What to Do When a Career in Entertainment Loses Its Shine

Working in entertainment has always come with long hours, grueling schedules, and unpredictable employment. But recent years have intensified the industry’s growing instability, from pandemic restrictions to the SAG-AFTRA strikes to production shutdowns and more. So it’s no surprise that while more than two-thirds of entertainment employees report feeling fulfilled in their work, over 60% plan on changing jobs in the next twelve months.

If you’re tired of constant disruption and uncertainty as well, you might be ready for a pivot yourself. Here’s why switching to tech is a smart move after entertainment loses its shine.

It’s not just you

While the decision to leave a career in entertainment is highly personal, it helps to know that many in the industry are dealing with similar dilemmas. For some, the following considerations are enough to inspire them into changing gears and exiting the industry altogether.

Long hours

Sixty-hour workweeks are now the norm across global TV and film productions, with detrimental effects. Almost two-thirds (62%) of workers say the intensity of their schedules have negatively impacted their mental wellbeing, leading to anxiety, memory loss, depression, and more.

Unemployment and layoffs

Four years after the pandemic, the industry’s unemployment rate is still higher than the national average (4.5% vs. 4.1%), although its 2024 peak was 12.5% in August. Paired with layoffs from Paramount (3%), Disney (3.2%), and more, it’s clear why full recovery isn’t expected until 2027.

Workplace safety

Not only do a quarter of employees in global independent TV production say extreme fatigue has resulted in grave accidents at work, nearly three-quarters of UK film and TV crew feel that their safety (or that of a colleague’s) has been compromised at work while on set.

Burnout

These stressful work conditions make entertainment professionals more prone to burnout_{How to Recover From Burnout by Switching to Tech}, the effects of which impact both physical and mental health. In fact, research shows working late, volatile hours can lead to a greater likelihood of poor health and depression by age 50.

How this played out for one of our grads

AC Slamet_{A Producer Switches to Tech to Find Time for Life: AC Slamet’s TripleTen Story} worked for many years as a producer for unscripted TV. Like others in entertainment, he was accustomed to working 12-hour days and even had normalized working holidays as well. Eventually, he reached a moment where he couldn’t ignore the impacts on his well being.

A normal shoot day for producers would be 15 hours. The toll it took on me health-wise — it can be a very stressful job and obviously physically taxing because of the long hours. AC Slamet, TripleTen grad

Then, a project came along about the future of food and the impact technology will have there. AC found himself intrigued, so he started looking at different tech jobs available and saw that many of them involved data. From there, he discovered the TripleTen Business Intelligence Analytics bootcamp, then known as the Data Analysis bootcamp. After his show wrapped up, he decided to focus all of his energy on learning new skills.

It was challenging for AC, but he stuck with it, and near the end of his program, he had enough confidence to join an externship — during which a company gave AC and a team of his fellow students data to clean, analyze, and visualize. They finished by presenting it to a representative from the company. This gave him a real-world experience of working with data, which he loved.

Three months after finishing the TripleTen program, AC landed his current job as a data analyst at an ad agency, where he uses his expertise to help the company’s clients make better marketing decisions. He definitely appreciates how much better his work-life balance is now.

Gosh, it’s a stark difference. I work eight hours every day, Monday to Friday. I have my weekends off, which is amazing. AC Slamet, TripleTen grad

Best of all? AC gets to help his partner take care of their dogs, do laundry, and be home for the holidays.

The data behind the stories

While it’s important to read stories from real people who have successfully switched careers to tech, it’s also critical to weigh your options using industry data on salary, growth, and workload_{What Salary Can Bootcamp Grads Expect?}. After all, reskilling involves time, money, and effort, so you want to make sure it’s worth it.

‍The good news is, both sectors hold lucrative career paths and have healthy job outlooks through 2033. Entertainment is projected to add about 108,900 openings per year in that time frame and boasts a median annual wage of $53,360. Tech, on the other hand, is projected to add about 356,700 openings per year till then and boasts a median annual wage of $104,420.

A breakdown of median annual wages of common roles by industry.

Last, but not least, it’s also good to dissect time spent on the job. As mentioned earlier, the average entertainment employee works 60 hours per week (or 12 hours a day). The majority of tech professionals, however, work 30-49 hours a week, depending on their niche and seniority.

Is it time to make a change?

Ultimately, only you can know if a change is right for you. There’s a lot to love about working in the entertainment industry — like creative expression and artistic fulfillment. But a career in tech can provide many things that are just as engaging, like problem-solving and collaboration. Each path has its pros and cons, so it’s important to understand your goals for this next phase of life.

To help you navigate this important decision, we recommend taking some quiet time to answer the following prompts. Don’t overthink your answers, simply let what comes to mind flow onto the page. The goal is to get in touch with how your values might be changing and what type of life you’d like to build for yourself next. And remember, it’s a beautiful thing to have choices!

How to make the pivot

While it can feel overwhelming to fathom changing careers, especially if you’ve already put a decade or more into your current profession, just know that people do it all the time — and successfully. Tech, in particular, is an industry where demonstrable skills are more important than credentials_{College vs. Bootcamp: Which Learning Model to Choose}. And while networking_{How to Network (and Stay Sane)} plays a major role like entertainment, it’s way less toxic.

10 recommendations to power your pivot to tech

See what tech career would be right for you

We know how overwhelming it can be learning about a new industry and all the career opportunities it provides. That’s why we created a two-minute quiz for curious professionals entertaining the idea of tech. 

Using your strengths, interests, motivations, and potential timeline, it offers up the best career options for you in the industry. Think of it as a helpful first step, but not necessarily your destination. A lot can change once you dive into learning all about the opportunities within tech!