What options do I have with my work skills?

September 3, 2007 8:25 AM

What transferable skills do production coordinators/line producers have for other industries?

I have spent the vast majority of my working life in television, film, and corporate media as a production office coordinator and line producer. Shades of Mary Richards! For people who aren't sure what the work entails, briefly, I rustled up the staff, equipment and paperwork that a TV or film production needed and sometimes, I dealt with budgets (mainly for travel expenses).

The corporate media company where I worked for 7 years fell on hard times and I was let go. When the lay-off came, I was at the firm as a line producer. For the last year and a half, I've been temping as a production operator creating analysts' pitchbooks at various banks. The work is drying up as these sorts of jobs are moving out of the country, and I need a more reliable source of income.

I have decided that when I do go back into TV and film, it will be as a creative, not as a production worker. In the meantime, what sort of job can someone with my type of experience have a good shot at getting? I'd be interested in working in something media-related, but I'd like some idea of my options in other fields. Thanks.

posted by droplet to work & money (4 answers total)

balancing multiple threads of deadline-driven activity? sounds like a good match for program management.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:16 AM on September 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

Maybe video game production? At my former employer, producers are responsible for managing schedules and coordination between the various teams) design, programming, art, management) -- and they act as a gatekeeper/ambassador between the production teams and external agents like clients and publishers. It's kind of a fun blend of management and assistant, technical and creative. You don't need a lot of technical background, but it doesn't hurt, and neither does an enthusiasm for games.

I get the impression that there's a similar role in large-scale web design.
posted by moonmilk at 1:32 PM on September 3, 2007

You are probably also qualified to work as a project manager [maybe take a class of some sort to look serious].

I came into my field [meeting and event management] through production. You'd need to find someone to take a chance on you [sort of] because there are already a lot of event planners in this town. But maybe it wouldn't be that hard. You could also look to be a producer with an audiovisual company or an event design company.
posted by Mozzie at 7:13 PM on September 3, 2007

Thanks for your answers. I never thought of anything web-related, but I'm a quick student. Thanks again.
posted by droplet at 1:01 PM on September 10, 2007