Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates were college dropouts, yet absolute anomalies in the market. 94 percent of US leaders have a college degree and if you want to be someone significant you probably need to go to school. This is extremely relevant in the field of entertainment. A lot of Hollywood’s top performers made their way through never-ending fields of essays and sleepless nights cramming for exams. For example, The Rock has a Degree in Criminology, John Legend studied African American literature, Mayim Bialik earned a PhD in Neuroscience, and Adam Sandler has a Master’s in Fine Arts. These entertainment leaders prove that you need a degree to make it big in the industry. However, you shouldn’t just go to college and work through the motions. Here are some tips on how to get the right degree and making it big in the entertainment field.
Pick the Right Degree
A lot of people place an emphasis on the college that you go to. However, in today’s market, the school that you choose is not nearly as important as the degree that you complete. You will want to find one that interests you and that will also help you get to where you want to be. If you want to be a film writer, go to school for English, film writing, or creative writing. If your dream is to be a singer, why not go to school for music. However, you don’t need a direct degree in the entertainment field that you want to enter. A great degree for entertainment professionals is business and marketing. The world revolves around money and a degree in business well help you navigate it. You will also learn how to market yourself and your skills so that you can catch people’s eye and quickly make your way to the top of the ladder.
Finance Your Degree
The biggest reason that people don’t go to college is because of the finances associated with it. Especially for people that want to be in the field of entertainment, money can be short while you start out. Therefore, you will want to manage your finances early on. Apply to as many financial aid programs as you can and see if you can obtain a scholarship. Nowadays academics are not the only reason you can get money to go to school. You can use your skills to your advantage. If you’re a writer, enter a writing contest, and if you’re a filmmaker, enter a film competition. However, if you have to obtain a student loan for college, don’t fret. There are many options for you to pay it off after you graduate. You can refinance and consolidate your loan for better rates and smaller payments. There are also options to defer you loans if you are unemployed for a certain amount of time after graduation or if you continue with schooling.
Apply for Internships
The best way to get noticed in entertainment is to just get out there and do what you do best. While you’re in school, you’ll have a lot of opportunities open up to you. Many companies, agencies, and film crews are looking specifically for college students to help them out. This allows them to obtain cheaper labor as well as give them a young mind to mold into a successful asset to their team. While in school, look out for these internship opportunities and apply to the one that interest you. Some of the biggest celebrities in the entertainment industry started out as unpaid production assistants.
You may think that entertainers got their success through their talent alone. However, this isn’t true. Many of these celebrities had to go to college and work their way up before they got noticed.
