Being an apprentice at The Company feels more like working at a creative agency than going to school. You’ll come in every day and make cool stuff with people that get you. What’s better than that?
Every day begins with about an hour of prayer, Bible study, and worship. We want to give God our first and best.
Through the morning hours, you’ll have time to work on your projects, assignments, and reading. There is no homework. You can accomplish everything you need to do during the regular workday.
Lunch is amazing and we have the weirdest and most fun conversations. For many apprentices, they find other people who are interested in some of the same niche stuff they are. (Translation: you’re among nerds here.) Most apprentices pack a lunch and we eat together, but sometimes they run out to grab something or go home for lunch.
The afternoon is full of meetings. We meet in small groups for teaching and discussion, and we sometimes meet one-on-one for individual coaching. When you’re not in a meeting, you can continue working on your own projects.
At the end of the day, we share in some light housekeeping chores to keep the office tidy. The day is over at 4:30, and you have to leave by 5. You’re not allowed to take work home with you. We want you to learn to put in a good day’s work and then rest and play well.
More or less, that’s what most days look like.
At night and on the weekends you can hang out with your friends, work a part-time job, do stuff with your church, or recharge at home.
And what it’s like here is a lot more than just our daily schedule. One of the best ways to get an idea of what it’s really like is to hear from former apprentices.
In their second year, we always have apprentices record a podcast with us. We want to know from them what it’s like as an apprentice at The Company, and how they’ve changed since they arrived here.
Click somebody’s face to hear what it was like for them.
The biggest thing you’ll hear is that most of our apprentices experience radical life transformation while they’re here. They learn a lot about themselves and God touches them in big and powerful ways. They become more confident: in themselves, in God, and in the truth of the Bible.
Many apprentices experience miraculous healing while they’re here. They all grow deeper in their connection with God and their ability to hear His voice.
We really don’t have extra-curriculars, but oftentimes the apprentices will hang out together after hours. Many of them choose to share housing. As far as they tell me, they watch movies together and go on adventures. Sometimes (too often, imho) they make the 45-minute drive to the nearest Chick-Fil-A, and sometimes they do their own worship and prayer together.
Apprentices are required to attend church while they’re part of the program, but you can pick any church you like, as long as it meets in-person and agrees with The Company’s statement of faith (which is not strict).
The apprenticeship itself is fun, but challenging. You can do it, but you have to show up every day and give your best. Becoming a professional writer is really hard. If our program is going to prepare you for that in just two years, it has to be hard too.
Statistically, becoming a full-time paid fiction writer is about as challenging as winning a medal in the Olympics. How much intensity would you expect from your training if your goal was to win an Olympic medal?
Through it all, lots of great friendships form and we have a lot of fun together. We go on adventures to learn more about the world so that we can write well. We’ve done things like ride snowmobiles, go behind the scenes at the county jail, had a police officer teach us about guns, and tour lots of different types of facilities and work sites.
Somehow the apprentices usually convince me each year that they need to visit an amusement park of some kind for “writing experience.” (I’m still waiting on a lot of stories about amusement parks, though.)
And I guess the apprentices like it here, because many of them choose to stay and continue to be part of our in-person community even after they graduate.
A great way to get a feel for what it’s really like here is to visit. We offer two retreats each year (one in the spring and one in the fall) which are great times to visit. But you can also contact us and schedule a day to come any time you want. You can drop in for an hour and get a tour, or you can spend the whole day with us and experience a real day at The Company. Contact us here to set up a visit.
The apprenticeship is an adventure of a lifetime. Like most adventures, it takes courage. It takes guts to move here. It takes guts to reach out and visit!
But it’s worth it. And we’d love for you to be a part of it.
