Nicole Sieber has worked with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez for two years. Read on and you'll see what an exciting job she has!

Q: Would you describe exactly what your duties as assistant to the director are?
Nicole Sieber: Ooh, you are probably getting the theme of multitasking around here. That kind of varies. I kind of keep track of Robert's schedule on a day-to-day basis. I facilitate a lot of his communication, both helping with publicity in terms of that, marketing communication, communication with the studio, as well as facilitate communication with his own crew, various crew members, make sure he gets to the meetings he needs to with the different departments and department heads.

Q: How did you get started in film work?
Nicole: I had actually worked as an assistant to an agent in Los Angeles previously, but really I kind of started in terms of assisting on a movie from start to finish with Robert. My first assistant job, I worked with him from the inception to the completion of the film. So it's all areas, pre-production, production, and post-production.

Q: Do you have any advice on how to find a job like yours?
Nicole: I think it is really truly about who you know—kind of getting to know contacts who can make those recommendations on your behalf. It's hard work prior to that, but really I think the most important thing is being involved in different groups, particularly nonprofit organizations and film groups and film communities and film clubs. A lot of times, people who are big directors and producers sit on advisory positions, and that may be a great opportunity for someone who has not yet been in the business to get a little experience and get an opportunity to get to meet these people.

Q: What is the most glamorous part of your job?
Nicole: The travel that is involved—you do press junkets and premieres, you get to travel around the world in terms of that, as well as depending on the movie, working on the film itself, sometimes you have location shoots.

For example, we shot in Costa Rica. We also shot in West Texas on the Rio Grande, on the border of Mexico, so we got a chance to go there for a week. So I would say the travel is the most glamorous part because you get a chance to see so much.

But it certainly is also really cool, I think, to get to meet a lot of these famous people and sort of demystify who they are. A lot of these actors are just really decent people who are dedicated to what they do and they feel a calling to what they do. It's neat to get to know them outside of what you read in a magazine. They look all fancy and glamorous and rich and powerful in the magazines and whatnot, but a lot of times it is really cool to just get to meet them when they are having their lunch and sitting down at a big mess hall with them. Everybody is eating the same thing and telling stories. I wouldn't call it glamorous, as much as insightful and demystifying.