Juilliard's electrician internship

[jbrem003]

I am curious to know as I am planning on applying for the electrics intenship at Juilliard this year if anyone has any advice or possibly some knowledge of the program other than what one would learn from a tour of the facilities. I know it's pretty top notch, but I also hear that it only helps people trying to be master electricians and is heavily specialized in that regard.

Thanks!

 

[Footer]

The Intern Program does not offer a degree.
Internships are nine months in length beginning in September and ending in May.
Internships are full time – 40 hours per week.
Interns’ weekly schedules may vary with their duties and the requirements of the overall production/administrative schedule.
Prospective interns should carefully evaluate their individual financial situations when applying to the program.
A stipend of $305 per week is offered.
Living in New York is expensive.
The internships are a full time commitment. An outside job cannot be relied upon as an income supplement.
It is suggested that housing be secured prior to beginning an internship.

1200 bucks is not enough to live in the city. Hell, its not even half of what you need to live there unless you are living in a hole. 100 dollars a day is about what you need to actually survive there. This is going to put you seriously in the red. If your cool with that, it might be something to consider.

THAT being said though, this looks like a program that wants labor (and a lot of it) that they don't want to pay for. I think you would be better off picking up an entry level position at a larger theatre or a lighting shop. It will keep you out of the red and you will probably learn more.

What is it that interests you in the program?

 

[Les]

I agree with Footer. I don't think there's anything they can teach you that you can't learn elsewhere, with less hassle. You get the prestigious name and bragging rights, but that's probably the only edge you would have.

 

[rochem]

While it looks really interesting, I'm gonna have to agree with Footer and Les. Actually, I just finished 3 months of living in New York, and my 9-5, 40-hour-a-week job didn't pay all that much more than this stipend once taxes were taken out. I was living in Manhattan, but I was subletting a friend's apartment for far below what a reasonable price would be. Even with that, I got very lucky in that my day job was extremely regular, and I was able to receive and accept many other calls in the evenings and on weekends - but for a job like this, it doesn't sound like you'd have that flexible of a schedule. Were it not for those many extra side jobs, I would have had a very difficult time getting through it. You're in New York - you're gonna want to go out to eat or see a show every so often, but even the cheap student rush tickets and lottery tickets really add up fast.

It's not necessarily a bad idea - I think that if your single largest goal in theatre was to become a top-level electrician in New York without going to college, this sounds like a great program. If you've already spent thousands of dollars on college and can still justify this cost, then go for it - but don't expect to make any money. I can't quite tell who it's primarily intended for - different sentences lead me to believe that it's aimed at a college grad, a current college student taking a year off, or someone who has no plans to go to college at all. But if you have any doubts at all about wanting to live/work in New York, or if you're not 100% sure that you want to be an ME (which it sounds like you might not be), then I wouldn't do it.

EDIT: Hell, why not just apply for the Electrics Shop Supervisor position, so you can lord over all the lowly interns? Anyone job-hunting? No degree required or anything! http://www.julliard.edu/about/jobs/index.php

 

[xander]

I know a few of the guys and gals at Juilliard. In fact, one of my electricians this coming weekend just finished up the electrics internship there this past season. I'll ask him how he liked it and get back to you.

-Tim

 

[xander]

So I talked to my electrician that did the internship and he said it was fantastic. He said he would hands down recommend it. It is very much geared toward training head electricians, not designers. However, he said that it is what you make of it. He has designer aspirations and used this opportunity to advance that. While you don't do any design work in the program, he now assists quite frequently for a designer he met while working there. There are 5 spaces at Juilliard and you work in each of them assisting another ME for the beginning and then in the end, you ME a show of your own. While yes, you can learn these skills elsewhere (as I did), if you can do it, it does have it's perks. Juilliard is a recognized name. It comes with a certain degree of prestige and a network. Quite possibly the most important aspect of a "fancy name" on your resume (such as CMU or Yale) is the network of people that it comes with.

This is all well and good, but what about the money? No, $305/week is not enough to live off of. While I'd say it's not quite $100/day like Footer said, that is a good goal. My friend grew up in Westchester, so he lived with his parents and commuted everyday. That was the only way he could afford it. But, he also said that they were very good at keeping the work to 40 hours a week and were flexible if possible about him doing other jobs on the side. It does say the exact opposite of that on their website, though, so I wouldn't count on that.

Weigh your options and choose what is best for you. If you have any more specific questions, I'll see if I can get them answered.

-Tim

 

[rochem]

Thanks for the info! If you don't mind sharing, what level of education did your friend have, and how old was he, at this time? I'm still not sure what type of candidate they're looking for, whether it's a recent college grad or a fresh-out-of-high school student or a non-college-educated stagehand with a few years behind him or what. It definitely sounds like something I'd be at least interested in, although whether or not I can actually afford it would be a whole new question.

 

[xander]

He had just graduated with a BA within a year or two of doing the internship.

 

[jbrem003]

First off I wanted to just say thank you to everyone who shared on this thread. I ended up not getting a position after applying but the experience did really open my perspective on living in NYC and the education available to me here. In case anyone is interested in knowing, what I am doing now is studying at Fordham University finishing my undergrad as a designer/directing student. While I'm sure working with the top-notch equipment and facilities would have been a major plus, I really think that seeing as being an ME was not a goal of mine, that finishing my undergrad was the much smarter choice. I also just signed a lease on an apt with three friends I met my first year here and will be living with my own spacious bedroom in manhattan for under $800/mo! Thank you so much to everyone who weighed in on this as the advice was invaluable and very much enjoyable to reminisce over.