Has anybody on these boards had any experience with this? I'm definitely interested in the potential to work for the league or the club I support, but I'm a little wary, especially since MLS is known to, umm... let's say they 'cut corners' where they can. Are there job prospects within the organization after completion of the internship, or are they using interns so theyll have someone to work for free? Any info would def. be appreciated.
my friend (a business and technology major) worked for the metrostars FO last summer (end of his soph. year in college). i'm not sure doing what, or how much they paid, but i could try and find out if you want
I'm sure it's probably a little of the both, free labor and potential jobs. Like any other business there is always turn over. (I've had 3 ticket reps in the last 3 years). I think potential jobs always depend on openings. I had a internship back in the old MISL. It was a lot of fun, I learned a ton, and worked a ton of hours.
Each club hires 10-15 interns each summer. Obviously helps to know someone at the front office. I know a number of my college teammates who interned with DCU based on a relationship with the coach and the club mgmt.
The league office has a very extensive internship program - each department (Communications, Marketing, etc) has at least one intern at all times. Some require a six month commitment, but a good number of the employees there began as interns. I think there are descriptions of the program on MLSnet, and like every other job, it helps to know someone in-house.
u arent gonna get paid shite. its unpaid. i interned with fcd when in university in dallas, lotsa fun(sarcasm). good luck with the league office, should be much better, hopefully.
I worked for the League as a Communications Intern back in 1997 (Actually it may have been 1998- It was the first year they were in NYC) under Dan Courtemanche. At the time, the entire MLS Communications staff was just Dan, who was the director, Raffael Morffi, Trey Fitzgerald, myself and one other intern. At the conclusion of the internship there were really no paid openings at the league office(To the best of my knowledge they really liked me there) , but I was told that there were some openings with some of the clubs. I would have had to travel to interview and relocate and so I wasn't interested. I got the feeling that the Communications Dept. was so understaffed that I couldn't help feeling that what myself and the other intern did s/h been paid positions, but the big problem with the sports industry market (at least at the time- don't know if this has changed much) is that so many people are dying to get into the field that a league like MLS can afford to have people do grunt work for free. I did enjoy the internship, however. Hope this helped, Arthur
Even if you are unpaid, the experience can take you to the next level. I was a marketing intern for an A-League team in 99. There were about 10 of us, I think, all unpaid. Still, I took a second job and had a blast all summer. When it came time, I interviewed with a few MLS teams and took a a job with one, albeit briefly. Iit was not right for me, nor I right for them, but it was an invaluable experience. Of the other interns, I know one worked for the Revs and another for DC. One played in the W-League for a bit. And one is a ticket director for UNC. John Brunner, if you are alive, what's up!
I have long considered this as well. If not in MLS, with a local team like the San Diego Chargers. However I am a little busy during this upcoming June when many people are beginning internships...
I interned with DC back in the summer of '98. Probably one of the best experiences of my life. I worked in Operations and got to do a great deal. I drove the team to the airport for their away games, was the visiting team liaison, set up events at RFK, worked with the National Teams (both Men's and Women's), spent a great deal of time with the players and the coaching staff. I got a small amount of money at the end after I returned to school, but I got loads of t-shirts, hats, and other promo stuff that were begin given away. While all that stuff is nice, I learned a tremendous amount about the workings of the club and the behind the scenes stuff. You work a lot of hours, but they do appreciate it. Even if you don't work with and MLS team, the things you learn can be used in other ways. If you have a chance, take it. It's well worth it. Good luck...
yeah mate, they compensated me later for mileage,driving around for the team and all, but good to see u learnt something with dc, as i learnt fvckall with fcdallas.
The funny thing is that Hitchcock was just starting out there the year I interned...and look where he ended up. I did get a job with the Rapids in '99, but after that I came back to toothless and really scenic Indiana... Oh well...
What about the full jobs? Some of you say you took jobs with teams for a while, what was pay like? I assume it was bad... and that's from somebody who used to work in TV news! Do managers make any kind of money? Since some players are making almost nothing, I would imagine it's low, but I'm still interested. Thanks.
Bump I would love to read some more reviews of internships with MLS and various clubs. I'm planning on doing one next summer.
Wow, Portland vs "Chelsea", sounds like an All Stars game... Perhaps Everton, Charlton and Preston joining the fray soon too?
A vast majority of internships were unpaid when I was in school... if you found a paid one you were damn lucky.... everyone is too damn entitled.
I thought most internships were unpaid. Isn't that expected? If you're an intern, you don't get paid.
Not MLS, only dropping this because I vaugely remebered seeing it in my twitter feed. https://twitter.com/andrewkaul/status/410899807658848257
Its only legal (not sure if this is a state-by-state or federal law) to not pay interns if they're receiving some other form of benefit, usually some sort of course credit while learning the basics of the trade they're studying. A number of companies, including the Timbers, have been busted for offering unpaid internships as an educational experience and then turning around and using the interns as unpaid labor to do the menial work no paid associate wants to do while they learn nothing about the business. According to reports, in the Timbers case the interns were farmed out to summer soccer camps in the suburbs and then never checked in on for multiple weeks. The interns complained (or one in particular) when she realized she could learn nothing else from the camps but went weeks before getting any kind of contact from the Timbers. Essentially they got somebody to due the dog work of running their day camps for free.
From what I know I talked to an intern with DC United and he told me he went to an MLS school in Minnasota. In that school he had to list three teams he would want to work for and off that list of three he would work for one of those teams. This guy ended up working every game, no time to sit and actually enjoy the game.