6 Things I Wish I Knew Before Moving to Hollywood

Hindsight is a beautiful thing and hopefully what I have here can help you.

I have zero regrets about the frigid day in early 2017 that I got into my Nissan Altima and drove across the country in hopes of working in the film industry but since 2017 I have learned a LOT.

A lot about what I wish I would have done before I got here and a lot about what I wish I had done once I got here. I was lucky in a lot of ways.

• I came out to Hollywood with a remote job, i was doing web design and referral marketing campaigns for car dealerships and small businesses. So cool, so chic, so hip - not really but it did pay well and at that point in my life, storing up money was my number one priority. I knew I would be taking a pay cut when I finally was brave enough to *attempt* to enter the industry.

• I had also already had a place waiting for me! I agreed to move in with friends about three months before my arrival so after the 24+ hour drive, I landed in a comfy house with great friends and a bed I had just gotten delivered. That’s rare.

And since then, I’ve learned a whole lot and it’s wild that it’s barely just scratched the surface.

1. The Job Market is… a lot.

There are so many different jobs and avenues to take it - it can be overwhelming and when it becomes overwhelming it can almost feel debilitating. I did no start my hunt for an internship until summer, the months before I was still just getting acclimated to life in LA. And once you start the hunt, you’ve got to ask yourself - Do I want to work for producers (thats what I did), or in a studio setting, maybe in casting, or at one of the big agencies Do you want to work on set? Do you want to work in post? Or do you want to work in marketing, PR? There are loads of other options beyond these too!

Maybe the job market is tough (like right now in September 2024) and you’re gonna take whatever you can get - a PA, a runner, an office manager, a secretary at any company that will take you and that makes perfect sense. I think if your goal is to get into the industry, take the job that will allow you meet others in the industry and start making friends with people at your level.

Taking the time to think about what you want out of a career or the connections will help you align with the best places to work. Example: If you want to be a writer, the mailroom at an agency can be a great place but if you want to be in film and TV marketing - there’s no reason to go get a job in the CAA mailroom.

And if you want this, don’t let any number of no’s discourage you… fix your resume, write a new pilot, shoot a new short, get your reel updated - find an assistant to take out for coffee. Keep your career and goals moving forward no matter what stands in your way!

2. It’s More Expensive Than You Think

I came out to LA with around $6,000 saved up and I wish I had saved more before moving because between deposit, first and last, a huge chunk of that will be gone just on HOUSING alone and if you come out needing a job, the remainder of that money will go quite quickly.

Now, this isn’t to say you CANNOT or SHOULD NOT move out to LA if you don’t have all that money saved. I have friends who moved out here with almost nothing and made it work. They found work as Uber Drivers, Dog walkers, etc and have zero regrets about their decisions.

Saving money ensured that I was not going to become intensely anxious or scared because when I am those things, I cannot be creative and I am definitely not able to focus on giving my all to a job or a goal.

3. It’s Not Glamorous

Yes of course there are red carpets and after parties and the social climbers but none of that is going to lead to your dream job or dream opportunity… unless you want to be an influencer and then yes go off!!

What the average day looks like for is what it looks for any person who works in a "9-5” business setting - there are meetings and calls and then a whole lot of emails then some time to actually do your “job”. For people who work at talent agencies, production companies or management companies - the normally work around 8-7 everyday. For people who work on set - it’s WAY longer days, think 12-14 hour days of running around on your feet all day, grabbing coffees, asking people to be quiet, refilling crafty and more.

Also a kicker than a lot of people don’t realize is that most people who work on a film whether it’s in pre-production, production, or post - don’t get to attend all those fun red carpet events and after parties. It’s usually just the actors, writer, director, producers and their close teams. So, if you’re an office manager at a production company, I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high about attending those events and if you think you’re very interested in those - I’d definitely lean towards the marketing side of the industry. They work to coordinate and execute those events and if you’re social - you’ll go to take videos, record, etc.

4. Your Business Skills are More Important than You Realize! 

Don’t underestimate what you’ve learned at other jobs! Hard skills like the Meta Suite, Sprout, Adobe Suite, Keynote, Canva, Asana, Google Analytics, Salesforce, Microsoft Suite, Google Suite, Tableau, Hootsuite, Later, Wordpress, or Squarespace can be a huge added benefit to these companies especially when it comes to making decks or updating their websites. Focus on skills that help you stand out and also highlight your soft skills: like organization, multi-tasking, email etiquette. If you worked at a restaurant or in retail, you can absolutely work in those “high stress environments” people speak of. 

5. Prioritize Your Goals

There is something about LA and the lack of seasons that allows time to slip by sooo quickly. It’s easy to be distracted by the city and people and parties and then all of a sudden it’s been six months since you last looked at your pilot script!

I personally love making monthly and weekly plans to work towards my goal then looking back after the months end and seeing what I was able to do because before you know it, it’ll be a year and you want to have something to show for it!

6. The Long Haul

This industry is sadly not a get rich quick scheme. I recently recapped all of the gigs and jobs I’ve had over the last eight years (wait have I seriously been in LA for eight years?!.. wait no I just googled it, it was 6 years lol) and it’s crazy to see how far I’ve come…

• 2018 - PA in LA for various studio films, Lifetime movies and Indies

• 2019 - Personal assistant to the producer of Insidious, Upgrade and a LOT of other films.

• 2019 - Social Media Manager for Insidious producer and La La Land producer’s production company 

• 2019 - Social Media Manager for Honey Boy at Amazon Studios

• 2019 - Social Media Manager for QCODE - a podcast production company 

• 2020 - COVID

  • This is when I finally wrote my first pilot!

• 2020 - Pitch Deck designer for producers, management company clients (writers, directors, other producers)

• 2020 - Co-owner of Film x TV Marketing company - working with lots of different studios, indie producers, directors, writers.

• 2021 - I directed a short and while I did enjoy it, I realized I loved writing more.

• 2022 - in December I got on the end of year blacklist!

• 2023 - I meet with some agencies and managers and find my perfect team.

• 2023 - It’s the STRIKE! 🥲 but still doing all my marketing work.

• 2024 - This year I was really hoping to be STAFFED and to sell a feature or pilot and with the industry constriction that’s just not very likely to happen but that’s okay! I’m in it for the LONG HAUL….

because look how far I still have to go…

• Write a book

• Become a staffed writer (like a lot of times)

• Sell a show

• Sell a feature

• Have a show or feature get PRODUCED!

• Become a showrunner

• Start my production company

  • Create a writers room shadow program

• Continue being paid as a writer/showrunner/producer for the next 60+ years

And even right now, as a baby writer with rep I’m just starting to pitch and find a room that’s right for me to get staffed in… and even then! You can sell a show and be working on it for YEARS before the studio/prod company decides they want to move forward with it… or more than likely it gets scrapped :D

It’s a fun, crazy wild world out here so I hope this was helpful and as always, stay delulu…. with a plan!