I've had quite a few jobs in the past year, some better than others, and have done most of the stereotypical "actor" jobs. Listed below is my analysis of each job I've worked in the past year
After graduating, I worked as a waitress for an agency. I still have fond memories of this job as I had some brilliant experiences, meeting fantastic people and working with some of my best friends. However I also realise that I romanticise several elements of the job when wistfully thinking about it and overlook a lot of the bad elements e.g. the time I couldn't use my arms after a solid working week of drinks service or how badly my feet bled in the shoes I had to wear...
After graduating, I worked as a waitress for an agency. I still have fond memories of this job as I had some brilliant experiences, meeting fantastic people and working with some of my best friends. However I also realise that I romanticise several elements of the job when wistfully thinking about it and overlook a lot of the bad elements e.g. the time I couldn't use my arms after a solid working week of drinks service or how badly my feet bled in the shoes I had to wear...
Pros: highly flexible, easy job to get, around lots of similar minded young people so the working environment is quite fun
Cons: pay isn't fantastic and as it's temp work you don't often get tips, management are often incompetent and treat you like morons, strict dress code, quite a physically demanding role, work dries up at certain times of the year
Then I briefly worked in telesales (never again!). This is not really something I would recommend, but nonetheless I have a few positives to remark on.
Pros: no dress code, around lots of similar minded people
Cons: highly pressured environment, poor pay unless you're making a lot of commission, soul destroying work
N.B. This is not a terribly extensive list of pros and cons as I got fired after 2 weeks for not hitting my sales targets! Consequently, I was not really there long enough to gain a proper feel of the place.
I also worked as a freelance tutor. This was organised through a family friend, but there are also plenty of opportunities out there to work as a tutor for agencies if you're interested in becoming one.
Pros: great pay, nice work environment, not physically demanding and depending on the age of the child not terribly intellectually taxing either (whether this is a pro or con is down to you really!)
Cons: need a CRB, for agencies you'll need a degree, not many hours available, need to be good with children, need to have a lot of patience!
Currently I'm working, part-time, in a hospital.
Pros: well paid, good job security (when compared with the above jobs which are all zero hour contracts), fairly interesting job, not very physically demanding
Cons: inflexible, need a CRB
It's an okay job that I wouldn't mind doing if it was just a tad more flexible...so I'm currently still hunting for that elusive perfect resting job!
I'm still working out what suits me, and I've surprised myself with the skills I've managed to develop over the past year. Fingers crossed I can keep building on them, so that I can continue to afford to be an (aspiring) actor in London! Other suggestions from other actors for making money have included; running murder mystery nights, teacher drama/dance classes, producing and running your own theatre company, selling on eBay, working in care homes, working as a photographer and many others, so my list is by no means extensive! My advice to those of you out there in a similar predicament is to keep searching until you find something you are good at and like. Your resting job is not for you to endure, otherwise you will lose your mind. Keep looking for something that suits you, hold your head up high and keep fighting the good fight!
Until next time!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
N.B. This is not a terribly extensive list of pros and cons as I got fired after 2 weeks for not hitting my sales targets! Consequently, I was not really there long enough to gain a proper feel of the place.
I also worked as a freelance tutor. This was organised through a family friend, but there are also plenty of opportunities out there to work as a tutor for agencies if you're interested in becoming one.
Pros: great pay, nice work environment, not physically demanding and depending on the age of the child not terribly intellectually taxing either (whether this is a pro or con is down to you really!)
Cons: need a CRB, for agencies you'll need a degree, not many hours available, need to be good with children, need to have a lot of patience!
Currently I'm working, part-time, in a hospital.
Pros: well paid, good job security (when compared with the above jobs which are all zero hour contracts), fairly interesting job, not very physically demanding
Cons: inflexible, need a CRB
It's an okay job that I wouldn't mind doing if it was just a tad more flexible...so I'm currently still hunting for that elusive perfect resting job!
I'm still working out what suits me, and I've surprised myself with the skills I've managed to develop over the past year. Fingers crossed I can keep building on them, so that I can continue to afford to be an (aspiring) actor in London! Other suggestions from other actors for making money have included; running murder mystery nights, teacher drama/dance classes, producing and running your own theatre company, selling on eBay, working in care homes, working as a photographer and many others, so my list is by no means extensive! My advice to those of you out there in a similar predicament is to keep searching until you find something you are good at and like. Your resting job is not for you to endure, otherwise you will lose your mind. Keep looking for something that suits you, hold your head up high and keep fighting the good fight!
Until next time!
Yours faithfully,
the postgrad-app
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