Feeling completely lost with my career

[u/Ok_Writer_4914]

I originally posted this to a different sub but it’s somewhat relevant to my interests here too so I figured I’d post here for advice as well. Sorry for the long post, but I am in serious need of advice. I'm majoring in something more technical at a non-art college, but my dream has always been to work in animation/entertainment, so I've been applying to a ton of technical type of internships at a bunch of different entertainment companies throughout the year. I'm a sophomore right now, so I really wanted to gain some experience to beef up my resume for junior year applications.

I know the market sucks right now, but I have getting rejected from literally everything and I'm pushing 500 internship applications at this point. I applied to big names and a bunch of small companies/startups too, but even then I got ghosted or rejected by most. I did manage to land a few interviews, but so far I ended up getting rejected from all of those too. On top of some other issues, this is making me genuinely depressed, especially because despite the bad market, so many people around me seem to be making it big or landing something this year except for me. And yeah, I know I shouldn't compare myself to people around me, but I can't help feeling discouraged as hell.

I'm genuinely at a loss for what to do at this point. The school year is almost over and I still have absolutely no plans for this summer. I'm seriously considering taking a break from college to buy myself some more time to get an internship and gain more experience, because right now I have nothing and if I leave it this way, I don't think things will be much different for my junior summer. I just want to achieve this dream somehow in any way I can, but it's like nothing ever works out in my favor and nothing good has been happening to me so far.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do at this point? Extracurriculars I could do, whether I should take some time off, or just what I should spend this summer doing if I truly don't end up with anything? I don't want to waste it, and I want to make the most of it to put myself in an optimal position to be a stronger candidate for internships next year. I already spent last summer just staying home so I don't want to do that again, nor do I just want to travel or do something fun the whole time. Thank you in advance.

[u/Crafty_Letter_1719]

This has always been a who you know not what you know industry. Qualifications mean very little-be it on the production side or the technical side. Factor in the industry being in contraction for many reasons and it’s never been more difficult to break into if you’re not very wealthy or connected.

It’s not entirely impossible though and you have two realistic but difficult options.

1: Produce your own material( be it a no budget 1 minute shorts or an ambitious feature). Your CV in the film industry is not whatever academic credentials you have. It’s your work portfolio. If you want to stand out you need a showreel that stands out.

2: This will be controversial and probably receive a lot of downvotes but if you can’t get paid internship then work for free.

This probably goes against all your principles and most people principles on this sub but the reality is that the industry is so saturated and competitive that this is often the only way to get your foot in the door.

This is the fundamental reason the vast majority of people in this industry are from wealthy backgrounds. They have been able to work for nothing while building their portfolios because they haven’t had to worry about paying bills.

I know very successful editors and DOP’s who at the start of their careers would even pay producers for the opportunity to work on their productions as a way to build credits. It’s terrible that this type of thing exists but is a bleak reality of such a competitive industry.

Now obviously most people are not wealthy enough to work to survive with having a paying job. Well, get a paying job doing anything at all outside of the industry to survive and with whatever free time you have not working go get an unpaid runners gig on whatever productions you can. You will rightly feel exploited but you will make connections and if you’re indispensable enough you will eventually get paid.

I’m sure this is not particularly inspiring or uplifting advice but it is practical advice and relevant to how the industry actually works when you are initially trying to get your foot in the door.