The road to take to be an Imagineer?

[Charten]

I'm a sophomore in highschool, but this is a college related question... So here it is. =]

I'm extremely interested in becoming an Imagineer for Disney! I understand the things I would have to do to get my foot in the door, such as a WDW internship, but what would I go about doing after that?... Any help would be appreciated.

 

[kallilovesdisney]

I also want to be an imagineer, so here is my thought process...
(I am sure there are billions of other ways, and I may never end up as an imagineer, but here's just what I am doing )

The first step for me was my college major, and thus the prep courses in highschool. Imagineers are usually not just people that majored in fun, because Disney only hires the best. And usually that means that, imagineers are engineers with a creative side. So I would try out engineering and see if it interests you.

Next step is getting your foot in the door with Disney. Now the College Program looks like a lot of fun, but it is not as focused on getting you into higher technical positions at the company.

I just finished my first two years in Industrial Engineering and now I am doing a Professional Internship with the Cruise Line. These professional internships put you in the offices and behind the scenes to make sure you are doing what you love. But also getting you trained to see if Disney likes you enough to offer you a full time job when you get out of college. So I HIGHLY recommend this. And this will open all the doors to see if you want to be an imagineer.

But I have realized...being able to work for Disney, no matter if it is picking up trash or being an imagineer, is such an amazing opportunity. It really is the most magical place on earth. So take it one day at a time. Make good grades, love Disney, and hopefully we will work on an Imagineering team together some day! ;-)

Have a magical day!

 

[khancock]

I understand the things I would have to do to get my foot in the door, such as a WDW internship

An internship with Disney really isn't necessary.

Here is info about WDI's Imaginations competition:
http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/imaginations/index.html

You may also want to check out the Season Pass Podcast. These guys work in the theme park industry and there have been quite a few Imagineers on their shows - they all have different stories how they got involved.
http://www.seasonpasspodcast.com/

 

[Nomi]

I afraid I can't help, but I do have a similar question, and since this thread was here already, I thought adding a quick reply would be a better choice than making a whole new thread.

I am very, very interested in becoming an imagineer. However, after reading what kallilovesdisney, I believe I may have cause for concern. I am going to art school in the fall, not majoring in engineering. Is there a way for us art students to become imagineers, or is this completely reserved for engineers? That said, if disney does hire art students with an active interest in mechanics and robotics (and genetics, but I doubt thats as helpful), where do they hire from? I've heard somewhere that disney hires from the Sheridan college, an art school I've considered going to once I have my foundation year out of the way. Can anyone confirm this or perhaps mention other schools disney hires imagineers from?

 

[CelebrationNM]

In my opinion, there's no best school to go to or even best program to study because Imagineering as a business unit has so many diverse responsibilities. Go over to http://disney.jobs --> Openings. Then select WD Imagineering as the business unit and you'll find a range of available positions.

You'll see that some Imagineering jobs are for business/ maketing professionals, some for architects, some for those with construction experience...it all changes based on the particular position. My advice is to find something you're good at and work at it until you have the technical competency required at a company like Walt Disney. You'll get some of that from school and you'll get more of it from other experiences you'll have in summer jobs or internships.

Also, go online and find some email groups/RSS feeds/newsletters to subscribe to and read their materials often. Everyday I get about 25 articles from various sources... hospitality, industrial engineering, parks/recreation, f&b... I don't read them all, but I come across a few interesting headlines every day that allow me to have somewhat intelligent conversations with people around me. Today I learned about synthetic ice skating surfaces and the tremendous growth of the indoor waterpark industry. Who knew!?

(PS-By all means select your school carefully, weighing the costs and benefits for you at the present moment and the future. Where you go is important, but it won't make or break you in and of itself.)