CAREER CHOICES

I am 17 and soon to be attending college. I want to get into the amusement business-a GM position and work my way up. I was thinking a major at UCF or FSU in hospitality. UCF and FSU both have great hospitality. I am just wondering if that is the right field, considering a minor in business administration. If anyone can offer advice please post a reply

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I am one.
I am Turbo.

This is asked like every month, but here is the dark reality. There is no GM postions that are started as a walk on to work your way up.

I have been at this for 11 years with a Bachelors Degree and I am no where near a GM level manager. I have been offered asst gm spots in smaller parks, but well, money talks now a days.

You need a tourism based degree with accounting and communciations classes. Real business majors will flop with pratical knowledge. And just get a job in a park for summers, and set goals every season. Take any opportunity that is available, including behaind the scenes positions. Warehouse, park services, anything where you can carry out tasks and projects that are noted by your supervisors.

And to really make brownie points, offer to work on college breaks, like Christmas, Spring Break, weekends, etc. You will be suprised that parks need help for loads of small tasks.

The Empire will Strike Back....
"What do I know, I only work in an Amusement Park?"
"You are paying to get in. Period."

Almost all of the current Cedar Fair GM's started out as peons some thirty plus years ago. I know, I worked for a couple of them. They worked their way through college spending every summer at the Point, working their way up the ladder.From peon to foreman to supervisor to dept. manager. The truely dedicated (and skilled) ones eventually become GM's of one of the parks. It'll only take about twenty to twenty-five years to do it.