I have name changed for this because I would prefer not to be identified (though tbh my situation is a bit weird and will probably identify me if anyone happens to know me in RL, but oh well!).
Basically, I am 38 and currently self-employed in the arts. I’m not an actor, but it’s something along those lines. It’s the kind of job that people tend to think makes lots of money, but actually, for all but a very few, makes peanuts :) . It’s a very competitive area and I am getting less and less work in it. I have been doing this ‘acting’ professionally for about 7 years and have 1 dc aged 3. I also have two masters’ degrees related to my work, and for the past 5 years have taught the subject part-time at university. There is no prospect of this academic teaching work increasing – I have zero chance of getting a full time post, due to various factors (mainly, because everyone who does my kind of work wants a full time post, there are very few posts, and to get one you have to be famous, basically, to an extent which I can’t bank on ever being). Most recently I have developed and secured funding for a scheme which supports disadvantaged people who are trying to develop skills in ‘acting’.
. My income from all the above (the ‘acting’ itself, teaching it at university, project development and management) will probably be less than £10,000 this tax year. It has been around that level for some time. It’s also a very stressful field to be in, due to the competitiveness and financial insecurity, and I have to be self-starting in everything. This is a kind of job which is almost a ‘vanity industry’ in that people can only afford to be in it if they have some way of bank-rolling it, like a rich partner or parent, and I don’t have those! I really need to earn some money.
So I’m trying to think what on earth I could do, especially as my child starts school next year. It seems as if I should be able to do something, but I just don't know what. I'm not totally joking in the subject line, I am worried that I might be unemployable because I have a lot of education but so few skills that employers need. My previous experience in ‘proper work’ is all a long time ago but was admin assistant for a literacy charity (2 years), bookseller (5 years) and various catering temping jobs. Bookseller is the thing I was really professional at, but there is just no future in it, and no jobs. Developing the scheme I mentioned above has given me skills like project planning, budgeting, fundraising, plus there are transferrable skills from the ‘acting’. I also have good Word and internet skills. I would like to get into a sector which has potential for the long-term.
Which of these would you recommend?
-Training as a teacher. This is kind of the obvious one, because my work involves children to an extent, but I’ve heard such negative things from people currently in the profession, and I don’t think I would really enjoy it.
- Training as an FE lecturer (college). I have a CELTA qualification and could possibly go into teaching English as a second or other language. But again it’s a sector that’s under a lot of pressure.
- Getting a secretarial qualification, looking for some temping and then for a full-time post as a secretary or administrator. I really enjoyed being an admin assistant though it was some years ago. This seems as if it might be the most flexible area to go into, with the most potential long-term. I’m a bit worried I will be perceived as over-qualified, though, and also too old.
- Seeing if I can grow the project I developed into a charity. The trouble is I would have to put so much in, with no certainty that I’d earn enough to live on, and no security.
WWYD? Any other suggestions? I would be interested in work that has something to do with literacy promotion but I think there can't be much of that.