3 things I’ve learned interning in entertainment
Reflecting on my work in the LA corporate scene
Since moving to Los Angeles, I have been thoroughly immersed in the heart of LA — entertainment. Whenever I tell people I live in LA, the first question I get is “have you met any celebrities?” Many people see this city as a place of celebrities and glamour, but it is as much that as it is a bustling city of business and opportunity.
I’ve very fortunately gotten to intern at a few entertainment companies since I started school in LA. Namely, I’ve interned for StyleHaul, Creative Artists Agency, Ticketmaster, and now Fox Studios. Across these companies, I’ve worked in operations, marketing, and product design. However, despite the variety of companies and roles I’ve been in, I’ve found a few lessons to remain consistent across the board.
1. You will learn about a new type of job every day
Well, not literally every day. But very frequently I’m learning about super niche jobs that I’ve never heard of. For example, there are people at Fox who work specifically on franchise management for 20th Century TV programs, people who do script revision for only indie films, and people who work hybrid roles as social media strategists and data analysts.
When I first heard about these roles, I was like “there’s a job for that??”
I’ve found this same pattern at every internship I’ve worked. I’m constantly learning about new jobs and what people in those jobs do in their everyday work. It’s super fascinating to me how particular someone’s job function can be, and although I am pretty set on being a product designer as of now, I think it’s a reminder to never close ourselves off to opportunity.
In the first half of my college career, I was extremely lost and unsure about my career. My job prospects felt pretty narrow at the time; however, as time has gone by I’ve realized that there’s an abundance of strangely specific roles available at every company. I strongly believe that everyone can find something that is suited towards their interests and strengths.
If you’re lost like I was, you may just need to keep trying things.
2. There’s more to a company than the service they provide
You work for a company because you’re interested in their service. You stay because you like the culture.
Something that I realized fairly early on is the need to understand company values and culture. Prior to getting my first internship, I didn’t ever do a lot of research about company values or missions. But ultimately, if you don’t resonate with a company mission statement, your work can feel really dry and purposeless. What’s the point in trying to get a job somewhere if you don’t know why YOU are there?
It is super important to find a company that not only has good values, but matches those of your own. This may mean taking some time to understand what you truly believe in, what type of work you want to do, and ultimately what kind of impact you want to have. For me, meaningful work sits at the intersection of passion and a purpose-driven mission.
3. Entertainment can do social good
One concern I’ve always had with working in the entertainment industry is the ethical implications of the work that I do. Is media mind-numbing? Am I just profiting off mindless media? Am I actually helping people? Does my company actively contribute to society?
These are challenging moral questions that I’m certain many people in entertainment have struggled with. However, over time I think my view of the media has shifted substantially.
Entertainment has so much power to do good in society and positively influence people’s lives.
I used to be very concerned about my moral compass regarding the industry. I was super uncertain about my ethical stances in entertainment. During my internship at CAA, I even asked the president of CAA about his ethical stance on entertainment. I realized that there are certainly ethical qualms in every industry, but just because you’re not curing cancer does not mean you cannot help people in other ways.
So much of how we act in our everyday lives is largely influenced by what we see in the media.
Whether that’s film, TV, sports, social media…etc, any media that we ingest will indirectly have an influence on our behavior. A film that documents changes in global warming, a new TV show embracing physical disabilities, online content to better our mental health. These are all ways that entertainment actively does social good.
You can have a tremendous impact on people when you work on something that opens their minds, helps them see things in different ways, and exposes them to new ideas. It’s an incredibly creative and fast-paced field, but I think when we’re looking at impact, entertainment holds some of the most meaningful work you can find.
