Catch Twenty Fuck

You've got your trusty agent. You probably got them from a contest win or a stellar script with a high recommendation from one of your contacts. You're really hoping to get on staff. But, it doesn't happen. Because the established shows all promote from within and the pilots tend to hire higher-level writers (with some exceptions, of course).

Some people, like me, try to get a job as an assistant on one of the shows. So, you can get promoted within. Except, you've never been a script coordinator. Or, a researcher. And they only want people with experience (though, I came *thisclose* to getting a Script Coordinator position). So, you apply for writers' PA. A good solid entry-level position. A fucking monkey could do it. You interview for the position. They decide you're over-qualified for the job, because you are. They apologize, they loved you. They just don't think that you'd be happy cleaning up the metaphorical vomit. For very long, that is. At least, this is what one interviewer told me a long time ago.

So, tell me, if you can't get a baby writer job without being promoted within, and the pilots aren't really hiring them (unless you're in a diversity program and your salary's paid for), if you can't get a higher-level assistant job without experience or being promoted from writers' PA, and you can't get a writers' PA position because you're over-qualified, what the fuck are you supposed to do?

This post brought to you by the letters "F" and "U."