Author Topic: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)  (Read 13406 times)

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PSMKay

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Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« on: May 01, 2013, 10:55 pm »
The question of stage manager pay was raised in another thread, so I did a bunch of research and came up with some stats for you. This is going to be a large post, though, and I don't want it to get buried, so I am posting as a separate topic. This is unfortunately US-based as that's what I can readily access.

I surveyed four areas: New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and, for a less theatre-friendly option, West Virginia.

The most detailed data I could obtain was for all Independent Artists, Writers and Performers. In most cases the numbers are from the first quarter of 2012, so they're pretty recent.

When reviewing this info, remember that I'm talking about the average income and spending. In other words, if you are lucky enough to make this a career, about half of you will achieve the numbers that I'm using here. Also bear in mind that the stats do not include the self-employed, and people who earned less than $500 from individual employers over the course of the year. In stage management there's many of those. Many, many shows in each of the cities I surveyed do not pay their workers $500 over the course of a single gig, or the stage managers don't report their income for any number of reasons. To reflect this, I've included the number of people who actually attained enough success to even register on the scale. Compare these numbers to your knowledge of how many people actually "work" in the business.

National Data
The national unemployment rate for independent artists, writers and performers is 11.6%. It's higher for men than for women - 13.6 vs 9.4%. Either way, this means that if you manage to get to the level where you get paying gigs on a regular basis, 11.6% of you will still wind up being out of work long enough to collect unemployment.

The average member of this industry works 24.6 hours per week. It is NOT a full time job, even for those who are working.

Student loans
Further down I'm going to be quoting some monthly expenses. If you get financial aid loans that you have to pay back, your costs will be higher. Here's the average add-on for student loan payments:

4 year undergradPrivate$373
4 year UndergradPublic in-state$279
2 year UndergradAny$107
3 year GraduatePrivate$518
3 year GraduatePublic in-state$318

New York
Only 3494 people are counted as professional artists, writers and performers in NYC. Everyone else is not earning enough to count. Figure that 5% of those people (174) could be stage managers.
If you manage to get on payroll in NYC, in your first year half of you will earn less than the average of $4249 per month. Have a degree? OK, you now have a 50% chance of getting at least $5382.
If you manage to keep that gig for a few years, that will increase to $6311 per month, or $8725 if you finish college.
This is all higher than the NYC average employee: $4097 for new hires and $7915 for established workers.

If you're living in New York City, your average monthly costs are going to be about $4848.
However, if you've done the entire run of college & grad school with loans, those monthly costs could be more like $5739.

This means that the average new hire in New York will be losing $400-600 per month, or cutting their costs accordingly.
The average established worker has a decent chance of earning a profit.

Chicago
Chicago counts 1208 professional artists, writers and performers who felt comfortable enough to say as much on their tax returns. Figure that 60 of them were stage managers.
As a new hire on a gig paying professional rats in Chicago, half of you will earn less than $2329 per month. If you've finished college, that goes up to $3189.
After a few years of residence that could increase to $3586 per month, or $4714 if you finish college.
This is all substantially lower than the average Chicago resident: $3189 for new hires and $5502 for established workers.

If you're living in Chicago, your average monthly costs are going to be about $4798.
Add in the worst case scenario financial aid payments and that number jumps to $5690.

This means that the average SM in Chicago will be losing around $2500 per month if they try to just work in the arts.
The average established career professional will still lose about $1100 per month or make up the difference with a part time job.

San Francisco
1758 people claim to be professional artists, writers or performers in San Francisco. Going by the same 5% estimate I used above, 87 of them are stage managers.
Newly hired pro SMs in San Francisco average $2210 per month. College grads, you get $3503.
Long-term residents pros get $3303 per month, or $4561 with a college degree.
The average San Francisco worker across all industries earns $4374 as a new hire, and $6838 once they've established themselves.

The average San Franciscan spends $5663 per month.
Add in student loans and that's more like $6554.

In your first year on a professional paying gig in San Francisco, your best case scenario sees a loss of $3250 per month if you don't pick up a second job.
Chop $1000 off the monthly debt once you've established yourself, but the forecast is still nasty.

Charleston, West Virginia
There are a total of 8 professional artists, writers and performers in Charleston, WV.
They earn an average of $913 per month when they've established themselves.
The average Charlestonian earns $4050 per month.

Monthly cost of living is $3808, or $4700 if you've got student loans to pay.
In Charleston this is not a question of "Nice work if you can get it." You pretty much can't get it.

Conclusion
If you try to make this a full time gig, the top 45% of you - that's maybe 75 people - have a chance of earning a living at it only in the New York, the top theatre city in the US. In other cities you'd really have to be in the top 10% of all career stage managers to have a shot of breaking even. That means 6 lucky Chicago stage managers and 9 San Francisco SMs can do this full time and still be able to save for retirement. I'm ballparking here, and probably being very optimistic with those numbers.

I know you love stage management. I know you want to make it your career full time. But you really must ask yourself:
1) Do I have a shot at being one of the top 400 or so stage managers in the entire metropolitan theatre community? Take a look at the membership numbers of SMNetwork and then ask yourself that question again.
2) Even if I am one of the best, can I stand to be working two jobs for my entire career?
3) Am I willing to go to the cheapest post high-school education I can get away with?
4) I can cut my losses by going on tour to minimize personal expense, but am I willing to tour for my whole life?
5) I can raise my chances of a higher income by working industrials and commercial, but am I willing to do this?

If your answer to those five is "No," then it's time to reconsider your career choice. You can still stage manage. Please do! But know the odds, and plan accordingly.

