<p>Hello! I was just wondering if anyone knew what some good side jobs would be for actors trying to work in new york or los angeles besides waitressing? I'm about to begin college and was just wondering if it would be helpful to learn another skill or trade on the side to have more opportunities in between acting jobs, you know a job with flexible hours? Any information would be appreciated!</p>
<p>It is most definitely help to learn another trade in fact, I think it should be compulsory for anyone wanting to become a professional actor. There have been many posts here about this subject so a search on the board is your best bet to find related discussions.</p>
<p>kitkatt565 - Is there something you are already good at that you could work on while in college that might help you while you are looking for work in theatre? I know some kids who already played the piano and worked on that in college so that they could accompany others for pay. </p>
<p>My own D is very good at building websites so we have encouraged her to keep up this skill when she has time so that she may be able to pick up work doing this one day once she is out of college.</p>
<p>Tutoring is always a good source of extra income being that you schedule your own hours. If you live relatively close to an airport (when you go to school), look for a counter job with an airline. Often times the airline is looking for part-time help and the hours are often times workable around a school schedule. The pay is ok and the travel benefits are amazing for you and your immediate family. I work for an airline so please feel free to PM me if you have questions :)</p>
<p>Although my D is a good student, she just was not into academics and has decided to take time out from college. (ACK…breather snoggie!) She is currently exploring classes in the city, and is taking classes at a bartending school. She loves it, and hopefully can tend and take classes (and audition).</p>
<p>Great info! What kind of skills would you suggest developing? My personal skills besides MT are mainly strong English student, very good at writing, really enjoy the subject of psychology, but I would assume it would be pretty imposibble to find a well-paying flexible jobs for a non-major in the big city… I’m going to try minoring in economics (who knows if this will work out with my hectic MT schedule!) and I don’t know if this will help with side jobs in anyway… I’m a very quick learner so any job suggestions would be appreciated! I was just wondering if anyone knew of anything besides the usual waitressing/bartending, etc.</p>
<p>I think that someone suggested tutoring which can be great especially if you have some time while in college to maybe tutor younger kids in the area. </p>
<p>Another great way to make money is pet sitting. My younger DD (hs freshman) has a very good pet sitting business in or neighborhood and makes great money. Older DD (MT kid) works for a company that hires her to be different princesses and characters at kids parties.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the info regarding college jobs, but I was wondering more about jobs once I was actually out of college and auditioning? I really appreciate all of your help!</p>
<p>They may be changing this, because of the economy, but I know several musicians who work at Starbucks because of the benefits they offer. Even their part time staff working 20 hours a week gets health care. And a barista job can lend itself to taking auditions, as long you don’t mind getting up early in the morning.</p>
<p>My DH is a lawyer in a major theater city, and over the years, he has had secretaries and word processors who have been actors. Some have even worked a night shift was going on auditions during the day.</p>
<p>Consider the world of nonprofit organizations. You will find people from all different educational backgrounds working in all different types of jobs! I have an actor working for me and we just work around his auditions/jobs. He has great people skills so he is a great asset to our organization.</p>
<p>I am a partner in a consulting firm to non-profits and we hire writers to do grant writing and other writing for our clients. We often have recent college grads or grad students who want part time work and a flexible schedule.</p>
<p>If you have good office skills, you can register with a temp agency , which will allow you the flexibility to make your own schedule so that you can attend auditions or take classes.</p>
<p>Substitute teaching also offers schedule flexibility, and some areas pay very well. There was some discussion a year (or two) ago about subbing in NYC, and I was amazed at the pay scale; it usually varies according to degree, experience, and whether you are certified. I worked as a substitute teacher when I first graduated college. I taught 2nd grade, middle school and high school, and middle school was definitely the hardest.</p>
<p>My daughter has been a nanny for a stay at home mom over the last 6 months in NYC which worked out great and paid very well. Because the mom didn’t work (outside the home), she was very flexible when it came to last minute auditions/callbacks.</p>