I decided to participate in the Berklee LA Internship Program for many reasons. Fist of all, the transition from student to the “real world” felt very scary. The LA Program seemed like the smoothest transition. The LA Program offers a place to live, a database of companies that are seeking interns, workshops where you can learn from and network with people in the business, and the support of a Berklee staff member to guide you. It was nice to focus solely on securing an internship rather than having to find an apartment, an internship, and become acquainted with a strange new place all by myself. An added bonus is the program is done as a group so there are many other students in a similar situation.

I always knew I wanted a job in music and there are only so many places that one can immerse themselves in the music industry.  For me it was a choice between New York and Los Angeles, but Berklee did not offer an all-inclusive program in NYC and the weather is so much nicer in California.  Being that Los Angeles contains many different aspects of the entertainment industry, I figured there was more opportunity as well. Music wouldn’t be my only option. The film industry is huge in Los Angeles and music and film go hand in hand in many aspects of the entertainment industry.

I graduated at the start of this rough economic period for the country. All I heard about was how people were losing their jobs and companies weren’t hiring. I figured I couldn’t go wrong doing an internship. It could be the best way to get my foot in the door. Sure, I would have to work for free for a bit, but I was confident that if I could secure an internship, I was prepared enough to make a good impression. This proved to be true as I now work for the company I interned at.

It was a tough choice to pick up and move across the country to a strange new place, but for me it was worth it. I did a lot of research before making the decision. I wanted to get an idea of what opportunities were available to me in Los Angeles as well as try to talk to other people who had participated in the program. I recommend this program to any and everyone at Berklee who wants to work in the entertainment industry. Even if you decide LA is not for you, you have only committed to one semester. That is just enough time to experience what music is like on the west coast. I can say from experience, it’s pretty awesome.

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Scott Sapcariu, LA Program participant (Summer 2009) is the Digital Assets Supervisor for Avenue Records in Los Angeles. Contact Scott via email: ssapcariu at berklee dot net.

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