skills all the while giving her a decent salary. Do you guys have any idea what sort of more steady and reliable jobs she should be looking at that? She's dabbled in freelance videography but the work seems somewhat scarce here in San Diego. We are hoping to move to NYC this year, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any opinions. :)
 
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I have 2 friends that make a living by making portofolio's, Video clips for bands, concert regrestrations and making commercials....the hard part....geting started....the first 6 monts jou will olmost starve....but....After 2 or 3 jears jou wil drown in work and offers.
For some work jou need 1 or 2 extra people.....so....work hard....and use joure netwerk.
 
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Wedding Videographer. I would say look for a company that has been around a while and apply there. Bigger ones will have full time positions. Otherwise she can start her own, but again takes awhile. I started there. Thought of it more as creating a story for the couple of their wedding day. Not best job in the world but you'll get to work in nearly every aspect of the filmmaking industry, learn to think on your feet, be creative, meet many different people, and if you get pretty good at it. The pay is awesome. Other then that, I would have her intern at a bigger production company, no pay but a job may open up and will probably make a bunch of connections.
 
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ChocolatePudding said:
But to pay the bills, she would ideally like a job that can still utilize her film degree, experience, and skills all the while giving her a decent salary.
Click to expand...

If there were any decent salary film-related jobs (no matter how remotely related to film) people here would have gobbled them all up a long time ago. NYC is full of film wannabes, she's likely not to improver her chances.

IMO she'd be better off finding a steady high paying job doing something else and use the money to make her own films on the weekends.

Good luck to her!
 
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You're going to hate me for this...

If your daughter with her degree is looking for a steady, reliable job at
a decent salary then her degree in film is useless.

Some excellent suggestions, however; weddings, news station, commercials.
But none of them steady or reliable unless she decides to drop her dream of
a film career and throw herself full time into creating a business. A degree in
film doesn't help getting a job in film - I can't imagine it will help getting a job
not in film.

I understand this is the parent talking, but if she is going to make a living in
film she will not be getting anything steady or reliable or even a decent salary.
Getting a job in film is not a dream - it's damn hard work that takes sacrifice.
Often years of sacrifice - something the parents do not want to inflict on their
children.

What does she want to do? "filmmaker" is pretty broad.
 
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I know that some film majors are doing well financially by utilizing the Youtube partnership program, but obviously that's a small percentage.

Has your daughter looked at advanced degrees? An MBA would go far in the film industry.
 
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What directorik said.
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Working your way up in the entertainment biz is a brutally Darwinian process; you have to be strong, you have to be networked, and you have to be talented. That means crappy (non-existent) pay, crappy hours, crappy working conditions - and you're lucky to get it because there are 1,000 other recent grads who want the same thing. This is called an internship; it used to be called slavery. If you're really, really good, and you can put up with all of the crap, and you've worked harder and better than anyone else you may have a chance to work crappy hours in crappy working conditions for minimum wage. If you survive all that you may even get the chance to earn a living wage.

Or you can work a regular job and try to fit filmmaking around that, another route which takes total, ruthless commitment.

Too many follow the dream, but never look at the realities of the situation; it's HARD!!! Only a very small percentage of even the extremely hardworking and talented types ever make it. So buckle up, Dad, you're in for a bumpy ride.
 
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It's hard out here for a filmmaker :D

If she is just out of school, then she should probably consider an internship somewhere. Possibly try to find work as a p.a. or something.

The suggestion of going to a television station is a good one, she might try there because even though she wants to be a filmmaker, she can still be making some money.

What does she want to do as a filmmaker?


-- spinner :cool:
 
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Employment in the Digital Media departments at schools and universities are a great way for those versed in film and digital media to earn a steady income while still having time (and access to advanced equipment) to work on personal projects.
 
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Education is never wasted, and the process of getting a degree involves training the mind, always a good thing. Most people will NEVER use the degree they started in. I have a bachelor's degree in economics, and, aside from a few summer gigs with the government, I never worked in that field.

But someone with a degree can show she has commitment to doing something, as well as the ability to think critically, so she can use that to get a white collar job.
 
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If you can land a job at a university (especially a good one), either working in the A/V department, or teaching, you've got yourself a pretty good gig.

If you're working in A/V, naturally you want to be one of the main dudes in that department...you won't me making a lot of money if you're just a A/V guy in backwater Kentucky Community College.
 
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A degree in film, however, is very limiting. Which is the basis of
the original question. What can someone do with a degree in film?

