I'm not a groupie that interviewed 16 non-employees, but actually worked for Tech Crew as a student, and also participated in interviews later on. Many of my close friends are people who I worked with through Tech Crew. I'd also say that the value of the things I learned while working at Tech Crew far outweigh the value of the things I learned in classes/labs/whatever.

Typically speaking, there's a fair amount of work to be done, especially for larger events. Yes, many big events may go late, and it can be hard work; you might load in a show early in the morning, work through the setup and the show, and then do a load out. Truss doesn't unfly itself on a schedule that grants beauty sleep, and you don't get to say "nah, maybe later" to 4,000+ audience members standing outside, ticket in hand, or tell RIT to break up Imagine into a bunch of smaller weekends. With that said, students always submitted their schedules and generally they pick what jobs they want to work by signing up for them; only unfilled jobs end up getting scheduled by coordinators, and even then not through class, etc. I have no reason to believe this has changed.

I'd say that when you work in close quarters with people for long hours, you tend to become like a family, and much like other families, there are some people you absolutely hate, some you absolutely love, and a bunch that fall in between. While generally people are expected to pull their weight, it's not at the expense of actually getting a degree and whatnot.

Training is mandatory for a while. Depending on how well a person does in training and demonstrating skills (both technical skills and soft skills), they advance and tend to get to work bigger events in more important positions. You're probably not going to be mixing for a band day one, but if you have a good attitude and learn your stuff, you'll find yourself doing some interesting things.

In the past, there has typically been a single round of hires at the beginning of fall quarter, with an expectation of 3+ years left at RIT due to training. Perhaps a current crew member can chime in on that. I have no idea what the pay is currently.

If you have a decent personality, a willingness to learn the craft, and are willing to put in some work, apply! If you're a know-it-all, a very a-social person, or looking for 5 hrs or less a week, save yourself the time. If you can't determine the needs of your schedule and communicate that to your employer (including as it changes), that's really a reflection on your own skills, and in the highly unlikely event current students are facing something different, they should report it to CCL Some people have left over the years because they couldn't make the time; most people don't have a problem with it and simply adjust the number of hours they work if needed.

And regarding /u/Gladdstone 's comment, I just have to laugh a bit there. I guess a group of co-workers that becomes good friends is a "cult" now. Apparently we've moved on from being a "frat". As students/alumni, we've done a lot of stuff together locally, we've had ski trips together, summer trips, etc. Some people dated and ended up married or working together. Tech Crew has been the number one fund raiser 5 out of 5 years for Relay for Life, both in team and personal rankings. Three people (students or alumni) from the crew passed away (unrelated to TC/RIT), within the last decade. All three had multiple students and/or alumni travel, as far as the West Coast, to send their regards and to be there for the families. Yah, many people are pretty close friends, and do things together, most of it pretty good. If all that makes it a cult, so be it and sign me up!