Pay Scale for Professional Positions at Disney?

[FLCyndi]

I was looking at the job openings at Disney. Does anyone know the pay scale for the professional (Bachelor level) positions at Disney. Also, the administrative positions. The website did have some interesting sounding jobs.

 

[rwdavis2]

Although this is not exactly what you are looking for you can assume their pay scale is no higher than any other corporation for equivalent positions.

A friend of mine has a PhD in robotics and got offered a job in Imagineering in Los Angeles but passed because the pay was no better than what he was making here in Maryland. In Maryland he has lower taxes, lower cost of living, and much less traffic. So it was an easy choice for him.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Actually Disney is one of the lowest paying employers for professional jobs.

But, hey you can get into the parks for free! (big woop)

 

[dngnb8]

Actually Disney is one of the lowest paying employers for professional jobs.

But, hey you can get into the parks for free! (big woop)

People dont work at Disney to get rich. Job happiness has a lot to do with working there. People are literally trying to capture some of the magic. They will take less to be happy working there. Big Woop indeed.

 

[PeterPan09]

Actually Disney is one of the lowest paying employers for professional jobs.

But, hey you can get into the parks for free! (big woop)

The other benefits beside park entry aren't bad either, including other companies that offer very good discounts to Disney employees. (a friend of mine just bought a high quality Sealy mattress for 50% off) However, it is true that nobody works at Disney to get rich-except on the CEO level.

 

[PatriciaH]

I was looking at the job openings at Disney. Does anyone know the pay scale for the professional (Bachelor level) positions at Disney. Also, the administrative positions. The website did have some interesting sounding jobs.

Admins/Secretaries have several levels at Disney. Not sure about CA (I know they make more in the parks there so I would think professional positions pay more too) but in FL they start around $10/hour. Executive Secretaries make the most and are usually salaried (the others are usually hourly.) Most Sec 1's I knew were at it for several years (7+) and made about $13-$15/hour. Disney likes their Admins/Sec's to know their software and programs. You have to take a typing and grammar test.

As for other professional positions they are all over the place in pay scale. Most are less than standard. Hotel management worked many hours a week and a few years ago the ones we knew made around $30k a year. If you get to higher/salaried management (Marketing, PR, etc.), it seems to be in line with other places and the benefits are very good.

The thing with Disney is many people that high up stay for 25+ years They don't leave unless they are laid off. So competition is crazy for salaried jobs. You have 60,000+ CM's trying for the good positions, several colleges with graduates in the area going for jobs, and people from all over the country that want to work for Disney! Disney loves CM's that have done their college program. They love people who are recommended to them and have worked for the company already.

I heard from several people that WDW is not hiring for full time right now only PT and seasonal. Despite what jobs are listed.

 

[SandrA9810]

If you applying backstage roles, at entry level (whatever level a BA gets you in at), it might be a bit more than front line CM roles. If you're looking for management roles with the front line, those are usually filled from within. Disney does a lot of promoting within, even crossing from different departments, so you probably have to start at the bottom.

There's a whole different world with backstage admin roles and front line roles. From the front line, there are a ton of ups and downs, even as a full time CM. Admin, I don't think, goes on the rollercoaster ride that comes and goes with the flow of the parks.

As for front line, it's a very demanding mentally and physically. You get this month high from Thanksgiving to Christmas, of busy busy busy, mandatory overtime, insane crowds... and then January comes and you can hear a pin drop. You're only saving hope is that you're full time and they must give you 32 hrs a week. But you're fighting for those last 8 hours with the new batch of CP's that just arrived. Part timers are pretty much out the door, you might see them once a week. Seasonals are gone till at least Easter.

There are some perks to the benefits.
A) free admission to the parks
B) health benefits are down right cheap for the basics, I was paying $25 for a bit better than basic (per week).
C) decent retirement plans, 401k and some positions offer a pension plan.
D) person choice, but some roles offer a union. Although you do not need to be a part of it, to use it.
E) there are other companies that offer discounts to CM's, like neighboring restaurants, I've seen some apartment places offer free applications or $50 off deposit. There's a whole book that comes out twice a year of I.D.s (incredible discounts) of all the places you can get a discount by showing your ID.

