Is Voice Over Work A Perfect Match For Your Lifestyle?

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The voice over industry is certainly a fabulous line of work, but the day to day lifestyle is not necessarily for everyone. While there are glamorous gigs, famous clients, and flexible work schedules, there are also long hours, irregular work flows periodically, and almost no structure to the work day. A good or interesting natural speaking voice is great place to start – but there are still other factors to consider!

Of course, no career is always ideal all the time – even the dream job is full of short-comings and inconveniences if you look closely enough. Voice acting is one of those careers that looks perfect from the outside but often calls for irregular hours and unpredictable depths of work.

For those who are considering getting into voice overs, there are these questions to first consider:

1. Are you willing to work more than a 9am – 5pm job? If not, you might have a hard time as a full time voice actor! Some of the most talented and successful voice actors I know are up before dawn and can often be found recording work for clients well into the night. Sure, there are breaks throughout the day, but you should expect periods of feast and famine.

2. Have you been passionate about voice acting for a long time? Even before you knew what a voice actor was, did you pay attention to how a good orator speaks? Did you tend to analyze how something should be read aloud, even if it's an excerpt from a book, the back of a cereal box, or a newspaper article? I like the wisdom, "The key to life is finding something you love doing, and then finding a way to get paid for it." Essentially, if you were not paid to do it, would you still want to do it?

3. Do you require a lot of face-to-face interaction throughout the day? The life of a voice talent can be a lonely one at times! We joke that voice actors are most comfortable in a padded cell, but there is truth behind that. Unlike working in an office setting, you are often only interfacing with clients via phone or email. A funny student of ours once told me, "I do not mind it at all – I've got all my character voices to keep me company!"

4. If you can not take a risk. Voice acting takes training, just like "regular" acting! Investing in voice over training is a prudent decision if you are pursuing a professional career as a voice actor. If you are not willing or able to take both the financial and career risk, then consider a back up plan. The market for voice jobs is ever growing, so do not let me discourage you. Just remember to treat voice acting with as much respect as any new career – it takes time to build it up!

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Source by Jeff Santoro