Stills from Oscar-nominated films The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
If you want to have a future in film or TV then, for goodness sake, do not take that sh*tty job in film & TV. Go get a job in financial services, make a ton of money and, when you’re fed up with selling your soul for a quick buck, quit and make your dream film. — Professor J.
I will never forget those words, spoken by one of my NYU film professors.
He was a well-known producer and leading figure of the digital film revolution with a successful slate of indie films under his belt. I was a third year student at NYU Tisch Graduate Film with (maybe) one solid short film under my belt and a mounting load of student debt. To say I was shocked is an understatement; but, at least, I was somewhat prepared for the uphill battle of making a living as a NYC creative.
I got my first degree in biology from Stanford and, realizing that medicine and research weren’t my passions, decided to pursue a more creative path. (Truth is, I would’ve switched majors, but my Nigerian parents refused! #Africanparents.) I waitressed and did a PR internship my first year after college, then got a global health communications job in Manhattan that paid $40K. I soon realized that I didn’t want to have anything more to do with science and quit, taking temp jobs until I cobbled together steady work as a medical copyeditor (falling back on that science degree again, go figure), which then paid anywhere from $22-$25/hour, and a blogger for a website, that paid $400/month. I still ended up spending down the savings I’d had from my first job. And by the time I started at NYU Grad Film, I had worked as a PR girl, waitress, blogger, modern dancer, and a host of other jobs and gigs trying to make ends meet.
The work fed my creative appetite and provided plenty of fodder for my student films though, quite literally, it left me starving. I was paying $900/month rent in a two-bedroom in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, where I lived with my bestie, spending the rest of my money on Metrocards, food, and my films. I can remember going completely broke my first year of school, sneaking into the lounge on the 9th floor to steal packets of instant oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast despite the sign on the door that read: FACULTY ONLY. Too proud to tell my friends and family, I just starved on those mornings when the door was locked.
That’s an excerpt from an essay I wrote about how to make a living as a creative in NYC.
More than 3K views later, plus 100 responses to an interactive survey, and I put together a FREE video of tips for building your creative financial future.
Just join my mailing list, and I’ll send the link right away. (If you don’t see my email, check your spam folder!)
I can’t wait to hear more about your work and how I can support you!
Onward and upward,
