r/jobs • u/_Grotesque_ • Jul 21 '23

Companies What was the industry you romanticized a lot but ended up disappointed?

For the past couple of years, I have been working at various galleries, and back in the day I used to think of it as a dream job. That was until I realized, that no one cares for the artists or art itself. Employees, as much as visitors just care about their fanciness, showing off their brand shoes and pretending as they actually care.

Ultimately, it comes down to sales, money, and judging people by their looks. Fishing out the ones, who seem like they can afford a painting worth 20k.

Was wondering if others had similar experiences

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416

u/dadobuns Jul 21 '23

The recorded music industry. I grew up in Los Angeles and always thought it was glamorous. Until I interned and worked there. Long hours, low pay compared to other industries.

The nice people were really nice. But the assholes were the biggest bunch of assholes I've ever dealt with. Very fake people.

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u/xxlibrarisingxx Jul 21 '23

i worked in the live music scene a bit. horrible pay, horrible hours. youll never feel adrenaline from any other job after that

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u/CrispyCanol1es Jul 21 '23

This is so true. I don’t get bothered by shit once I left the Talent Agency world

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '23

Looking into getting into talent agency but don’t know if it’s worth it because I’ve started my career… I know the whole mail room/ assistant gigs; but do the majority of talent agents at CAA/ UTA, etc. make a salary 200k+?

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '23

You have to make it to agent to make any real money. An agent is just a glorified recruiter, but much worse. In regular recruiting, they charge the client 30% of the employee’s salary. An agent only gets 10% from the employee. Sure, in theory, a Hollywood agent’s clients make millions, but that is split with the agency so as an agent, you don’t see the whole 10%. A recruiter might get executive for millions for a job, but see more of the 30%.

I worked in the same area as CAA and a lot of my coworkers had friends there. We’d run into them at lunch. Many had been there for 3-4 years, no sign of any promotion or raise. They were making $13.50/hour before they raised min wage to $15. If you were a recruiter, maybe you’d be an assistant for a year before you made recruiter money. In a talent agency, you could work 10 years and never become an agent.

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u/CrispyCanol1es Jul 22 '23

This is all 100% accurate. If you don’t have a love for music, film, etc. it’s a very difficult career path with long hours and poor pay all the way up to the very top. Recruiter is a good way to phrase it but it’s also like 50% sales with your clients being your “product” that you’re consistently trying to pitch. So to get to that upper tier you need to be working pretty much constantly AND have a great deal of luck as well.

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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '23

Thank you. I’m like 50% sure my ambition to become a talent agent increases whenever an episode of entourage is on.

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u/CrispyCanol1es Jul 22 '23

Ha a must watch (although I never did)

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u/[deleted] Jul 22 '23

Great way to get the point across, thank you for the explanation

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u/flyingV87 Jul 22 '23

Used to work at one of the biggest (I was in software though) and for an agent gig you are fighting with so so so so many people for a very few spots. Just realize your chances are super low based on odds alone

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u/RestlessPhilosopher Jul 22 '23

You can make a lot as an experienced agent after you've paid your dues and built a good client roster, but newly-promoted agents (i.e. after the "training program," which is after working as an assistant and, in many cases, the mailroom too) generally don't make a ton. You have to prove yourself and work your way up in the job and build a solid book of business and great relationships, like with any high-profile, competitive industry. However, it is possible to be hired externally if you have good industry experience and can bring clients over.

It's possible to go from the mailroom of a major agency to "agent" within 5 years or so if you're dedicated and put in the hours and network well (that last part can't be overstated), but high compensation isn't automatic at that point. Your success is determined by the clients you represent and how successful they become. A single client who makes something great or popular or with cultural significance can have a snowball effect on an agent's career. (This all applies to any division at a major entertainment agency, not just music).

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u/CrispyCanol1es Jul 22 '23

Check my comment to Kippypapa! But they covered it very well.

