Entertainment is the Future of Steady Work?

Growing up in NYC in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, I always wanted to be in entertainment. I always loved the voice over industry, Broadway, TV and film, and even majored in it while attending college. Probably the most difficult obstacle was getting my three parents to understand that I would be able to take care of myself, and not need something 'to fall back on' in times when the voice over work or acting work was not available. I firmly believed I could 'make it', but the opinions of my parents meant something to me. In the back of my mind, I somewhat felt like they had a point.

I had good reasons. I was watching my older brothers go through great NYC schools like Cooper Union, and Brooklyn Polytechnic, with my sister going through Pace University in NYC, all with promise of great jobs when out of school. My dad was a trade director at Bear Stearns. My step-mother...she was doing very well as a VP for Lehman Brothers. My mom was a NYC school teacher. This was probably a healthy balance for me to witness.

While my dad and step-mom were driving Ford Thunderbirds, and taking trips to Hawaii or Bermuda, my mom reminded me that not all people have it so well in this world. She was witnessing it from the view point of her students, teaching in a public school in a very poor neighborhood, who some days could not even afford to bring lunch or pencils to school. This had a very powerful effect on me. Here I am thinking, 'I can have a career in entertainment.', while half of my family said, 'You need money and a steady job to secure your future!' and the other half of my family said, 'You should feel blessed for what you have now, and protect it.'

Growing up...seeing both worlds, and not sure what was right or wrong, I became very confused, until one terrible day in October 1987...Black Monday. (Strange...how these things always happen in October). My father lost his job at Bear Stearns, and at that time, you were still allowed to ask people their ages on job applications in the US, so it became very difficult to find work again. In one day, my dad who told me 'You need something to fall back on.', fell back on my step-mom, and has not worked a day on Wall St. since.

Score 1 for the entertainment career idea.

The stock market rebounded quickly, however, and my step-mom was able to keep her job.

Score 1 for Wall St. Regardless, at that age, I was truly not able to know what was best for me, but I did go through high school and college with the determination to make it in an entertainment career.

Fast forward to 1996...I am out of school, and now it is 'show time'. I worked as a DJ, traveled around the world doing plays, tried my hand at commercials, did voice over work, and was making more money in 1998 than I am today. I was a Generation X, latch-key kid, who knew it all! You couldn't stop me!

Then Y2K hit...and the bottom fell out. I was dealt a 1-2 punch with an actor's strike in 2000, followed by 9/11/2001, which was very tough on all NYC business. This whole time, my family was still doing very well, saving money, convinced that I had gone into the wrong career. However, I knew something they did not. Please read on...

From 2001 to 2004 I held many jobs, entertainment and cooperate jobs, but not Wall St. After General Motors let me go in 2004, I bit the bullet and started working for AIG. I was at AIG during Hurricane Katrina, and the tsunami in Indonesia. Being the 'actor' of the office, I found myself being consistently put in charge of 'putting out fires' for management, while trying to explain why insurance claims were denied or were not set up yet. I felt deep down inside that something was not right, and at the first opportunity, I took my chance to get out and started working for...guess who...

Yes...A voice over website; a job in entertainment! I have been here since July 2007, and I am loving my job beyond what greed could satisfy.

Knowing that in the month of September over 160,000 jobs in the US were lost, I now sit in the position to say to my family, "I hope YOU all have something to fall back on. Your career looks very unsteady." In no way, shape, or form, am I gloating. In fact, I am horrified to watch what everyone is going through. No one deserves this at all. So, why is a career in entertainment, quite possibly the future of steady work? My one secret, taught to me on Black Monday back in 1987...

People will always, no matter how poor they are, no matter how rich, will always pay to be entertained! Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and voiced by Walt Disney, one year before the Great Depression, and thrived during the depression while many could not find work. In 1987, we had an actor in office as president. The most popular film was Predator, starring you know who...the current governor of California.

To me, it just seems like the most creative people these days are the one's who live steady lives, especially in a media driven country such as the US. For that reason, maybe the era of Wall St greed is finished. They had a nice run, but there is nothing creative about Wall St, and nothing inspiring. Now, the mere mention of the street, causes a collective of emotional reactions, none of which seem positive.

As for me...entertainment may not be the prettiest life always, but if you are doing what you love to do, your life somehow becomes 'steady' because your heart is at peace. There is no peace in greed. There is only financial freedom, which by no means equals 'steadiness' because these days, not only can you NOT take it with you, but you are lucky to hold onto it knowing that companies and people you trusted, have taken your pension and split.

As of today, my step-mom(retired Exec.VP from Lehman), my brothers(computer programmers), my sister(VP of IT), are starting to ask me just what I am doing to stay afloat, and I am showing them how to look for jobs online. My mom, still a teacher, still has plenty of work to do as well.

So, the two people out of my family that were about helping, teaching, and entertaining people, seem to be doing fine.

It goes to show me...People should always come first. The entertainment industry, for me, has always been about 'people', and that will always be the steadiest job.