What recommendations do you have for high school students to start preparing for a career in media production?

Hi Katie,

My best advice to you is that you can start now. You can create now. Find people that are also interested in film/video/media production and create something together. I watched my son become interested at 14 and he has never stopped. He produces and directs films, commercials and youtube channels in Los Angeles now and he is only 20. If you are thinking about going into film production I would suggest looking at the films on NFFTY.org - the worlds largest youth film festival. Make a film and submit it - then come to Seattle to see the youth film community in action. Best of Luck!!

Great question!!

First no matter what you do you need to realize competition is a real. Normally it's not the person you see, so you need to work hard for the X factor. Don't take no for an answer. Because God gave you a vision and not everyone will see that vision. Support will not always be there but just believe in yourself and you will find what you need at the most unexpected places and times. Never stop learning,working,believing and listing and you will be fine.

What you will find is that figuring yourself out first will be the hardest part of your career development, no matter your field.

Specifically for media, starting to get your experience in high school will give you some early experience. One thing to keep in mind is that what you do in high school may only be at the lower end of production quality, your college experience will be closer to what you will find in the professional world. Every experience you go through will be a building block for whatever you eventually do - whether in the media industry or not.
Learn as much as you can about all the parts which go into creating a media event/show, the more you know the more informed you can be as you make decisions about your future.

Katie,

Fantastic Question!

It is great to see you interested in this field and you are very smart to start pursuing this while still in high school. My best advice to you, is to start now by volunteering in anything remotely related to media production. Your local cable channel, non-profits, health or education industry. Even local TV stations sometimes offer internships. The work may not be all that exciting at first, but you will get your feet wet and by working at a number of different places and situations you will begin to narrow down what exactly it is you want and do not want to do. Back in the day, I was an intern at a local TV station in Oakland - KTVU. It helped me a lot! After I completed the internship, I realized I never wanted to work for a TV station! I would have never known that unless I worked there. Fortunately, the media field is very broad and covers many different industries.

The most important thing is getting out there and meeting people in the industry. Get references, build up experience and start networking. Most of media production is hands on and real life/business situations and learning how to communicate and work well with a variety of people is extremely important!

The only other thing I would suggest, is have a good working knowledge of computers, software, internet and basic electronics. These will all help in the long run!
Good Luck and I wish you much success!

High school is a great time to explore different career paths and interests before you focus in at college. Being part of the media is being in journalism. You learn how to write, report and tell a story in both a visual and written way. The best suggestion is get experience and try different types of media. Write for your school paper if your school has one. Apply for internships at newspapers, tv and radio stations and if you are into sports, local teams. Get that experience and flavor. See what you like and what you are interested in.

My journey was I wrote for my high school newspaper and then my small town paper. When I went to college, I wrote for school paper, took all the journalism classes and interned at a local tv station. It helped me focus in on what I enjoyed the most which was the visual medium over the written one. I would say the biggest takeaway I can give you is get experience. It's valuable to prospective employers and for you. Best of luck!