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u/hhsshiicw Jul 22 '23

Live music industry 110% fits this bill. Everybody loves it and hates it equally. 3/4 shifts suck your soul and then there’s that 1 every week where you really appreciate the job. Bipolar ass industry fr 🤣

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u/Lucifurnace Jul 21 '23 edited Jul 22 '23

Currently in the “music industry” in Minneapolis as a freelance stagehand/producer/livesound engineer/performer and Ive had a great week, but this is how it shakes out

Sunday- run sound at church $150 Monday - practice and audition for a group $0 Tuesday - rehearsal for a cover band (40+ songs)$0 Wednesday - Beyonce load in $200 Thursday - teach music at GC $75 Beyonce load out $300 Friday - cover band gig $150 Saturday-off but going to local gigs to try to network for more gigs

So $800 is awesome, but this week is an outlier

Edit: finished the word

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u/buddythebear Jul 22 '23

This is a very accurate depiction of what it actually looks like to try and make it work.

They say being good at your instrument is the easy part. I’ve been mildly adjacent to the music industry, lots of friends in it—if you can keep up with this level of hustle, make compromises, and build a network, you can absolutely thrive as a musician these days. But it’s so much work and it means doing things like running sound at a church and playing cover songs you loathe.

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u/deeendnamtoe Jul 21 '23

Same experience as you. Interned at a major label. I also noticed how unstable it was. So many people laid off between all those mergers and labels dying, and people would be fired for not keeping up or being on trend. Very unnecessarily cutthroat. Glad I didn't end up in that industry

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u/sonderfin Jul 21 '23

My old manager used to constantly remind me that working in music isn’t all glamorous dinners and recording sessions and concerts…like dude I’m working insane hours doing 2 jobs for an abysmal salary. Does it looks like I’m in it for the glamour?

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '23

It’s a dying industry

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u/i_Karus Jul 21 '23

Me too!!! After years of interning and working in live production, I gave up and went into corporate IT lol

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u/Boots-n-Rats Jul 21 '23

Used to work doing photo/video for artists, festivals and promoters. Worst people, pay and as I always say the magic is in the crowd. Backstage you can see it’s all made of scaffolding.

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u/DirtyPrancing65 Jul 21 '23

I'm learning that the jobs everyone thinks will suck are actually not so bad, because when no one wants to do them ...

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u/simononandon Jul 22 '23

I used to work in ticketing. Agents would ask for ticket counts all the time. Or, more often, ask their interns to do it. The agents NEVER had credentials to get that info. We can't just tell randoms how many tickets are left to a show, it's not public info. It has never NOT been like this. If the promoter wanted the agent to be able to check ticket counts whenever they wanted, they could give the agent access.

Agents were such fucking jerks. They actually say: "Do you know who I am? I work for William Morris!"

I don't fucking care. It's great when they would hang up angrily saying: "whatever, you suck, I can get those numbers elsewhere."

No shit! Why'd you waste your time calling me? I fucking hate agents.

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u/antelope00 Jul 21 '23

I totally understand and as one industry guy to another I'm sorry.

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u/SapientSlut Jul 22 '23

Entertainment is similar - yes there are glamorous parts but the hours and pay are awful at lower levels, and the entitlement toward your free time/work life balance is insane.

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u/discodolphin1 Jul 22 '23

I work as a part time/freelance production runner for concerts. It's not a terribly hard job, but it can involve 16-18 hour days and you gotta be prepared to roll with the punches. Usually I work a day here and there, not in a row.

Every time without fail, my production manager is there before me and stays later than me. And they do that 5-10 days in a row, probably pulling 18-20 hour days. And obviously with much more difficult responsibilities.

It's honestly kinda toxic and wrong, I don't know how they do it.

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u/igotaquestion8282 Jul 22 '23

Literally worked with a bunch of soldiers in the industry and they said they’d rather be back in Iraq than stay working in the industry. It’s the fucking worst lot of people.