Working in the industry

[Slamming Coastercore]

Hi all!

Recently I've been having a bit of a surge applying for jobs in the attractions industry (techy, sales stuff mostly) and I know there are a lot of people on here that already work within it themselves. Hopefully, this doesn't get shot down, but I'd assume that I'm not the only one on here aspiring to get my foot in the door; working with those parks/attractions we all know and love!

I just wanted to ask if anyone with a role in the industry has any advice for getting your foot in the door?

Also, how does working in the industry affect your enjoyment of parks?

All comments are appreciated and I'm sure that I'm not the only one interested to see the response!

 

[Indy]

I just wanted to ask if anyone with a role in the industry has any advice for getting your foot in the door?

That largely depends on what you are trying to do. When you say techy, sales stuff, do you mean techy OR sales, or techy sales?

For starters, having any sort of experience related to the fields you are trying to go into will go a long way. Having sales experience in the past is the first step to getting something like a sales job. Or having technical knowledge of a topic will help. It doesn't have to be rides. You could know a lot about how cars work or have sold cars and that will provide you a base for discussion and proving yourself.

Think about anything you've ever done that is related to the job you're after and try to spin it in a way that demonstrates a skill your potential employer would look for. For instance, suppose you worked for McDonald's. Don't put some bland description on your application/resume such as "Prepped food, stocked freezer, and operated front register." Say something like "Provided excellent customer service to hundreds of customers per day in a fast-paced environment" because somebody who is hiring for a sales position will want someone who has good customer service and can develop relationships with clients.

Also, try to attend industry events if you can. Look into young professional memberships in IAAPA and TEA (Themed Entertainment Association). They both have events around the globe that provide prime opportunities to network with industry professionals. Networking is the biggest key to getting your foot in the door. Somebody is more likely to hire you if they know what you are like in person. Plus, showing up to an event shows that you're serious.

Also, how does working in the industry affect your enjoyment of parks?

It really depends. It can swing both ways. On one hand, I enjoyed seeing how different parks/companies do things when I'd visit. On the other hand, it can be a little annoying when you know there is a better way. And depending on what your role and interaction is, your job can cause you to gain a lot of respect for people/companies or lose a lot of respect for people/companies.

That being said, I'm enjoying it more now that I'm no longer in the industry. I'm very grateful for the time and experience that I had. However, I'm also very grateful to have moved on to something else.

 

[FistedColossus]

My experience was mostly negative and turned out to be a pretty miserable time in my life.

I worked in sales/business development role at a Merlin attraction during its construction.

It was an unfamiliar role to them and they seemed to make it up as they went along. Turns out it's quite hard to sell tickets for what was at the time a construction site! Even so, got some big numbers in and I was happy with my performance considering the lack of support.

Found management to be very 'wooden'. They'd all been hand picked from other Merlin attraction whereas I came in as an outsider.

It was a learning curve and cool to see the attraction develop on a daily basis up until opening. All the top brass would visit regularly for hard hat tours. Nick Varney is a short arse.

Having said all that, I'd definitely give it another go if the opportunity came up elsewhere in the industry. I've seen first hand the brilliant team ethic and positivity within other Merlin attractions. Maybe I'll pop a CV over to The London Resort in 2053

Just keep an eye out for suitable vacancies and go above and beyond in the application/interview process. Your passion will naturally shine through as an enthusiast regardless of your career background.

 

[JoshC.]

Working within the industry is very weird, and I think experiences vary massively.

I think the key takeaways from my experiences are:
1. Who you know and how well connected you are matter a LOT
2. The amount of influence, and responsibility, you have increases exponentially as you move up the ranks
3. The pay is average, though again seemingly increases exponentially as you move up
4. Working your way up can be a long and arduous process

There's lots to expand upon here. I probably won't go into every little detail, but will try to hit the main points still.

I just wanted to ask if anyone with a role in the industry has any advice for getting your foot in the door?

As I say, who you know and your connections is one of the biggest things. It's not impossible to jump into a higher up / good role without any, but it definitely helps. How you build those connections and get people to know you is a bigger question.

I guess there's three main ways:
a. Join a park at a host level part-time or similar and get to know people, introducing your 'main' skills, etc
b. Going to industry events / conventions
c. Just knowing the right people

Depending on whether you want to work for a particular park / set of parks, or be involved in the industry more generally, would depend on whether a or b is a more suitable thing. If you want to work within the industry more broadly (ie working at a company who works with parks, rather than at a park), then option a. isn't the way to go. Hosts at parks very rarely get that level of exposure.

