From a casting director

[livininabox]

Hi there
Tikka it was interesting to hear you mention UCAS points. I can't quite understand their value as it seems some uni's don't recognise them at all....am i right? My DD has a fair old collection of these gained through LAMDA & RAD exams. Shes only 12 so not likely to need them for a while....but whats the general opinion as to their value? Are they really worth having?

[Flosmom]

Of course you couldn't use an acting degree for some jobs - but thats true of lots of degrees.

I used to recruit a lot of trainee accountants. They needed to be graduates to get onto the professional training course, but it didn't matter what the degree was. Some degrees provided exemptions from some parts of the professional training (such as economics) but we didn't recruit for this specifically.

What the graduate status told us was that the candidates were capable of processing information with the intellectual rigor required to get a degree. It also showed that they could manage their work well enough to do so too.

Beyond that, we were interested in the person, not the qualification because, at that stage, we knew they still had a lot to learn. And many of our most successful appointments were people who set out on one path and, with experience, made a conscious choice to change. The experience they got on their first path was invaluable in helping them to decide what they really wanted from their careers.

So I would always advise a young person to choose the degree course that floats their boat . And, after all, while many don't make it in their first choice of career (as true of law as of acting) some do, so why discount the possibility so early in life?

Go on - live the dream as long as you can - it may be forever.

Deb x (not a casting director )

[Welsh Mum]

Hi there
Tikka it was interesting to hear you mention UCAS points. I can't quite understand their value as it seems some uni's don't recognise them at all....am i right? My DD has a fair old collection of these gained through LAMDA & RAD exams. Shes only 12 so not likely to need them for a while....but whats the general opinion as to their value? Are they really worth having?

Generally the only UCAS points that the vast majority of uni courses are interested in are those gained from AS , A levels, or BTECs. Although lots of qualifications are on the "UCAS tariff" (meaning they carry points values - such as music, dance exams, D of E etc - generally the points offers from unis say they need to come from the established exams. However, thye may be used if, for example, you are applying for a music degree.

[Hecouldshine]

I used to recruit a lot of trainee accountants. They needed to be graduates to get onto the professional training course, but it didn't matter what the degree was. Some degrees provided exemptions from some parts of the professional training (such as economics) but we didn't recruit for this specifically.

What the graduate status told us was that the candidates were capable of processing information with the intellectual rigor required to get a degree. It also showed that they could manage their work well enough to do so too.

Beyond that, we were interested in the person, not the qualification because, at that stage, we knew they still had a lot to learn. And many of our most successful appointments were people who set out on one path and, with experience, made a conscious choice to change. The experience they got on their first path was invaluable in helping them to decide what they really wanted from their careers.

So I would always advise a young person to choose the degree course that floats their boat . And, after all, while many don't make it in their first choice of career (as true of law as of acting) some do, so why discount the possibility so early in life?

Go on - live the dream as long as you can - it may be forever.

Deb x (not a casting director )

Really helpful posting Deb. Think I might save it for future needs. Think we are going to be addressing this issue in another 2 years

[pg]

Anyone who has read my (numerous, long ) posts on this subject will know my opinion - if you didn't fall asleep whilst reading. But just in case...

I think the "something to fall back on" argument is flawed and I agree with studying/pursuing what you love. One thing many determined performers have is a really clear vision of what they would like to do - lots of people don't have this. It seems daft to me to deliberately choose something different.

What does seem sensible to me is to look at what you can do to earn money while you are trying to make your living as a performer. I think this difficulty is the main reason people have to give up performing - because there's not enough money in performing itself. If your dc can imagine earning their living doing something else and acting as an amateur, then that's a really good idea - and to be recommended by all right-thinking people who want their offspring to be able to get a mortgage one day - but if you want to try to earn a living as a performer then you need to know about the business (or do some work to find out about it) and be prepared for the most likely outcome: very little money, infrequent performing opportunities and the need for a flexible job to pay the bills.

You are very unlikely to earn money while you are trying to make your living as a performer using your degree-level skills: that, to me, is the flaw in the "something to fall back on" argument. Most jobs that need a degree also need commitment - and that's the one thing a performer can't guarantee.

I think the time to choose a "sensible" degree is after you have given the dream your best shot - otherwise there is likely to be the nagging "if only I'd had a go" later in life.

I would recommend that any young person wanting to go into the profession tries to find some struggling actors to talk to - and asks them to be really honest about their careers. It can come as a shock to realise that despite excellent training (and considerable talent) most actors are unemployed (as actors) most of the time.