Sources:
Earnings: http://lehd.did.census.gov/applications/qwi_online/
Tuition & loans: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/index.asp
Financial aid payments: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml
Consumer spending: http://www.bls.gov/regions/consumerspending.htm

PS: Students, if I can do this kind of research and report in 3 hours, you can too.
EDIT: Clarified some language.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2013, 11:36 pm by PSMKay »

dallas10086

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2013, 11:01 pm »
Quite sobering for those that may be setting their sights only on NYC. Remember, there's a whole country out there with plenty of great theatre! Where do you think B'way gets some of their shows from?  ;)

PS Kay - Charleston, WV? Was that random?

PSMKay

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2013, 11:18 pm »
It was somewhat random. I wanted somewhere that wasn't really known as a theatre city to serve as a control.

Thinking further I should also do Las Vegas.

Las Vegas
Average New hire: $2050. With college: $3208
Average Mid Career SM: $4145. With college: $7072.
Average resident income, all industries: $2594 new, $3977 established. Artists earn more than the average worker in Vegas. This is not surprising when you consider some of the artists who are working there. This macroindustry includes everyone from Cher and Siegfried & Roy down to the lowliest "showgirl" along with the stagehands, designers and techs.
Total professionals: 780.

Average monthly costs: $4562
With worst case student loans: $5454

Debt for a new stage manager: $2300 loss per month.
Debt for a career SM: $1300, although you stand to earn a profit if you finish college.

You must be one of the top 20 stage managers in Vegas to stand a chance of meeting these averages.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2013, 11:58 pm by PSMKay »

Jessie_K

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2013, 11:20 pm »
"As a new, paid hire in New York City, half of you will earn less than the average of $4249 per month. Have a degree? OK, you now have a 50% chance of getting at least $5382."

Can you explain this more, I am a bit confused.

"As a new, paid hire in..." Surely this can't mean straight out of college 22 year old "new hire."  I think the stat would be less than half of one percent would stand even a tiny chance of earning 4K a month at that stage.

I think this sentence should read "As a seasoned professional with 10+ years of experience, half of you will earn less than the average of $4249 per month."

PSMKay

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2013, 11:43 pm »
You're right, Jessie. I've clarified the language somewhat. That number refers to a new hire in their first year of full-time employment.

... which makes the forecast even grimmer across the board.

Remember also that the top of the pay scale in NYC can get into the six figures. That $4249 number is the average. The folks in the "below average" pay ranges could be very very low indeed. Working in terms of absolutes, for every big shot Broadway SM earning $150k per year, there could be two earning $50 a week and the average would still come out to approximately $4249.

Maribeth

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2013, 11:46 pm »
Really interesting to see it broken down like this. Thanks Kay!

Caroline Naveen

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2013, 11:52 pm »
Ouch....that's uglier than I thought....I still really want to be a stage manager but....wow. What kind of other jobs can you do if your a stage manager because if you're working it's weird hours? Just out of curiosity.

PSMKay

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2013, 12:12 am »
There are plenty of part time jobs, Caroline. We've discussed options many times here - the search bar will help you find some other discussions. I know in Chicago theatre is mostly an evening and weekend thing until you get to the highest levels of AEA work. So a 9-5 job is not out of the question. It's exhausting to do both - that's one of the things that majorly contributed to me moving on to a new career. However, it is possible.

Options include:
Temping
Office work
Waiting tables
Real estate
Box office
Child care
Teaching/Tutoring
Personal assistant
Housekeeping
... and many more.

hbelden

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2013, 02:58 am »
I don't think I could have made it to professional status without splitting my costs (and during my grad school, being supported by) my wonderful partner.
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Heath Belden

"I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right." - Sondheim
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MatthewShiner

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2013, 01:43 pm »
It is very ugly.

And to think, most New York AEA Stage Managers I know are PA'ing for somewhere between 250-400 week, and then picking up ASM gigs on smaller shows.  The market is saturated . . . and you have to invest that time to work you way up the ladder . . .
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

NomieRae

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #10 on: May 07, 2013, 08:20 pm »
Very sobering indeed, but also is exciting to me that this is my 5th year in a row in making a living in NYC with no side job. Is it glamorous? Will I ever probably make those six figure salaries? Nope. But I have a wonderful apartment, network, and enough jobs to pay the bills... which is something to be truly grateful for.
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"First, I honor life, and with it my life in theatre." -- Jacques Burdick

On_Headset

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #11 on: May 07, 2013, 09:16 pm »
One thing that's being discounted here is the teaching track.

I live in a major metropolitan area. Within a commute's distance, you'll find a good 8-9 university-level theatre programs and 5 community colleges offering a tech/production/design program.

We mustn't get ahead of ourselves, of course: between them, these ~15 programs might only create 20-25 faculty-level jobs for stage managers. (And a growing number of these jobs will be part-time/adjunct work, which must be supplemented by other gigs.) But in an environment where 150 jobs is an abnormally high figure, 20-25 additional positions is actually a pretty big number. (It's also a very different sort of work, but the trade-off is that these jobs have perks like health insurance and predictable incomes and regular full-time hours and maternity leave, etc.)

BeccaTheSM

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2013, 09:21 am »
Kay, thank you for this!! It will be interesting to see who makes personal decisions to let this information derail them or to try harder to be among the top tier.
Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos. - Stephen Sondheim

DeeCap

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2013, 11:12 am »
Those are some painful numbers, and it wasn't like this when I started. 

Bwoodbury

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Re: Can you earn a living? (2013 Research Data)
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2013, 10:28 pm »
I want to look up this data for DC. I feel like a lot of the SMs I know here are fairly steadily employed, and I haven't had to pick up a day job yet. But: it's also a very insular market, so maybe there are struggling stage managers I don't connect with.

 

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