College Program vs. Professional Internship

[chilly2336]

I would not go that far to be honest. The CP has no difference and only a very few of the PIs have that relationship. If the goal is to say work for entertainment tech specifically at Disney then maybe but anything else I would not. It really depends what career at Disney they want. Again the only one I have ever heard gives some sort of priority to a local college is the entertainment tech PI and of course it is anecdotal the company does not officially say that.

What if career choice is engineering? He really wants to be an Imagineer.

 

[Deb & Bill]

What if career choice is engineering? He really wants to be an Imagineer.

No. My son's friend got the CP and PI and went to Old Miss and she got her PI in Engineering (she graduated with Mechanical Engineering degree). My son got his PI and went to LSU. He had already done another internship with a botanical garden in Massachusetts before he did the PI with Disney.

 

[wilkeliza]

What if career choice is engineering? He really wants to be an Imagineer.

Nope make sure he goes somewhere that will serve him outside of Disney. If engineering is his choice he should not be looking just at Disney as a career path. Imagineering is one of the hardest jobs to get so I wouldn't put too much weight in a PI as the end all to be all. Imagineering is a great goal but choices shouldn't be made just on that as there are a lot of kids who went to school with the idea of becoming an Imagineer and now just work at the parks for minimum wage even though they have these degrees because they can't let the Disney dream go.

 

[Micca]

Nope make sure he goes somewhere that will serve him outside of Disney. If engineering is his choice he should not be looking just at Disney as a career path. Imagineering is one of the hardest jobs to get so I wouldn't put too much weight in a PI as the end all to be all. Imagineering is a great goal but choices shouldn't be made just on that as there are a lot of kids who went to school with the idea of becoming an Imagineer and now just work at the parks for minimum wage even though they have these degrees because they can't let the Disney dream go.

Excellent post from wilkeliza. I'll just tag on a couple of thoughts. If someone is going to get into a highly skilled field such as engineering and they LOVE Disney, they should get the highest paying job they can at a firm in central FL where they will make enough money to go to WDW as often as they wish. Disney is notorious for below average wages even for skilled workers. Not saying there aren't some Imagineers who've been with the company for a long time that aren't well compensated but that's a steep hill to climb(FWIW I believe most of the top jobs are in Glendale, CA.)

With respect to working in the parks I can share the experience my DD had in the CP. She managed to go full time in entertainment and liked her job a lot. But after a couple of years she found that it was difficult to get advancement and higher pay (which usually is minimum wage or a bit over.) Although she loved being at WDW, she looked around at fellow CMs who had stayed for years approaching 30 and feeling like it was a pretty dead end position. The best thing about working for Disney is that you put it on your resume and watch some doors fly open. My DD got a fantastic job in another field partly due to her WDW experience.
As an experience, being a CM is priceless. As a career, it's not for everybody.

 

[wilkeliza]

Excellent post from wilkeliza. I'll just tag on a couple of thoughts. If someone is going to get into a highly skilled field such as engineering and they LOVE Disney, they should get the highest paying job they can at a firm in central FL where they will make enough money to go to WDW as often as they wish. Disney is notorious for below average wages even for skilled workers. Not saying there aren't some Imagineers who've been with the company for a long time that aren't well compensated but that's a steep hill to climb(FWIW I believe most of the top jobs are in Glendale, CA.)

With respect to working in the parks I can share the experience my DD had in the CP. She managed to go full time in entertainment and liked her job a lot. But after a couple of years she found that it was difficult to get advancement and higher pay (which usually is minimum wage or a bit over.) Although she loved being at WDW, she looked around at fellow CMs who had stayed for years approaching 30 and feeling like it was a pretty dead end position. The best thing about working for Disney is that you put it on your resume and watch some doors fly open. My DD got a fantastic job in another field partly due to her WDW experience.
As an experience, being a CM is priceless. As a career, it's not for everybody.

Same my time at Disney as a CM was not bad and I suggest it still for a lot of people but the best part was being able to leave with that on my resume and see the doors fly open. Same for people I encouraged to do the CP and PIs. One is now in entertainment management at Sea World and working in management at another local hotel as well. The other is now working for a design firm that pays him a fair share (I have to admit I'm jealous of that one haha). Myself I went seasonal and stayed as long as possible but when I got head hunted for some jobs I was told having Disney and Starbucks on my resume set me apart and it gave some companies the confidence to take a leap on me. I had my pick of 4 different jobs. 3 in my field but I saw 0 movement in and 1 not in my field but I saw potential and well an amazing benefits package. I took the one outside of my field and never looked back. The benefits and pay allow me to keep my art for me and never look at art as something keeping me down. Plus I love the ability to enjoy Disney again with out it being where I work any more. If I see something on the ground I may still pick it up but also I may not it is now my choice and that is freeing haha.

 

[chilly2336]

Great advice...thanks to all. We have been to colleges around the country and just visited UF and UCF last month. We were trying to weigh whether or not it would be an advantage being close to WDW but we are discovering that it does not seem to matter.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

DD has applied for the CP and two PI positions. She is done with her phone interview for CP (fall advantage) and is now waiting on pins and needles. Meanwhile she got word that she is in final consideration for each of the two PI spots (one in genetics -which is her major, and another in entymology) and has a phone interview for each on Friday. I hope she gets any of these opportunities, but the more I learn about the PI spots, the more I am impressed with the opportunity for career advancement. I appreciate everyone sharing their experience and wisdom here.

 

[HappyHaunts999]

Great advice...thanks to all. We have been to colleges around the country and just visited UF and UCF last month. We were trying to weigh whether or not it would be an advantage being close to WDW but we are discovering that it does not seem to matter.

Two great schools to look into are Cal Tech and Carnegie Mellon. Keep in mind that if they do the CP early they might be able to do the PI before they graduate.