Joining a park at a host level and using that as a way to quite literally get your foot in the door is pretty common, and how plenty of people have made their ways into higher up roles. It's the way I tried too, with mild success.
But then this goes back to the point 4 raised earlier - it's a long and arduous process. To get noticed / get to know the right people this way still takes time. And even then, there's no guarantee this is a way to showcase your main skills either.

Equally, I know people who have just joined parks at host level, and (either intentionally or unintentionally) worked their way up to influential positions. In many cases, people hit a certain level, leave the industry, and then come back at the next level. I think this is something telling in itself: to get to the higher echelons of parks and the industry, you need that ground-level experience, plus extra from outside.

And then just to expand on option c. a bit more. In my experiences, and from stories I've heard, it happens a lot within not just the theme park industry, but related industries, that people get in at a certain level just by knowing the right people. I've seen people have influence on project who really shouldn't simply by being friends with the right person. Equally, I've seen the flip side of this: people getting their rightful big break when they'd have no other chance, again by being friends with the right person.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.

I don't know how relevant all of that is to you specifically @Slamming Coastercore, as my experiences more come from working at/for parks, rather than the wider industry (and by you saying "working with parks", I'd imagine you're more aiming towards the latter).

Also, how does working in the industry affect your enjoyment of parks?

This I can probably give a more relevant answer to.

Honestly, I don't think it affects it that much. If you work at a specific park, your enjoyment will change. But you'll also have a greater appreciation for it in a way which you can't quite put into words.

But more broadly, I found myself enjoying parks just the same. Even after leaving the industry, I still get thoughts which are spawned from working within the industry, but even then, it brings a different level of comparison to things..."Ohh, this park does this thing like this, that's different to this similar park...pretty cool". Writing it out sounds pretty boring I guess, but it doesn't affect my enjoyment in any way.

 

[Coasterfreck]

Also, how does working in the industry affect your enjoyment of parks?

I worked for a theme park for four seasons in total, my final three of which was in Rides. I want to echo firstly what @JoshC. I loved learning about everything that went on behind the scenes that kept the theme park running.
Sure you get some challenging days when your outside for the whole day in the pouring rain and your on one of the only rides that is still running, but you do develop a lot of appreciation for the effort that goes on behind the scenes at every level of the theme parks. I still find it always interesting when going to other parks and seeing how they do things compared to the one that you were working at.

The second part of this question, I want to focus more on the enjoyment of visiting the park that you worked for. In my first three seasons I did enjoy visiting, but I was in a happier place working at the park. However in my final season I didn’t enjoy working at the park, and it caused me to suffer some big mental health issues, in that season I found myself not wanting to visit that specific park as a guest, and was only ever on the park while I was working. That being said in that season I always still enjoyed going to other theme parks.

If it is an industry you really want to experience, I’d strongly recommend giving it a go, I have fond memories of 2016, 2017 in rides that I cherish, and I would never change it for the world.

 

[Snurt2theHark]

I just wanted to ask if anyone with a role in the industry has any advice for getting your foot in the door?

I'd definitely apply for an entry Host or Operator/Senior Host role at your local park. When you go for an interview, mention that your interested in a career in the industry, they'll hopefully give you enough responsibility to gain a good amount of experience over a few seasons. Even if you decide not pursue the industry working at theme parks is noteworthy in interviews and is a quick way to impress people with your abilities. If you choose a guest-facing role, like any retail/hospitality role, every day is different, most guests and colleagues are lovely and will talk to you for hours about all things theme park related (and more!) but you'll come across the passive-aggressive "don't tell me what to do!" crowd which can be demoralising. Here is where networking can be crucial as you understand the future of what parks want to do and how you can fit into that and being present when big moments occur in the park.

The department I worked for often liked to get a mix of people already working within the department (as they already know the internal workings) and bring people new to the industry (as they can often bring something new). Don't be afraid to leave and gain experience elsewhere in the leisure/hospitality industry as places like cinemas, gyms, pubs, restaurants have similar skills and internal structures. Also any volunteering work this could be very helpful.

Entry positions are often long-hours, low pay across the industry, I've heard from people who have recent degrees relevant for the position but work still being minimum wage/close to minimum and seasonal. Unionisation has been a contentious issue at the moment with Disneyland and Cedar Point employees forming unions, we've also seen parks like Dollywood offering schemes to pay for education of employees in order to keep up employee retention as staff turnover is very high.

