How Do Most Actors Pay The Bills?

It's been an interesting year for me.  I've met a variety of actors thanks to Zach's acting projects.  The one thing I've noticed is most of them don't make a full time living as actors.

How do these folks fill their time and pay the bills?

I didn't meet anyone who waited tables (which is the occupation everyone thinks of as "the job" for actors).

Here are the 5 most common professions among the folks I met this year:

***Temp Work/Contract Work
I met a few folks who work at home taking care of data entry, typing and transcribing.  These skills allow them to make extra money with little to no responsibility.  The lack of any office to travel to on a daily basis helps them balance work and auditions with no problems.

***Babysitter
Besides the actors I met this summer, I also know three other Los Angeles residents who babysit for a living.  It's a gig that allows you a good amount of flexibility.  Of course, it helps if you're good with kids!

***Dog Walker/Dog Sitter
This is a great option because you can take the pooches out early in the morning and late at night.  It's a schedule that frees you up for classes and auditions.  Put up some flyers on street corners or in a coffee shop and you'll be in business.

***Personal Trainer
Actors need to stay in shape and look their best at auditions.  Why not put your time to good use and make some extra money teaching classes?  You don't have to work at a gym to be a personal trainer. There's also a big market for good looking personal trainers to be lusted after by their clients.

***Promo Work
There are a ton of companies (some long standing and some fly by night) that are always looking for event workers and promo models.  A lot of this work consists of handing out flyers, demonstrating products at Costco or in grocery stores, conducting surveys and getting people to sign up to vote or support local issues.  If you don't mind interacting with the public then this is a good side job for you. Plus, you should be skilled at talking to complete strangers if you want to be an actor.  Meeting casting directors and going to auditions is a big part of the acting process so you need to be comfortable interacting with others.

I'm sure there are other side jobs for aspiring actors.  The list above are the jobs I heard most during conversations on set.  It's always interesting to hear how people pay their bills while chasing their dreams.

This actor has a side job called "going to high school".