Almost all classical singers have to take a day job at some point in their careers, often for their entire careers. We need jobs that provide lots of flexibility and pay enough to make up for our unpaid singing engagement “vacations.”
The obvious choices are to temp, wait tables, or teach voice lessons. But you may not have considered other available options. What about teaching ESL (English as a Second Language), or working as a human mannequin, or as an administrative assistant in a private home office? Here are some notes on each of those side careers from pro and semi-pro singers who have done them.
JOB: ESL Teacher
By Lynne Hayden-Findlay (lynneESLTeach@aol.com)
Pay range: I have only worked part-time for [Local] 1199 (Homecare Workers’ Union) and CWE (Consortium for Worker Education), which both pay $40 or more an hour, and for Embassy CES.
Embassy CES is a private company teaching international clients, many of whom are business executives looking to improve their English for their job or university students trying to prepare for their TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam to enter an American college. It pays $16 an hour or a little more. I’ve heard that other similar schools pay as little as $13 an hour. Private tutoring can yield more per hour, depending on the economic ability of the client, but such jobs are difficult to find and not all that satisfying.
Jobs are also available through the Board of Education at public schools and various universities (master’s in TESOL required). Both pay well. Public school teaching is a union job (United Federation of Teachers) so it includes benefits.
Training required: The minimal requirement is usually sanctioned certification of some kind, such as CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), Cambridge University’s one-month program (available in New York City at St. John’s University’s Teaching House); a certificate program (such as the one at The New School); or a master’s degree. All are intensive and involve student teaching, research, and usually prior knowledge of a foreign language.
Why it’s good for singers: Most singers have patience, creativity, a good ear, clear enunciation, and a natural penchant for teaching. You don’t just learn to teach English—how to avoid splitting infinitives, dangling prepositions, or using “want” as a continuous verb—you also learn how to teach using engaging and comprehensive lessons that use the four aspects of language (speaking, reading, writing, and listening), while addressing the different ways in which people learn (kinetic, visual, cognitive, etc.).
If you are not working full time, a part-time position provides tremendous flexibility. If you should be fortunate enough to work as a singer in a foreign country, you can garner a few shillings weekly by taking private students.
Music can also be a useful tool for teaching vocabulary and grammar, most particularly with popular tunes. Nothing can take away the joy of working with students who struggle for weeks and then one day “get it.” You see their eyes light up in a new way, and they think you are a god.
Disadvantages: Other than university, board of education, and union jobs, the pay is horribly low. The first year to year and a half is excruciating because you need to get up to speed on the resources available to supplement an assigned text, or to create your entire curriculum from scratch. A one-hour lesson could initially require two hours of prep time just to do the research and examine the options. And if you are not clear on a particular grammar point, such as the rule on the order in which adjectives precede a noun, you need time to bone up.
We can’t always choose the students we work with—and believe me, they are not all gems. Students can have behavior problems, even the “mature” adults. I’ve seen one “rotten apple” spoil an entire class. Private school students attend by choice and sometimes their choice is to be absent, which can totally undermine a lesson plan.
Working with students from Latin or Central America poses another whole set of challenges. The students you are likely to encounter are usually illiterate or only semi-literate in their own language. They lack critical thinking skills, are rarely challenged to think creatively (and thus don’t know how), don’t know how to study, and usually live within a monolingual community where it is difficult if not impossible to practice their newly acquired skills.
Advice: I began researching the field thanks to another singer. I find the exhilaration of a well-done lesson as satisfying as a good audition—and it can be just as exhausting, but in a good way. I sometimes walk into a classroom not feeling my best, but when I pass through those doors, it’s show time, and I produce. Usually, I leave the class feeling much better, fully energized.
JOB: Professinal Fit Model
(Literally being a human mannequin for companies to give them feedback on their construction of clothing.)
By Tracy Bidleman (gwynnivere@hotmail.com)
Pay range: $150-$300 an hour depending on client, your experience, etc.
Training required: No direct training required, but you must meet certain “specs” to even qualify. Taking one or two courses in pattern making/draping is also helpful so that you understand garment construction basics.
Why it’s good for singers: Fit modeling generally happens between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You usually see many clients weekly, so you have a hand in building your schedule as opposed to the set schedule of an office environment.
It is a lot of standing and changing clothes—but not necessarily talking. Singers can be a perfect fit for this, since we typically have costume fitting experience or in some cases even clothing construction experience. You are also employing all your well developed presentation skills to talk with the clients.
Your evening and weekends are free—and you make such good money that depending on your debt load, you may only have to work five to 10 hours per week to make it worth your while.
Disadvantages: You get hooked on making great dough and may get into the position that you don’t want to do gigs because you make more as a model. You must meet required criteria to even be considered as a fit model. Your height must be between 5’7” and 5’8”, and you must either fit into a size 6, 8, 10, or 18W to have the possibility to be employable full-time. The “core” specs for a size 10 are: 37.5” bust, 29.5” waist, 36.5” high hip (4.5” below the true waist), 39.5” low hip (8.5” below the true waist), 23.5” thigh, and 12” bicep. The other sizes 4, 12, 14, 16, and 18 or 14W to 16W only work at best part-time, so you must find another source of income for yourself and think of this as supplemental income.
Unless you are really popular with your clients, you may lose them if you go out of town for more than a couple weeks at a time.
Advice: My recommendation is that you get your “core” measurements and then shop around for agencies in the city that do fit modeling. Most agencies have a “fit” division and have “go-sees” (the industry term for a casting or audition) once a week. This job is better for people who are in town more than they are out of town.
JOB: Legal/Covernment Relations Assistant
for Sole Practitioner Attorney
Contact: Beth Madsen Bradford
(beth.madsen.bradford@gmail.com)
Pay range: $20-25 an hour, 20-25 hours a week, plus full benefits.
Training required: Office experience, common sense, ability to multitask, initiative, and self-monitoring.
Why it’s good for singers: This job is great for me since I share it with another person, and we work for a single attorney out of his home. That give us all a lot more flexibility when it comes to scheduling. I am able to take out-of-town gigs regularly, since there is someone else who knows most of the parts of my job. I am also able to work a four-day workweek and teach private voice lessons.
Disadvantages: I am stuck in an office for 20 hours a week. ‘Nuff said.
Advice: Strike a balance between what you can realistically offer an employer (what you have to offer that will make extended absences more palatable to your employer) and what you need (being completely honest about what your commitment as a singer entails). My boss knows that I will be gone probably eight or nine times a year for anywhere from three days to five weeks, and we plan accordingly.
