Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work for Nickelodeon? Well, Brother Rocco Ricciardi, Epsilon Psi/NJIT 2015, was luckily enough to have that experience. This summer Ricciardi interned at the Viacom’s Nickelodeon office in New York’s Time Square.
So how does one go about landing an internship at Nickelodeon?
“New Jersey Institute of Technology, had its largest career fair this past spring semester, at which I met the College Relations team from Viacom,” said Ricciardi. “I stayed in touch with them and due to my education background in Game Development and Business, I was able to land an interview with Nickelodeon's Digital Publishing team for Mobile Games,” he said.
Mobile apps were the primary focus of Ricciardi’s internship.
“In the beginning I played through a lot of apps and learned the marketplaces. I then would analyze market trends and strategies, and compile and present my research for the Publishing team to utilize for the products. The Marketing and Social Media teams also used my findings as well,” said Ricciardi.
What about the working conditions? Was it as fun and quirky as one would imagine?
“There was definitely a fun and light-hearted atmosphere in the office,” said Ricciardi. “There was no strict dress code and everyone, regardless of their position or job title, was friendly and personable. Each floor was riddled with Nickelodeon paraphernalia, like toys, wall stickers, re-runs of old cartoons on televisions, etc.,” he added.
What was your most memorable experience working as an intern at Nickelodeon?
“I'm not sure if there would be a single memorable moment, as the entire summer has been filled with exciting times,” said Ricciardi. “Between commuting to and from Times Square every day and being able to look behind the scenes and Nickelodeon's upcoming products, it all has been a very enjoyable ride,” he said.
Was there something that you learned during this internship that you will never forget?
“I learned a lot of valuable presentation skills. Powerpoint in the corporate world is a much different tool then what it is in the education world, and I value the chance to fine-tune those skills,” said Ricciardi. “I've also picked up a lot of strategies and details about the Mobile Games industry as a whole, and I know this knowledge will benefit me as I pursue my career in Game Development. There's no way I could have learned these things in a classroom,” Ricciardi continued.
Would you encourage your Theta Chi brothers to participate in internships – not necessarily for Nickelodeon, but in general? “ABSOLUTELY,” said Ricciardi. “It sounds so cliche but I wish I had taken on more internships in the past few years of my undergraduate career. This experience has been extremely valuable, and I know that the knowledge I'll walk away from this with will help me finish my degree strong and land an awesome job out there in the real world next year,” he added.