This first-person, as-told-to account is based on an interview with a current assistant in a creative role at Disney. This person insisted on anonymity to discuss company matters, citing the potential for reprisal from their employers. Insider has verified their identity and employment. (Disney spokespersons did not immediately return a request for comment about the experiences described by this employee.)

Before I accepted my job at Disney as an assistant involved with creative work, I was told that there wouldn't be much opportunity for forward growth or advancement. Even though I knew that going in, I needed a job — and a job at Disney sounded good.

I also was obsessed with working in the entertainment industry. I got into it in the first place because I was passionate about supporting the creative endeavors of artists. The career track I'm on would, in an ideal world, lead me to rise through the ranks of Hollywood as a future executive, but not as a filmmaker.

At times, I've considered that too — maybe becoming a filmmaker myself, but since I don't come from a strong safety net of financial resources, taking a risk by pursuing a path like that never seemed like a smart choice for me. I needed something more stable.

So I took the job as a Disney assistant, and part of me hoped that things would sort themselves out once I started working. I thought that maybe I'd be able to chart a course up. It's been tough, however, because it turns out that what I was warned about — the obstacles I'd face in trying to move up the ranks — is real. Personally, I feel stuck as an assistant at Disney, and don't see any career mobility at all.

As an assistant in Hollywood, it's an unspoken rule that you should give at least two years to the job on a desk and then look to advance. In practice, though, in this economy and this work climate where companies are struggling, my friends and I have noticed it's often taking far longer than that. 

Disney had layoffs. It feels like everyone is cutting back. People are immobilized professionally right now. If things were booming, maybe more roles would become available, and I could see a future where I'm not rolling calls for the rest of my life in the industry. 

But a lot of people stay in these creative executive roles and senior executive roles — and even junior executive roles, the rank closest to mine — for a long time. Oftentimes, there isn't the business need to promote someone. In the rare event that there's an opening, companies sometimes look for external candidates to fill open executive roles, which is also frustrating.

Yes, Hollywood has always been tough to break into or move up in — but it feels even harder now, because companies are being forced to reduce the amount of content they're producing as a result of cost cuts. With fewer shows and movies in the works, there are fewer junior executive roles to go around, which means fewer opportunities for promotion. We're victims of the trickle-down effect.

Feeling stalled

On my team at Disney, we've had an assistant who's been in that role for several years and hasn't moved up, but if anyone is deserving of a promotion, it's this person. If they're not going to get promoted, then where's the promotion for the rest of us?

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My friends and I know we're not set to be promoted in the foreseeable future, and that can be very disheartening. And if you ask to move internally, you're essentially starting the clock over because you have to earn your stripes in this new department or new studio. Moving to a new department or team means you have to start from scratch if you want to move up — you don't immediately jump to a junior executive role.

In the absence of promotions, I've seen a weird phenomenon of "self-promotion" emerge where you're not getting promoted officially or seeing a title or salary adjustment, but you're getting more responsibilities. 

Managers frame it to us as an opportunity to help us grow and get ahead when there is in fact an opportunity for promotion available, but I don't see it reflected in reality. The only change is that suddenly, you have even more responsibilities than you previously had in addition to all the administrative work we do — and our daily schedules are already pretty busy as it is.

Away from our bosses' attention, some of us gather in groups on platforms like Discord where we talk about what's going on in the industry, share advice or news articles of interest from industry publications, and commiserate with each other. It's a positive place to exchange thoughts, perspectives, and feelings without feeling judged.

Sometimes it helps in other ways — like with this game some of us play to look good for our bosses. If you can use the Discord forum to do things like get a script that is running around that hasn't been announced by a very popular filmmaker, it can sort of get you ahead — maybe not actually ahead as in the case of a promotion, but you'll definitely look better for it.

There are other difficulties that we face, from limited raises — it's tough to live in Los Angeles on our salaries with what inflation is now — to working around the clock. Some of the smaller productions are grueling too. From what I hear from my friends, it can be borderline abusive as far as the time that you're expected to work. In a lot of instances, you can be on call 24/7 depending on who you work for, which is very executive-dependent. 

So you not only get paid very well, but you also don't really have a life. It's not strictly 9 to 5. 

A promise that feels empty

I don't feel like I made a mistake coming here, but I also need to be realistic about the circumstances I'm facing. While it's great that I have this job, it's a struggle. 

The mood among a lot of us feels very much sort of doom and gloom. There's a dead end and no sense of being able to climb anywhere from this dead end. So at least personally, I don't see a way up. A lot of people also go into this profession with enthusiasm and optimism, and then they get into it and they're stuck in this culture depending on where they work. 

I'd love to go out on a limb and try something that would even put me in greater contact with creative functions, like filmmaking. But the bottom line is that if you have more financial resources, you can make more mistakes. If you have a solid financial background you can be a filmmaker and not have your life turned upside down because of a mistake or maybe you just didn't make it right away. You're allowed to fail more. Since that's not my story, taking that risk often feels out of reach.

And of course I think about leaving Disney — but that's not so easy, either. I had an offer from another studio but it was rescinded. The company was going on a hiring freeze and they essentially put a stoppage in place for new hiring.

If things don't work out for me, I still want to stay in the industry, but consider going into animation or casting or something other than what I'm doing now. But the sheer pressure the industry is under makes me worry about my dreams. That said, I'm someone who views the situation like I don't have a Plan B, because I want to be able to make this work. It's what I love to do, and I can't imagine myself doing anything else. 

So, have I thought about completely leaving the industry? Sure. But leaving is not what I signed up for. I stay because of the promise of something better.

This article was originally published on October 31.

Do you work in Hollywood? Contact this reporter with your story. Reed Alexander can be reached via email at ralexander@insider.com, or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.