Bethany McGill
Collections Coordinator
Disney Feature Animation
“Strive to help others achieve their goals on the way to achieving your own. It's more fun and everyone benefits.”
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
Got a bachelors degree, but didn't know how to turn it into a job in that field. I worked several jobs to start and pay back loans.
Decided to go back to grad school, realized how much I wanted to work in a museum.
Finished grad school, got internship in a museum. Had to pay off student loans so I worked retail jobs and volunteered on my days off in museums to gain experience.
Moved to a new state where I continued to work retail jobs but had even bigger better museums I could volunteer at.
6 years of working hard I finally paid off enough debt so I could afford to take a pay cut and get an entry level job in my dream field.
Applied for approximately a bazillion jobs. Got no response mmmm, maybe most of those.
I had a supervisor at one of my volunteer jobs who recommended I apply for an open position. I did about 5 interviews but finally got my dream job.
Education
High School
Career
Collections Coordinator
I help care for and digitize the animated art for a major motion picture studio.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Art
Working with Others
Day to Day
Check email / calendar, plan out time for the week to spend on personal side projects and make sure I plan for any meetings or other commitments. Work shortly at my desk, then transition to the large group workspace to spend time on our group project. About 60%-80% of my work week is spent working with a team of 4-6 other people.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
The hardest lesson I've learned is "It is all who you know." I am painfully shy, so I tried to fight this, but in the end it's the only thing that works to getting into your job. So reach out and have coffee or go meet with people in the field you want to be in. Ask them how they got there, and try to not talk about yourself a lot, just listen and even take notes. Volunteer in your field if you can, or get an internship. Any and all experience is super helpful.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"You aren't qualified enough, you don't have the right experience. You are too shy and don't put yourself out there enough. They are going to read your application and think it is lame."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
