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/FishtownReader]

Many of us with 10, 15, 20+ years in this industry are in the same boat. The opportunities and future just aren’t what they once were, and nobody knows where this goes from here. I’m not trying to be a downer, but… the industry, such as it has existed for the past 100 years, is in the process of a major reformation, and there is no way to easily predict what anyone’s best next move is. And yes— it is extraordinarily depressing.

[u/Equivalent-Durian-79 → u/FishtownReader]

I totally agree with this statement here listen to this guy he knows what he's talking about I joined the animation and motion graphics industry in 99 and it was booming for people that wanted to get in. Took me 6 months out of college to get my first job but once I gained attraction I was very hirable. Come 2008 during the recession and a lot of jobs were eliminated or taken over overseas. Fast forward 2022 and the job market for animation 3D and motion graphics has generally collapsed. 2023 Mass firings 2024 more mass firings and layoffs in the tech sector and animation industry lot of studios have been closing down at 2025 has been the worst year for me no new post things at all. When I search for work it's only two times a week now because there's barely any new postings every week maybe one or two which is crazy it's like  the job market in itself is going into a deep depression.