Now the only downside to B, C, and D, is that they still come out of your paycheck every week. And besides retiree's, I didn't know many people that weren't living paycheck to paycheck.

I do have to say, it is a bit easier if you don't have a family.

 

[fall08CP]

People dont work at Disney to get rich. Job happiness has a lot to do with working there. People are literally trying to capture some of the magic. They will take less to be happy working there. Big Woop indeed.

Most of my friends in management are NOT there because of the magic- the magic often goes away with time. They're there because nobody else is hiring, and the hospitality industry is competitive. They'd gladly go elsewhere for better pay, and are constantly applying for other jobs. For the time being, it pays the bills, but they're working unpaid OT, living with several roommates, and driving a junk car

It becomes a vicious cycle. They move down for a frontline job, go through interview after interview (against hundreds of others for 5 openings) in hopes of moving up. They can't afford to up and move out of state, nor do they want to lose seniority by going elsewhere. Meanwhile, they work at minimum wage for 5+ years because they have nowhere else to go. It's definitely not easy, and that's why I chose to leave and get a real job. I really enjoyed Disney, but I'm over the moon happy where I am now. Would never have known my passion if I hadn't left.

I agree some stay for the magic, but I don't think they'd object to making a real salary AND I think they'd work harder with incentives. Went back to my old position and saw many college educated people still working the same job as 4 years ago- not by choice.

 

[SandrA9810]

There's several cast members that make more money with over time than their managers. Of course these are CM's with 10-15+ years with the company. Some say they never wanted to move into management because they would lose OT pay. But they are also union capped with their wages.

I just talked to my friend last night. He started at the Disney Store and came to Disney World when his store was shutting down. He LOVES Disney, and has several years seniority, but he's having a hard time with things there. Told me he's looking for another job to make ends meet.

 

[PatriciaH]

Yes, a lot of people we worked with at WDW would love to move up or to better paying jobs but try for years and just can't make it. They are still at $10 or $13/hour after 10+ years. It is very expensive in the area too. DH and I were always TA (temporary assignment) and contract (Disney uses Aquent for a lot of jobs.) We got some good roles in PR, Marketing, DCL, communications, etc. but they always wound up being TA (6-12 months usually) and the budget was moved or taken away so the job never became permanent. We had VP's trying to get us in their depts. and they could not! Most friends with good jobs had got them many years before and hung on. We loved Disney and the people we worked with, but we had to leave for a permanent, full-time job with great benefits. Would we go back some day? I would for sure if anything good was offered. Right now it is too up in the air in FL.

 

[DMickey28]

My best friend works in Finance/Accounting at WDW and has been there for 11 years. She barely makes ends met and she doesn't live a lavish lifestyle in the least. I don't know exact numbers but if she touches $30K it's barely.

She can't seem to get a job elsewhere because she would want to move home (New England) so she can't get a job without living here. She wants to leave but that is also her life so she isn't sure she wants to leave.

She has had some miserable teams and miserable managers. She is a good department now and is much happier.

I think WDW would be a great place to work as a supplement to a household income but not necessarily to support a household, single or family. Like I said, she doesn't have outrageous bills but can barely swing the bills she has including a $700 rent.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Actually Disney is one of the lowest paying employers for professional jobs.

But, hey you can get into the parks for free! (big woop)

People dont work at Disney to get rich. Job happiness has a lot to do with working there. People are literally trying to capture some of the magic. They will take less to be happy working there. Big Woop indeed.

Very true. Disney is one of the lower-paying also in my field. But, the benefits far outweigh salary and the free tickets. And I'm talking overall benefits.

Seriously, the happiness and magic only takes you so far, but it does take you for a while. Not to get rich, but to excel in my field.

 

[CathrynRose]

Did you try Glassdoor?

This looks like Cali ~ http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Disney-Salaries-E717.htm

I think this one is Florida ~ http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Disney-Parks-and-Resorts-Salaries-E13843.htm

Play around in there. You should be able to kinda-sorta figure out where you may fall.

 

[stevenpensacola]

What about technical jobs in the parks...such as electrical, electronics, instrumentation and controls/automation repair/maintenance jobs?

Anyone know how this compares to pay in industry?