Entry-level positions for aspiring Ticketing and Experience Professionals
Danny, a Senior Director with almost 10 years of experience, recommends entry-level ticket sales as a "prove it ground," highlighting its ability to showcase work ethic and build relationships, ultimately leading to career growth beyond initial expectations; internships in fan experience, a newer area within their organization, also offer valuable ground-level opportunities.
Ticket Sales, Fan Experience, Internships, Sports Business, Entry-Level Positions
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Danny Passovoy
Sr. Director, Ticketing & Experience
Premier Lacrosse League
University of Arizona
N/A
Creative Writing, Journalism
Sports & Fitness
Sales and Client Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Ticket sales is a great entry-level position in the sports industry, offering a chance to prove your work ethic and build relationships, potentially leading to other roles.
2. Internships in fan experience are valuable, especially in growing organizations where they can lead to full-time positions.
3. Many entry-level sports jobs start with internships, providing another opportunity to demonstrate skills and build connections within a team
Transcript
What entry-level positions are in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
From an intern perspective, or just following college, the one I recommend the most is ticket sales. It was my path, so I'll admit I'm a little biased.
I mentioned it previously for those who want to work on the business side of sports. This could be in really any role in sports, although you shouldn't use it solely as a stepping stone if you can help it.
If you want to work in sponsorships, ticketing, or event operations, ticket sales is a great proving ground. It gives you and the leadership at that team an opportunity to understand who you are as a worker. Can you show up on time every day? Can you work hard?
If you can do those things and earn the trust of the leadership team, you can start building relationships across the organization. You can take people out for coffees and understand their day-to-day in different departments. Then, you can figure out the right way to broach a conversation or apply for a different opening if ticket sales isn't your long-term passion.
I loved the opportunity to prove my work ethic and control my success as best I could. This is a great route to do so, and you never know where things will end up. I certainly didn't expect to be in ticketing this long, almost 10 years later, which is crazy.
Things open up as you work hard and prove yourself. Then, you get an opportunity to lead a team. It becomes less about ticket sales and more about skill-building and relationship-building. It's about finding opportunities for your team to grow, so they're in positions for promotions, raises, and to live the life they want.
Ticketing is a great option. On the fan experience side, we're always looking for interns. What's great here at the PLL is that this is the first year we even have a fan experience department.
An opportunity to intern with us could turn into a full-time career as we develop more roles and structure. You're almost getting in at the ground level. There are internships across the board. Often in sports, if you don't get an entry-level job, you have to start as an intern, but many people do and get hired right afterward. That's another proving ground.
But ticket sales is the one I would suggest because it's paid, and you can control your success by how much and how hard you work.
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