What People are Saying about Working for the Circus

What follows are a series of testimonials from people holding different positions in different circuses. Some people love their work and some people dislike it. However, everyone can agree that the life is exhilarating!

You barely make enough money just to survive.. you will be forced to live 3 or 4 to a cheap apartment with other performers, just to survive. If you manage to go with Ringling, you will be living like a rat and traveling on an old PULLMAN CAR that was built in the 1930’s or 1940’s where you will have a small sleeping space that isn’t big enough to swing a cat and you will live a life where your world compresses to practicing, doing shows and traveling. It’s a lifestyle that wears you down quickly and many people can’t take the living closely with others and having only minimal privacy.

            -Username “Theater Dork” Yahoo Answers

The contagious excitement and pure joy of the customers each night; the stimulation of working with people from so many diverse cultures, languages and nationalities; the giddiness of living the Cirque magic and dream day in and day out made everything else I’d ever done pale in comparison. That, and using my French every night to converse with my supervisors, made for the ideal job.

            -Kristin O’Brien, Cultural Map: Austin

For eight months of the year, this group leads a nomadic existence… [T]here is a palpable spirit of making do, the kind of mood one might expect from the survivors of an apocalypse, once they had got over the shock.

            -Leo Bendictus, The Guardian

“We get tickled when the media refers to something being a ‘circus,’” said Byrd. “A circus is a very organized precise business. It has to be to do what we do, to transport all the people, all the animals, and all these vehicles to a new town every day and set up and do a show. There’s nothing erratic or crazy, except maybe what goes on in the ring.”

            -Edward Southerland, Carson & Barnes Circus

We usually do not have a hard time finding unskilled laborers for tent crew and we do not place inexperienced employees in our animal department. Please inquire about positions with our company if you have specific skills or experience. If it is not a traditional circus skill or it’s an “off the wall” experience, let us know what you think you would contribute to our organization.

            Culpepper & Merriweather Circus, Employment Information

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110117152732AAS5KH7

http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/08-05-11-15-10-a-one-woman-adventure-she-always-said-shed-run-away-and-join-the-circus/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/apr/11/working-life-circus-performer

http://www.cmcircus.com/work/

http://www.carsonbarnescircus.com/day-in-the-life/

Cirque de Financials

The above video is President and Chief Executive Officer of Cirque du Soleil, Daniel Lamarre, discussing the strategies employed by his company to stay ahead of the curve. The interviewer alludes to the fact that this is a multimillion dollar industry and no circus is bigger than Cirque du Soleil. The magnitude of the company is put into focus when it is revealed that $500 million dollars are being invested in new shows in Macau, Tokyo, and Las Vegas. Clearly this industry has tremendous upside and the company, which remains private, believes that it is recession-proof.

Furthermore, Cirque du Soleil is reportedly financed by “a third party.” These third parties are typically large casinos that pay the troupe to perform for a season. Due to the quality and demand of the show, people are attracted to it and it becomes a profitable affair for everyone involved. However, ticket prices remain between $40 and $195, a relatively cheap price considering the $165 million dollar price tag to stage “Wheel of Death.”

However, the opening of Ka generated approximately $600 million dollars in revenue for the company so there is a promising market, and the company believes in can capitalize on the inauspicious economic environments. People are searching for an escape, and what better opportunity to do so than in a family setting with a performance that manages to bring people back year after year.

Attendance Decline

Circus has been one of America’s greatest pastimes.  Having begun as a small group of entertainers their popularity peaked into late 1800s and early 1900s, as they grew larger and more popular.  However, their popularity declined in the mid-20^th century.  With the increase in electronic entertainment, such as TV and radio, attendance declined.  The circus had what television and radio did not have: high overhead costs.  With railroad travel, city licenses, rentals and salaries, shows were forced to raise the prices of their tickets as their expense increased.  As a result, consumers began substituting the media for the circus, choosing the cheaper of the two options.

Job Opportunities with the Circus

Joining the circus in an interesting career path and requires the right individual.  To get a job with the circus, the applicant must be extremely talented and willing to devote a great deal of time working on the show.  A few months ago, I saw the Cirque Du Soleil in New Orleans.  Here is a clip from the performance which was Michael Jackson themed.

In order to join the Cirque Du Soleil, applicants go through an intensive three step job application process.  The majority of the selection is determined by the audition component.  Today, Cirque du Soleil employs 5000 employees worldwide including several former professional athletes.  They are always looking to hire hard-working, talented people to join their team.

 

-Lauren

 

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/jobs/casting/how-to-join/step2.aspx

 

Credit Card Gimmicks

Four Top Credit Card Gimmicks For Students:

Fourth: “Good Grades Reward Programs” Credit card companies offer programs where students can receive “up to” 2000 points for good grades. However, the students only receive 750 ponts if they have between a 3.5 and 3.99. College students have been conditioned by “good grade discounts” from insurance companies, who have found that kids who generally get better grades are generally less likely to get in accidents. Thus the thought of “I’ll get a good discount because I’m a pretty good student” carries over to credit cards, but only 2-3% of students actually receive the real benefit.

Third: Really complicated rewards programs. With the BP Visa Signature or Visa card for example,  you could get “25 cents off per gallon on your next fuel purchase. However, you’ll have to spend at least $100 in a month, the offer is only good for up to 20 gallons, and you won’t be able to carry over any leftover rewards. So, if you only need 9 gallons of gas on your next fill-up, the rewards for the remaining 11 gallons will go to waste.”  Then after the first 60 days, the reward drops down to 15 gallons, and you can only contribute to the rewards if you go to BP stations.

