Big Magic & What Certificates and Degrees You Need to Work in the NBA

What you need to work in the NBA... it really comes down to 1 thing

One of the most common questions I get is ‘what degree should I get?’

When I was headed to college, I had that same question, with no one to ask.  I had no NBA connections.  Nowhere to find information.  No idea how to get a job in the NBA.  So I did what I thought best… I majored in Sports Management. 

At my University, that consisted of being in groups with many of the athletes and doing their homework for them.  That wasn’t for me.  So I switched to Business Management (I’m glad I did). 

And once I got to the NBA, I learned that none of it really mattered.  Not the degrees, not the GPA, not the certificates… there was one thing that mattered, experience. 

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Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic has many translatable thoughts on this subject. 

“If you’ve already gone out and earned yourself an advanced degree… take whatever lessons you learned at school and use them to improve at your craft. …But if you are considering some sort kind of advanced schooling in the arts and you’re not rolling in cash – you can live without it.” 

I’ve seen many people with a desire to work in the NBA sign up for advanced degrees and classes to get a certificate at the cost of thousands of dollars, if not more.  And I’m here to tell you, it’s not worth it (unless you have thousands of dollars to spare).  This is speaking in regards to entry-level NBA positions, in regards to Medical, Salary Cap, Analytics, an advanced degree will likely be required and necessary.

Elizabeth goes on, “You can certainly live without the debt, because debt will always be the abattoir of creative dreams.”

Many NBA internships are unpaid (course-credit only) or minimum wage.  Going into debt to take an unpaid job is a tough way to get started.  That being said, we all have to pay our dues.  I took an unpaid internship to get started and was lucky enough to find someone who let me sleep on their couch for a season (thanks Kurt!).  I’ve seen some people sacrifice everything and more for the Internship and then when the Internship is over, they’re so far in debt, they cannot take the job at the next step up (often minimum wage).  They have to get a second job or another career entirely. 

All this to say, spending an extra thousand or so to get a certificate is not necessary. 

“My fear is that many people pay through the nose for advanced schooling in the arts without realizing that they’re actually gambling, because – on the surface – it can look like they’re making a sound investment in their future.”  “Nobody needs debt less than an artist.” (or an Intern I might say!). “Free yourself so that you can live and create more freely, as you were designed.”

“Do you want to study under the great teachers?  Well, you can find them anywhere.  They live on the shelves of your library; they live on the walls of museums, they live in recordings.”

Or as I might say, they’re a phone call away, an e-mail away, a podcast away…

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To be clear, none of the courses you have taken are likely harmful in any way.  In fact, they have hopefully been helpful.  But those courses (even mine!) will not be the thing that get you the job.  The thing that will get you the job is getting real-life experience and having real-life skills to share with an NBA team.  This you have to do by volunteering and working whether that be at the college level, high school level, or otherwise.    

The thing I have always found these additional courses to be most helpful for is to ‘meet’ and ‘connect’ with others.  It’s not necessarily the material (which mostly can be found on-line) but it’s the connections.  So when you do take the course, get to know your instructors and classmates as best as you can, that’s where the value is.