The Non-Linear Bank Account of a Stage Manager

Otherwise known as... the perils of variable income and how to come to terms with it. I remember one of the toughest things to wrap my brain around as a college stage manager was a professor warning me about how non-linear a career in the arts can be. While the majority of the world climb a ladder, starting at a small entry-level job and then increasing in responsibility and pay as they go, that’s not really the case for stage managers (granted, probably several other careers too). As a stage manager, from the day I walked onto the stage the stage manager and not the assistant, I was in charge of the production. Which in my case, has been the majority of my career. Also, the pay changes more with each gig than with time, although I did receive a few raises during the years with the cruise line. However, I went from really low paying job ($500/month) to adequate paying job that felt like riches ($2700/month) to similar paying job but with 80 gazillion more hours of work a week and no sense of purpose ($2800/month) to a well paying job I hated ($4000/month) to my current job that I enjoy but has far too much time off ($3600/month - all before taxes). Over the years, I’ve adapted to the non-linear-ness of my career. When friends talk about raises, etc., I’ve accepted that not only does it not apply to me, but my next gig could be less than minimum wage - despite being pretty darn good at stage managing and having an increasingly impressive resume. This year has been the first year I’ve really started to deal with the non-linear bank account though. The first few years of stage managing, I was young and dumb and not really paying attention to my finances. I was also working in situations where I didn’t need to be. I’d just funnel each paycheck toward whatever obligations I had - rent or debt - and spend the rest. Or let it sit in my bank account when I didn’t really know what to do with it. Now that I’m older and trying to save up for goals like retirement, a home or a new car and still trying to find time and money to hang out with friends and have fun… I notice the crazy fluxes in my bank account more often. It was especially noticeable to me this week when I wrote about how excited I was to actually have a little extra in there  - and then kind of laughed when I finished the post because I have literally just spent all summer stressing about being able to pay my bills and make my savings goals. And then I realized that the week I wrote the post, I was barely making any money and rely on substitute teaching to fill that gap, I only got half the days I was hoping to get - stupid, healthy teachers. It’s funny looking back over old posts and I definitely realize there are seasons. I’m pretty sure right now is the Roller Coaster Season. Brace yourselves for lots of posts about what that’s like ;o)

What season are you in?