Second: “No co-signer Required.” A college student may be very enticed by the prospect of not having to have a parents co-sign the credit card.  However, if this college student does not have a steady income (as virtually no college students do) the offer does not apply.

First: Partnerships with other stores. The Banres & Noble Credit Card, the Abercrombie & Fitch Credit Card, the Costco Credit Card, the Men’s Wearhouse Credit Card. These cards typically offer discounts at certain stores, however, the APR rates can be outrageous. (Ex- 27.99 % APR at Best Buy)

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/retail-store-reward-credit-cards-1280.php

http://blog.creditkarma.com/credit-cards/3-gimmicks-credit-card-companies-use-to-lure-you-in-dont-be-fooled/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-chen/college-student-credit-cards_b_935477.html

Middle-of-the-Pack Problems

A FICO score is a figure calculated by the Fair Isaac Corporation to determine a consumer’s credit-worthiness. While the median FICO score is 710, nearly 22 percent of Americans score between 600 and 699, according to the Fair Isaac Corporation.

Today there seems to be a no man’s land in the credit card market for customers who have neither really good nor really bad credit but rather hover somewhere between the two extremes.

While credit card companies have resumed aggressively targeting customers with especially good credit scores, and even jumped back into the market for customers with bad credit scores, they are reluctant to reenter the fair credit market because they lost money on these customers during the recession. The question is the uncertainty surrounding these scores. Some people pay and some people don’t. But, banks prefer knowing whether they will be able to pay (excellent credit scores) and not be able (poor scores), then face the uncertainty of a person with a fair credit score.

A lot of this has to do with the downturn of the market–once the economy soured, these customers were typically among those hit the hardest. They were also the most volatile group in terms of their payments out of any segment of credit scores, which is expected because if you don’t have any money, you’re not expected to be able to pay your bills and if you’re well off, you can most likely afford to stay on top of your charges.

Southwest Airlines’ All-New Rapid Rewards

I interviewed a customer of Southwest that uses a Southwest credit card to learn more about their experience with the card.

How long have you had a Southwest credit card?

Two years

Why do you have a Southwest credit card?

I was sold after learning about all of the perks to using their credit card.  I get points for everything we purchase (dining rewards, hotel rewards, car rental rewards).  Also, when we buy Southwest tickets, we earn double the points.

Overall, have you been happy with your Southwest card?

Extremely.  They are very generous with their frequent flier programs.  I travel across the country fairly often, so it makes sense to take advantage of their rewards programs.

Do you consider yourself a loyal Southwest customer? Why or why not?

Yes.  I was a loyal customer to Southwest before getting their credit card.  However, now I hardly ever use other airlines.

As the video will demonstrate, Southwest has a great rewards program in place.  Developing a Southwest credit card was a very strategic decision by top management at Southwest.  As shown by the interview, Southwest customers appreciate all of the perks from using the credit card.

-Lauren Bernard

Technology and Credit Cards

Technology has slowly crept its way into our lives and has forever altered the way we do things, personally and as a society.  These days, you can use your credit card or debit card just about anywhere.  With devices such as the Square, which is a credit card reader that you can place on your iPhone, android or iPad that accepts credit cards.  Essentially it turns your device into a register.  Pretty soon, you won’t be able to use the excuse ” I don’t have any cash on me” to get out of making a purchase.   These types of technology is making the use of credit and debit cards more and more convenient, but this comes with a cost, a cost of increased spending.

It is estimated that a person will spend about 12%-18% more per month with a credit card than they would have if they used cash.   Furthermore, now that cards contain chips and other technology that allow you to wave the card instead of swiping it, this can cause people to spend an additional 9%.  With credit cards, you don’t see the immediate affect, such as your cash pile depleting- it makes impulsive buying and spending that much easier.

The Square

Google: Financial Status

Google announced its financial results for the first three months of 2012. Its results were typically extraordinary, and demonstrate—if more demonstration is needed—a truism of our time: this is a golden age for capital. 

Having fallen short of elevated expectations at the end of 2011, Google surpassed them this time, with revenue of more than $10 billion and a profit just shy of $3 billion. Revenue increased 24 percent from last year at the same time; earnings were up more than 50 percent. More than half of Google’s revenue came from outside the United States.

Google is not a small company; it employs more than 33,000 people around the world. But those 33,000 generate more revenue than nearly 100 countries in the United Nations, and if Google were an independent state, its more than $40 billion in annual income would place it between Turkmenistan and Luxembourg. 

In the past two years, as the developed worlds of the U.S., Europe, and Japan have each struggled to maintain minimal growth, and as even the growth engines of Brazil, India, and China have slowed, global corporations have seen their profits soar. In 2011, when the U.S. as a whole grew 1.7 percent, corporate profits grew 7.9 percent; in 2010, when the U.S. grew 3 percent, corporate profits grew an astonishing 32 percent. In dollar terms, in 2010, U.S. corporate profits were $1.8 trillion. In 2011, they were $1.95 trillion. If all U.S. corporations were a sovereign entity, they would be one of the largest countries in the world.

The profitability is simply amazing as evidenced by the stats below. 

Working at Google..

I have always wondered what it would be like to work at Google- the number one search engine.  After researching online, I gained somewhat of an insight to life as a Google employee.  A Google employee of 11 months posted an interesting article about her 10 favorite perks from working at Google.  Food, company culture, and the brand all made top ten.

11 Months of Working at Google

As a graduating senior, interviewing for jobs is an intimidating process.  This video takes a closer look at some of the most difficult interview questions.