Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey guys! I know I posted about this before, but now since graduation's coming up in a few weeks it's way more relevant. So my plan is to eventually move to LA and try to make it as a screenwriter by taking a production assistant position. Moving straight to SoCal without having to move to another city would be ideal, but I'm a bit concerned with moving across the country with no job lined up, so what city do you think is the better choice:
San Jose: Position as a Game Writer at a video game company (offered)
Pros: Sort of like a TV staff writer position, closer to LA (easier move eventually), in California
Cons: Expensive, not a fun city, to tech-focused?
New York City: Position at an entertainment company (not offered)
Pros: Close to home (DC), 2nd to LA for entertainment, lots of opportunities, diverse, fun
Cons: Expensive, transportation (I have a car), far from LA
I'm trying to see what choice would help me in the long run. Thanks
Hey guys! I know I posted about this before, but now since graduation's coming up in a few weeks it's way more relevant. So my plan is to eventually move to LA and try to make it as a screenwriter by taking a production assistant position. Moving straight to SoCal without having to move to another city would be ideal, but I'm a bit concerned with moving across the country with no job lined up, so what city do you think is the better choice:
San Jose: Position as a Game Writer at a video game company (offered)
Pros: Sort of like a TV staff writer position, closer to LA (easier move eventually), in California
Cons: Expensive, not a fun city, to tech-focused?
New York City: Position at an entertainment company (not offered)
Pros: Close to home (DC), 2nd to LA for entertainment, lots of opportunities, diverse, fun
Cons: Expensive, transportation (I have a car), far from LA
I'm trying to see what choice would help me in the long run. Thanks
San Jose is not close to L.A at all. It's its own city with its own vibe. It's the 3rd most fun city in the country, according to Cranium in 2003 and 2008. It's the most expensive city in the country. Downtown SJ is cross between Midtown Manhattan and West Village and some of Brooklyn mojo.
I really think you're better served consulting people in your field and folks who are doing what you want to do. The industry knowledge will offer far better guidance than those of us who can only speak about the cities.
That said, I would take the job that's been offered, assuming it's a decent one. I think that's far better than going somewhere expensive with no job at all. Congrats and good luck!!
Hey guys! I know I posted about this before, but now since graduation's coming up in a few weeks it's way more relevant. So my plan is to eventually move to LA and try to make it as a screenwriter by taking a production assistant position. Moving straight to SoCal without having to move to another city would be ideal, but I'm a bit concerned with moving across the country with no job lined up, so what city do you think is the better choice:
San Jose: Position as a Game Writer at a video game company (offered)
Pros: Sort of like a TV staff writer position, closer to LA (easier move eventually), in California
Cons: Expensive, not a fun city, to tech-focused?
New York City: Position at an entertainment company (not offered)
Pros: Close to home (DC), 2nd to LA for entertainment, lots of opportunities, diverse, fun
Cons: Expensive, transportation (I have a car), far from LA
I'm trying to see what choice would help me in the long run. Thanks
Hi, I work in your field and have started as a PA, and have worked in a few departments ranging from crafty, grip, electric, sound, raster imaging, loader/utility, 2nd AC, and Operator. I lived in LA and now in Philly, and do more stagehand work here since there hasn't been many large scale films or major commercials shot here in awhile. So, I make that trek to NY once or twice a month for a few days on various commercial jobs.
Your pros are right on point as well as your cons... I will say this, if you have a job offer in SJ it might be beneficial for you to accept employment there. Unless you can wait it out for an offer in NY or LA then a minimum of at-least a year under your belt with a position that's sort of like a "TV staff writer" won't hurt. As you're in your 9th-10 month with that company, then it'll be good to start submitting resumes to production companies in LA that hire assistant writers or whatever brings you in contact with them in order to move up into that position.
