Tuesday Tips: Best (Paid) Internship in Entertainment

Two weeks ago I talked about a great internship Penn was offering undergrads. This week, I want to share the best internship out there which actually brought me out to Los Angeles when I was a Junior at Penn.

This #1 competitive internship pays $4000 for the summer and gets you connected to the right players in Hollywood quickly…

The #1 Internship that I recommend is the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Internship. Students who have completed college or graduate school prior to December 31, 2007 ARE NOT eligible. Seniors who are graduating in 2008 ARE eligible to apply.

Some highlights of this internship include:

1) You get to choose from one of 29 entertainment related categories  from Talent Agency to Casting Director to Television Episodic Writing (click here to check out all the categories).

2) The Academy pays you $4,000 for the summer (you must provide your own housing and transportation).

3) Click here to apply for the internship. Typically the application period is from January through March of any given year.

4) This internship is featured yearly in Princeton Reviews “The Top 10 Internships”

Just some quick notes about my experience with this internship… 

• When I came to LA that summer, I stayed in the Oakwood apartments (self-furnished) in Burbank.
• Many people who come out here during the summer consider renting a car from Enterprise as this is one of a few companies in which I believe you can be 21 to rent a car. Otherwise, I believe you have to be 25).
• I had won for the Talent Agency category and had spent one week working for Breakdown Services (the company responsible for putting out daily acting breakdowns of acting roles within scripts so agents and managers know which clients to submit).  Then I spent the remaining 6 weeks working for a boutique talent agency which exposed me to the ins and outs of working in Hollywood.
• Although I chose not to pursue a career as a talent agent, this experience was an invaluable one which really let me get (paid) taste of what it was like to work in Los Angeles in the entertainment industry. To this day, the Academy hosts an annual summer dinner in which the old interns are welcomed back to mix among the new interns.

If any of you undergrads have any questions about this internship, post below on this message board and I will be more than happy to answer.

Check out my other “Tuesday Tips” HERE

• Career
• Internships