Every now and then I like put out a gentle reminder that working in the voice-over industry isn’t always as glamorous as it sounds from the outside. It’s certainly not for everyone — no matter of how good your natural speaking voice is!
Certainly no job is always perfect all the time, even your dream job. Voice acting, like other professions in the entertainment industry, often requires long hours for not a lot of money or recognition.
For those who are considering getting into voiceovers, there are these questions to first consider:
1. Are you willing to put in irregular work hours? If you only want a 9am – 5pm job, you might not like the life of a professional voice actor! Some of the most talented and successful voice actors I know are disciplined about getting up early and certainly don’t mind putting in extra hours after dinner to get projects done. While you might find the middle of your day quite free, sometimes you’ll be flooded by jobs and other times you’ll spend your whole day searching for auditions.
2. Is your interest in voiceovers likely to be short-lived? While it’s hard to predict this one, maybe you can instead ask yourself how long you’ve wanted to get into voiceovers. Before you found out about voice acting, did you pay attention to commercials and radio talk shows? Did you like audiobooks for the good narrators, or did you ever work on impersonations? If you weren’t going to get paid to do voice-overs, would you still do them for fun because you enjoy the creative process?
3. Can you spend a lot of time alone? Voice actors spend a lot of time in solitude! Many people feed off the face-to-face interactions that come from working in an office, but most voice actors only communicate with clients through email or phone. The joke that voice actors are most comfortable in a padded cell holds truth! You should be comfortable working independently, and it certainly helps to be self-motivated.
4. If you’re not prepared to take a risk. Investing in professional voice acting is like investing in acting. Most people who take acting classes never make it to the big screen. Unlike film acting, the voice over industry is readily expanding, and new niches are evolving all the time. Podcasts, video games, and audio books are just three areas of voice overs that are rapidly developing. While new jobs are being posted every day, there is no guarantee that you will start getting voice over work the day your voice over training finishes. Planning ahead and securing your finances will only increase your chances of success in the long run.
Find out how to land the professional voice over jobs you want today! If you would like to get more voice over work, click here to find out how we can help ensure your success in the voice-over industry today!