I am not sure how working as a set-pa or even office-pa would help you as a writer without wasting valuable time. TV is one thing and Film/Commercials are another. The latter is more about the actual production being produced and film and you're not going to see many writers around outside of scripty who's there to keep the continuity of what's already been written and the director has in his/her mind how they want it all to play out on camera. So, maybe TV shows and News/Media would be a better fit, and if the position out in San Jose is what you've described, then it would seem to help a lot more than being a pa that's not connected to a team of writers each day on the job.
So....., you may want to give that a try. It puts you in California and it's an hour flight or a six hour drive. You could even leave the driving to Greyhound for like a $40 RT, and use Uber/Lyft or rent from Avis/Hertz to get around.. You could do that once or twice per month in order to attend film festivals, industry seminars, writers workshops, industry networking events, etc;. That way you'll get to immerse yourself with like minded people, exchange information, and even produce a short film or two while honing your writing skills.
Hey guys! I know I posted about this before, but now since graduation's coming up in a few weeks it's way more relevant. So my plan is to eventually move to LA and try to make it as a screenwriter by taking a production assistant position. Moving straight to SoCal without having to move to another city would be ideal, but I'm a bit concerned with moving across the country with no job lined up, so what city do you think is the better choice:
San Jose: Position as a Game Writer at a video game company (offered)
Pros: Sort of like a TV staff writer position, closer to LA (easier move eventually), in California
Cons: Expensive, not a fun city, to tech-focused?
New York City: Position at an entertainment company (not offered)
Pros: Close to home (DC), 2nd to LA for entertainment, lots of opportunities, diverse, fun
Cons: Expensive, transportation (I have a car), far from LA
I'm trying to see what choice would help me in the long run. Thanks
I strongly advise against moving to NY without a job lined up or a place to live!!! If you can get a job offer in New York, it would be really great for you to take it, but don’t come here without one! I can tell you exactly what will happen if you do:
You’ll most likely get stuck in some service industry job working crazy hours to pay for your overpriced apartment, while trying helplessly to get your foot in the door in your industry in one of the most competitive job markets and talent pools in the world! Before you know it, years will have passed and you’ll be stuck in the service industry or working some other unrelated job that you can’t leave because you’re dependent on it now!
I would advise for you to take this opportunity to get your foot in the door fresh out of college in San Jose. Or at the very least, try to see if you can get other offers in other cities. But I wouldn’t move anywhere without a job or place to live lined up. Especially NYC! I don’t think there’s any worse place to move to without a job than NYC. You wouldn’t believe how common the above scenario that I gave is here!
You have a job offer in San Jose. As a recent college grad, it's a good opportunity for you to get experience, explore, and the position sounds like it will give you great growth potential to go in multiple directions.
The person above me is right about New York (that used to be me!). I eventually got a job there (that eventually brought me to LA) but I did get "stuck" and wish I had a job lined up first. If you didn't have a job offer or leads, I'd say the decision would be different - but you can't pass up a good opportunity!
You're super young at 22 and have a lot of flex time - I say go with San Jose and down the road, you can make the move back East.
San Jose is not close to L.A at all. It's its own city with its own vibe. It's the 3rd most fun city in the country, according to Cranium in 2003 and 2008. It's the most expensive city in the country. Downtown SJ is cross between Midtown Manhattan and West Village and some of Brooklyn mojo.
Certainly NOT. It feels nothing like any of those?!
I've been to Manhattan and downtown SJ...the latter is nothing like the former lmao.
But to the OP: I would take the offered job. If your goal is LA, it would definitely make moving a lot easier being in the state already, plus it wouldn't hurt to have experience under your belt as a new graduate.
When I graduated college, my goal was also LA. I had a job offer in Las Vegas, but the company also had a regional office in LA. So I took that job and after a few months I requested to transfer to Southern California. Ended up at a job in Palm Springs, then San Bernardino after a few months. Now I'm at the regional hub in DTLA.
San Jose might not be your cup of tea, but you're not too far from San Francisco and Santa Cruz, so I'm sure you'd be able to make the best of it while you were there.
Sometimes it doesn't happen immediately, but the steps you take can get you where you want to be!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
