For those who work in the industry...

[SilverArrow]

For those of you who have seen my other posts you'll know that I have experience of working with animals in zoos (keeper intern etc) and in that field being a keeper is the ultimate dream for any animal enthusiast (or often visitors too) as you get to be closer to and interact more with the animals. (Obviously there is a lot of cleaning and hard work coupled with it is generally accepted as "worth it" for the fun bits.) However; in the theme park industry the "fun bit" is riding the rides, and you don't get to do that if you work at a park- at least not in any way similar to a visitor.

So; for those of you who work or have worked in the industry, how has this affected your enthusiasm?

Does it live up to what you hoped/has it put you off/or changed your views on things? Would anyone steer clear of working in the industry because of their hobby?

Obviously there are a lot of different jobs at any one theme park but all are relevant here.

 

[Maverix]

Well I'm currently interning at Dollywood, which part of it consists of being a ride op, and I'm not sure about anything not owned by Herschend, but every morning, and any time we re-open, say after being closed for weather, we have to do ride-arounds to make sure the ride is safe, so I still get to ride at least once a day if not more. Yeah it's a little different than riding for fun as I have to pay attention to the surrounding area and noises coming from the ride, but I'm still riding a coaster as part of my job and it's awesome. On top of that, I can ride a coaster or two while I'm on break if I choose, or after I get off work if I'm not closing.

It's been a blast getting to work here, wouldn't trade it for anything and it's only made me enjoy coasters more.

 

[SilverArrow]

Well I'm currently interning at Dollywood, which part of it consists of being a ride op, and I'm not sure about anything not owned by Herschend, but every morning, and any time we re-open, say after being closed for weather, we have to do ride-arounds to make sure the ride is safe, so I still get to ride at least once a day if not more. Yeah it's a little different than riding for fun as I have to pay attention to the surrounding area and noises coming from the ride, but I'm still riding a coaster as part of my job and it's awesome. On top of that, I can ride a coaster or two while I'm on break if I choose, or after I get off work if I'm not closing.

It's been a blast getting to work here, wouldn't trade it for anything and it's only made me enjoy coasters more.

That's great, thanks for your input! Glad to hear that it hasn't put you off or anything.

 

[Hyde]

I worked at Cedar Point for a summer in Guest Services. The job was interacting with the daily crowds, helping out when things go wrong within the park on the guest side, and doing other behind-the-scenes office work. Depending on the work, I was interacting with various departments each day: rides, food, entertainment, security, park sweeps, etc.

As far as actually enjoying the rides, I only rode a few rides while officially on the clock as apart of the VIP tours program - was mostly outside the scope of my work.

I wouldn't say that work overall put me more in or out on enjoying riding coasters/visiting parks. Rather, it simply gave me a deep appreciate for all it takes to operate an amusement park.

 

[gavin]

I did three seasons at a park well before I turned "proper enthusiast" years after the fact, so in that respect it's had no bearing whatsoever. We got to ride stuff whenever we wanted anyway as long as we put a jacket over our uniforms. It was far from an official policy, but was basically tolerated.

By all means do it for a couple of seasons while you're young, but working at a park because you like roller coasters is a pretty dumb move in terms of career choice. For the vast majority it's a summer job with no prospect of career progression.

It's kind of a stretch to label that sort of job as "in the industry" if we're being honest about it.