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Topic: Projectionist Salary??
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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!
Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 10-21-2004 01:57 PM
From what I've seen so far, this industry isn't a very good provider if you're at the floor or booth level. So to stay in this business and make enough to raise a family you'd have to go into management (at least DM and above) or into some form of engineering/technical work. Also, working for yourself seems to be a better route towards self-satisfaction and a comfortable lifestyle than taking a salary from any theater company these days.
It's tough when you fall in love with a field that just doesn't pay the bills and has a long "dues paying" stage. If you really love it you'll stay and somehow the money will follow (or you'll learn to be happy on what you make in that field). Otherwise there are any number of other fields that use the same starting set of people and technical skills and pay much better to start and over the long run.
In my case I was spoiled early on by high wages in other fields. As a union stagehand/projectionist/TV engineer I made enough money to pay for college and flight training and still live well. Later, as an aerospace engineer--even as the junior grunt in my department--I made far more money than any theater manager, most district managers, or even most chief pilots. So when it finally came time for me to try and fly for a living I found I just couldn't do it--I thought the wages and conditions were an insult. I feel that way about theater wages too, which is why I know I'll never work for a regular movie theater again. And I really liked projection and flying work. Just not enough to be happy with what those jobs pay now.
Now, as a part-time college aviation instructor, I live the life of a homeless person on food stamps. Which is OK--I love what I'm doing at the moment. But the money will never follow and I can't go on living like this indefinitely. The problem for me is I now have no idea of what I want to do next, and advancing age has already limited my options. Finding a true calling at this point in life is hard!
Jeremy whatever you decide to do, make sure it's something that you truly truly love. Just liking it is not good enough. One way or the other the money will follow if you truly love what you do. Working at a high-paying job that you're not enthusiastic about just leads to misery for yourself and everyone around you, not to mention poorer mental and physical health. Find something you love.
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 10-22-2004 10:28 PM
quote: Steve Guttag
is part of the employment problem an unwillingness to relocated or just that there are no jobs anywhere in the US for those engineers or language specialists?
My daughter sent resumes across the country, from Boston to LA. The CIA and NSA recruited at Middlebury College, and hired almost everyone that was proficient in a Middle Eastern or Asian language, but most of the other more common language majors ended up going on for a PhD., since language-related careers requiring "only" a language Masters were scarce, or were short-term contract work (e.g., document translation). Even high school language teaching would require another degree for certification, and not that many high schools teach Italian. For now, she feels a need for a good job, and not more years of school.
My neighbors hoped to stay in upstate NY, as the wives' established careers were what was keeping them afloat. One guy worked for Corning, one for Xerox, another for Kodak. In today's lousy job market, pulling up stakes and having a couple both try to establish new careers across the country and raise a family is risky.
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. My younger daughter just received her Masters in Italian after spending a year in Florence Italy, and has a Bachelors in Italian and French. Very high GPA and great references. Yet, her likely job in the near term will be working part time (without benefits) at a travel agency, AFTER taking needed 12 additional credit hours of travel-industry courses at a community college. Engineers in my neighborhood who got downsized from various companies have been looking for career employment and a living wage for over a year.
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