Also keep an eye open for job roles opening at suppliers for theme parks, if you want to work in the creative side of the industry I know there's a lot of UK companies like Scruffy Dog and Holovis who actually do all the creative work in developing ideas for new attractions, with the development side of the large chains such as Merlin Magic Making and Universal Creative being more focused on product delivery and logistics. I'd also imagine this is similar for ride/parts manufacturers if you wanted to go into the engineering side of the industry. Learn what companies parks work with often, this is where being an enthusiast can be an advantage.

Also, how does working in the industry affect your enjoyment of parks?

As for my local park, the area I worked in wasn't somewhere that I would usually visit, as the attractions weren't aimed at the thrill-seeker audience so it kind of felt like where I worked and my local park were two separate places in my head. But you'll undoubtedly hear rumours (with varying degrees of truth) spread around that often sound like big news for enthusiasts and not being able to discuss openly about it for a long period of time is a bit of a pain.

Honestly it affected me more how I felt reading the forums such as here as people love to bash theme parks for not doing things the way they want. When you know how much passion everyone has working in the parks has yet you see some goon say stuff online that they'd never say our faces and be completely wrong on what they're talking about.

TL;DR working in the industry is very rewarding and you get to work in circles with people similar to you and a lot of potential for promotion but at times might feel like a bit of an emotional grind, like many jobs.

 

[Slamming Coastercore]

Thanks for all the responses so far guys! It's really insightful and I'm sure that I'm not the only one that appreciates the level of detail you have all gone into. It's fascinating to hear about different perspectives and the avenues that can be taken to make a career within the industry.

Personally, my professional experience very much revolves around client acquisition, management, and growth (which I've been doing for 6 years now) within the technology industry. I'd like to continue to use those skills in an attractions industry based role and companies that sell to parks are the ones I'm aiming for. I already have a sizable network of industry contacts on the likes of LinkedIn and keep a very close eye on the companies that I'd like to work for so I can apply as vacancies arise.

For me the main things I wanted to understand where if it was worth getting some of that "ground up" experience (working at a park as a host and seeing things from a bit more of a "day-to-day" side) and whether working in the industry would make park visits seem like a chore as opposed to a day out. It's also nice to feel that my enthusiasm for coasters and the industry will be a help rather than a hinderence. I sometimes worry that showing my level of passion from the industry could detract from what I can offer to the role professionally.

I'd love to hear about more experiences of how people got into the industry and their experience once they got there. It's really interesting to get a feel for it whilst I'm striving to get there myself!

 

[Indy]

It's certainly not required to have prior experience, but I always recommend it whether it is working as a janitor, operating a ride, or working maintenance. Literally any experience you can get in the industry will likely positively affect your ability to do your job later on. I was an engineer, but my time as a ride host was invaluable because it helped me understand what works well and doesn't work well for the people who have to operate, board, or maintain a ride on a daily basis. It also helped me understand how designs can influence the number of people required to operate a ride which then affects the park's operating budget. So yeah, even if you just work as a ride host on the weekends, any experience will provide you additional insight that could help you down the road, especially if you are wanting to get into sales.

Going to parks definitely wasn't a chore. Sure, there were things that rubbed me wrong from time to time, but they were minor. I still loved going to parks. If anything, sometimes it stung because I visit or see a lot of parks in the offseason and was unable to ride anything! Though, as a disclaimer; you sometimes need to have thick skin. You'll never sell a product that is universally loved. Somebody will always trash it and you have to be able to let it roll off your shoulder or laugh it off. Somebody once made a horrible comment online about something I was involved with and I found it to be so hilariously mean that I printed it off and hung it in my office so that I saw it every day. Whenever I looked at It, it would make me smirk and give me a reminder that you can't please everybody.

Showing off your passion can be a double-edged sword. It's good to come off knowledgeable and enthusiastic. However, it can sometimes be important that you don't come off too passionate or like too much of a thoosie. It's the difference between telling somebody at a company that they made your #1 roller coaster versus telling them something technical about one of their rides that impressed you. The former is a nice compliment, but the latter shows attention to detail. It communicates passion AND knowledge, and that is worth something to a company. Does that make sense?

This post is already getting long so I'm going to spare you of too many details of how I got into the industry. I'm also not sure how relevant it is. The short and dirty version is that I went to every networking event that I could for a handful of years and got to know a lot of people in the industry. Eventually, some of those people offered me internships and I subsequently got offered a full-time job. It was a mixture of a lot of time and effort in building relationships and being at the right place at the right time.