Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry<\/a>\u201d \u2014 was often about how they handled chaos. The key to longevity, many said, is how you manage the rejection, instability and heartbreak that are unavoidable in the industry.<\/p>\nAnd as Hollywood has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, strikes, recessions and periods of contraction \u2014 some reports estimate Hollywood jobs were down 25% in 2024 from their 2022 peak \u2014 many of them have had to take their own advice. Decades-long industry veterans have pivoted to adjacent professions, including teaching and advertising. Some of them have left Hollywood altogether.<\/p>\n
But others have landed their dream jobs. They\u2019ve learned how to build something from nothing. They\u2019ve gotten to show what they\u2019re capable of, once someone finally gave them a chance.<\/p>\n
The most sensible advice to give young people who dream of working in the entertainment industry, they said, is to run in the other direction \u2014 or at least have a backup plan. There are so many practical, safer choices that can result in a happy, fulfilling career.<\/p>\n
But dreams have a way of resurfacing, no matter how deep you try to bury them. So here\u2019s what I would tell my own kids if they felt Hollywood was their calling.<\/p>\n
Many people, when they imagine working in Hollywood, think of only the most high-profile jobs: actor, writer, director and producer. But Hollywood is made of hundreds, if not thousands, of careers, from pre-production, production and post-production, to representation (publicists, agents and managers), design and more.<\/p>\n
Some questions you can ask yourself: Do I like being in front of the camera or do I prefer being behind it? Do I want to be on set or would I prefer a desk job? Do I want a leadership role or do I prefer going deep into the day-to-day details? This can help you determine which path you should pursue.<\/p>\n
Consider whether this is something you\u2019d do even if no one paid you to do it.<\/h3>\n
Many Hollywood professionals will tell you not to take unpaid gigs, as it devalues your work and the industry itself. But that\u2019s different from the time and effort you\u2019ll have to devote to becoming extremely reliable at your craft \u2014 as well as the work you\u2019ll do to convince people to give you the job (filming auditions, developing pitch decks, building portfolios and creating demo reels).<\/p>\n
People across the industry consistently told us it often takes five to seven years before you earn a living wage. You not only have to keep wanting to do it for that long, with no guarantees of success, but you have to see it as an investment in yourself as an artist.<\/p>\n
Anchor yourself with two essentials: money and community.<\/h3>\n
People who come into the industry with wealth and connections will have an advantage. But if you don\u2019t know anyone in the industry, be diligent about saving and investing the money that you\u2019re making from your day job or side gigs.<\/p>\n
Prioritize networking by joining or creating your own communities. Networking isn\u2019t just about attending intimidating Hollywood events \u2014 it can also mean going to film festivals, taking classes, joining a gym, engaging with your favorite social media influencers, collaborating on passion projects, joining Facebook groups or finding other whisper networks.<\/p>\n
Make friends inside of the industry who are going through the same struggles so you can lift each other up. But also make friends outside of the industry who will remind you that there is life outside of Hollywood.<\/p>\n
Hollywood is an extremely competitive industry. The harsh reality is that most people are replaceable. So why would a producer or showrunner hire you over someone else? What unique skills or viewpoints could you bring to a project? Figure this out; it will be your advantage and calling card.<\/p>\n
And once you pinpoint what sets you apart, create your own work (whether it\u2019s sketches, designs, animations, TikTok videos or web series) and put what you\u2019re proud of online. You\u2019ll need to get very comfortable with self-promotion. Make sure that you\u2019re on people\u2019s minds if a job opens up that you\u2019d be perfect for.<\/p>\n
If I were talking to a current working professional about AI, we would discuss its ethical and legal implications and what unions can do to protect worker rights and fight for fair compensation.<\/p>\n
But if I were talking to a young person starting their career, I\u2019d say, embrace the technology and figure out how it can make you more \u2014 not less \u2014 creative.<\/p>\n
Know that it\u2019s good to take breaks from Hollywood \u2014 and OK to leave.<\/h3>\n
Hollywood veterans will tell you that they\u2019ve seen the industry rise and fall, again and again. Each time there\u2019s an upturn, it feels like it won\u2019t last. And each time there\u2019s a downturn, it feels like it might be the end.<\/p>\n
If Hollywood is your calling, you owe it to yourself to try, but if your experience in the industry starts to resemble a destructive relationship, you owe it to yourself to take some space or call it quits.<\/p>\n
But for as long as you\u2019re out there hustling, have fun on the roller coaster and appreciate every moment you get paid to do what you love.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the past five years, I\u2019ve been interviewing Hollywood professionals about what they wish they\u2019d known when they were starting out. The entertainment business can feel opaque and overwhelming, and many who navigated it the hard way said they want to help level the playing field for those arriving with passion but without connections. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2061756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2061755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Advice-for-kids-who-want-a-career-in-Hollywood.com2F582Fcf2Fb95efd9a4b1bb1b2069d4686.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2061755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2061757,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2061755\/revisions\/2061757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2061756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2061755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2061755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2061755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}