Teaching, as Uranium City and M1chae1 mention, may offer
steady, reliable income to someone with a degree in film.

Interning does not provide steady or reliable income. In most
cases interns aren’t paid at all - that’s what students do while
in school to make contacts beyond professors and other students.

Starting a business (weddings, commercials, video portfolios,
general videographer) is an excellent idea. A degree in business
would be much better for starting a business. Getting a job using
filmmaking skills with an established wedding company or
commercial prodCo or general videographer is a fine idea. But not
exactly steady or reliable.

I admit my bias - my opinions are based on my own experiences and
those of my friends and colleagues. To make a living in this
business takes sacrifice. Not what a parent wants for their
daughter. A steady, reliable job with a decent income is what
parents want for their children. I know too many people who find a
steady, reliable job with a decent income with every intent of
making movies on the side. It doesn’t take long to begin to enjoy
that steady, reliable, decent income (if not the job) and very
soon life takes over and filmmaking becomes a hobby.

I wonder what ChocolatePudding’s daughter wants? A steady, reliable
job with a decent income or to get in there and struggle and work
for years with no steady job, no reliable income to make that dream
happen?
 
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It sure is.

I spent years without a steady job. I still do not have a
steady job. When the project is over it's over and I'm back
looking for another one. I'll go months without a job - or
working as day labor. Why shouldn't a recent college grad
sacrifice for a few years? When is there a better time to
go without a steady job with a steady income? When you're
40?

The most steady job I have ever had is as a stagehand
working eight shows a week. Even then, the show closes.
Sometimes in a couple of years, sometimes in a couple of
months.

Ya want steady?

Teaching film sounds good. Are there a lot of jobs teaching
film? Does a film degree help in that or do you need a teaching
degree? Working in the A/V or Digital Media department sounds
steady and reliable. I wonder how many people with a degree
in film want to do that. Is that flexible enough that when you
get that job on a set for six to eight weeks you can leave and
come back to a steady, reliable job with a decent income?
 
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directorik said:
Ya want steady?

Teaching film sounds good. Are there a lot of jobs teaching
film? Does a film degree help in that or do you need a teaching
degree? Working in the A/V or Digital Media department sounds
steady and reliable. I wonder how many people with a degree
in film want to do that. Is that flexible enough that when you
get that job on a set for six to eight weeks you can leave and
come back to a steady, reliable job with a decent income?
Click to expand...

I wanted to be a college professor, but there are no jobs, so I started my firm, am doing well, and I can do whatever I want, when I want.

If I plan my schedule, I can leave my firm for two months and come back, so the answer is yes. The only question, to me, is if I have to live in LA.

I thought key grips have steady income.
 
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Let's put the TV station internship in perspective . . . there are how many TV stations in NYC? And how many ex-film school students in NYC? If I was running at TV station I'd pick someone with a BROADCASTING education.

I know I'm raining on the little hopes some are offering, but this is reality.
 
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Yeah but a lot of 'Film' degrees are actually 'Media Studies' degrees. That's what I assumed this man's daughter got. If she got her degree in 'Film and Video Production' that could be a slightly different story. Maybe if she was really into camera work she could get a job as a camera op, but that is a very blue-collar job that you don't really need a degree for, just connections. Plus you don't see a lot of female camera ops out there. An unfortunate truth.

If it is a Media Studies degree then I stick by my suggestion to tap local and network news stations for an internship on the producer or director side of things. But again, you don't really need a degree for that even. Just connections and a willingness to work your way slowly up the ladder.
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
I thought key grips have steady income.
Click to expand...
No crew member has a steady, reliable income. Once the project is
over they are unemployed and looking for another job. There are 8
to 12 TV shows and maybe 10 films being shot at any given time
here in Los Angeles. And there are well over 200 experienced key
grips. Maybe five or six of them go from gig to gig. The rest go
for months without work.

Now take that number to NY or Toronto. On any given week in
Toronto how many shows offering decent pay are shooting? Each one
needs one key grip. How many experienced (say 10 jobs) key grips
are living and working in Toronto? Would you say exactly the
number of shows being shot? How about NYC?

We are not talking about willingness to work up the ladder.
ChocolatePudding specifically asked about reliable, steady jobs
with decent salary her daughter can get utilizing her film degree.

Of course we all know about about all the avenues to work up to.
That takes time and sacrifice and for many years will not be
reliable, steady or have a decent salary.

How can this young woman with a film degree pay the bills now
while working her way up the ladder? Does an internship at a local
or network news station pay a decent salary and is it steady and
reliable?
 
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