10.

In many studios, you find top people who initially started as interns. The key is getting in the gate in the first place.

Companies fill most new positions from within.  When there's a new position to fill, most managers would rather promote a qualified intern to the position, rather than hiring a stranger, even if some outside applicant had better work on his reel.

Internal promotion makes sense because it helps companies fill positions with reliable people who work well in the team, already know their way around the in-house tools, and know the pipeline at the company.  Internal promotion also saves the company money compared to hiring only people who were experienced at other companies, and motivates and rewards good work in all the departments.

If you can get into a good company, through an internship, production assistant job, or any production job (even at a low rank such as rotoscoping or match-move), then you may be able to work your way up by learning the pipeline and learning the in-house tools, and get into a good job at the good company faster than if you spent the extra years in school, working by yourself, or as a big fish in a small pond. Next Page

Copyright © 2004 by Jeremy Birn, www.3dRender.com.  "Make Links, Not Copies!"