Welcome to Tough Money
The entertainment and high-tech industries are providing some of the most desirable and sought-after jobs in Southern California. The work also can be difficult, demanding long hours and exacting expertise--that’s what we mean by “tough money.”
Some of the positions pay quite well, though, as the salary listings on Pages 3 and 7 reveal: union minimum wage for directors of one-hour network television shows is $26,000 a week. The average annual salary for the vice president of marketing for a high-tech start-up company is $175,000.
But it’s not all glamour and glory, as our stories on production assistants reveal. And life in the no-tie, free-lunch world of cutting-edge technology has its dark side of endless hours at work and constant uncertainty (Page 8).
Although show biz can be a well-paid dream job to people like independent record producer Sylvia Massy, Capitol Records veteran Richard Schulenberg is far less enchanted, bemoaning his discovery that many of his heroes in the industry turned out to have feet of clay--all the way up to their armpits. The pair debate the merits of the business on Page 20.
If you have any question about how to tell the big fish from the wannabes in Hollywood, check out the humorous quiz concocted by serious entertainment writer James Bates on Page 11.
Sharks are swimming in the Internet as well. Frauds come in many forms, including online job offers and phony franchises. Find out how to protect yourself on Page 29. There’s good news too on the cyber-job frontier, as some highly creative types are using shameless self-promotion on the very own home pages to get work. See how it’s done on Page 26. Other people are perfecting direct-mail techniques online, discovering how to send junk e-mail that doesn’t offend its recipients.
There are many ways to break into entertainment or high technology, as Times readers have found. Several took the time to share their stories with us and they appear throughout this section. It’s never too late, as Earl Schuman reveals on Page 4. The 81-year-old actor has been in the business since he was 79. “I’ve got an exciting new career and a very bright future,” he says.
