What pays your rent?

[charlotte49ers]

I'm a third grade teacher.

[gganate]

I work at my family's apple orchard, so right now, in February, my cash dwindling cash horde is paying the rent.

[trixie]

I work full time in the human genetics research center at a large, public university. It pays the bills, comes with a sweet office, and gives me more sick/vacay time than I need. I'm staying here as long as possible. Besides, when you're typing on the computer, no one knows if you're working on work stuff or your story!

[Falen]

I work for the largest health care company in the nation as a quality analyst.
They let me work from home and play with excel spreadsheets so i don't see myself moving on until i can support myself as a writer (sigh. Someday...)

[JohnDurvin]

As I mention occasionally, I work in an office supply store; I mention it frequently, because I am very bitter. There's never been much of a job market in Pensacola, and I'm the only person I know that's had a steady job for any length of time. I'm up for a promotion at the moment--my first in almost six years. (I've gotten the occasional raise, but still.)

Now all of that said, I have a very specialized job there; I call it Logistics Special Ops. I've worked there longer than anybody but the old guy, and I have an eerie knack for remembering where things are and where they should be, so every single person at the store (including the store manager and that same old guy) ask me where things are, and I can usually tell them. Thanks to my level of skill with all the behind-the-scenes stuff, I have an unspoken pass to keep out of the way of the customers, especially because I am an awful, awful salesman. The newer supervisors tend to not even tell me anything to do; I know better than they do what I'm supposed to be doing. And man, it's a good thing I've got a good work ethic, otherwise I'd slack off in the back-room, looking busy while actually skimming Wikipedia for creative inspiration and amusing trivia. But, you know, even if I did do that for about half my shift, I still get more done than most of my co-workers.

[Ryan]

I'm a third grade teacher.

Nice. I was a teacher for five years but knew I had to quit if I wanted to follow some of creative aspirations like writing a book. It's a job I brought home physically and emotionally.

So...I've been a self employed remodel contractor for nine years now. Just remodeled our basement into a preschool so my wife and I will be opening a preschool in the August too. I'm looking forward to taking a 5-6 kids in the afternoons twice a week.

Hoping for a little passive income once I get the multimedia version of my book out and I start active marketing (ooooooh....hate that word!).

DIY Portland!

Little bit of this and a little bit of that....

[LiteraryEllyMay]

I'm a technical writer for a defense contractor (D.C. Metro area). I work in an office with software developers and write in my car on my lunch breaks. :S

It may be lame, but it gets the word count going.

[kabbu]

Right now, blind luck pays the bills. Looking for any kind of paying work that'll keep enough food on the table right now.

That usually involves day labor.

[Rachel Ventura]

The 'rents Well, 'rent as it's just my mother and me. I don't even have brothers or sisters, and my mom doesn't work because she's got a lot of medical problems. At least she doesn't have to worry about or bother with college payments; I'm not interested in going anyway, and there's no way I could ever afford it without falling into the Occupiers' dilemma of being forever chained to the student-loan system and unable to pay back to Caesar what stabs me in the back. (A lot more greens than you'd ever find in a salad, that's for sure.) The ides of April are looming all too quickly as well.

At this point it's a tug-of-war between Uncle $cam and bill collectors with regards to monies being offered up (or who/what "pays your rent," per the thread's title, as well as utilities, food, etc). At least she didn't have to sacrifice her first-born -- only-born in this case. Government subsidy programs (you know, those *ahem* "freeloader" programs Loudspeaker of the House Green-Rich wants to get rid of, probably along with the so-called "freeloaders" themselves) pays for a lot of it but there's still the issue of utilities, etc. I'm far too shy and self-conscious (read: self-loathing) to offer myself up for a job interview, which is why I'm (reluctantly, as my reticence to social-media is well-documented here) looking into those so-called Pro Blogger methods. Problem(s) for me, 1) you have to pay at least a little to get something back, i.e. domain and/or hosting, and 2) most people start out with their "real world" friends as the basic audience for whatever internet presence they have. I have neither presence nor friends, nor the confidence for either, at least as of yet, and my mom (who'd likely be my "critique partner") hasn't used a "computer" since before Steve Jobs introduced Lisa into the world. (The predecessor to the Mac and his daughter -- born way back in 1983.) While the '70s/'80s aren't an extremely long time ago, the truth is I talk about leap years being an odd chronological measurement, but computer years seem to go a lot quicker... After all, back in those times, "platforms" were something only Tony Orlando used in his "media presence" on the Johnny Carson show.

Although, I might make enough to buy at least a domain name if I can hock a couple pairs on eBay from my Halloween costume some years back when some kids from the neighborhood and I went as Charlie's Angels. Sure, absolutely (tongue in cheek), they once belonged to Farrah Fawcett... or a seven-year-old likeness thereof.

[charlotte49ers]

I'm a third grade teacher.

Nice. I was a teacher for five years but knew I had to quit if I wanted to follow some of creative aspirations like writing a book. It's a job I brought home physically and emotionally.

So...I've been a self employed remodel contractor for nine years now. Just remodeled our basement into a preschool so my wife and I will be opening a preschool in the August too. I'm looking forward to taking a 5-6 kids in the afternoons twice a week.

Hoping for a little passive income once I get the multimedia version of my book out and I start active marketing (ooooooh....hate that word!).

DIY Portland!

Little bit of this and a little bit of that....

It is very, very difficult, especially when you know what is happening when the kids leave the safety of your classroom. That's when it really gets tough, and it's probably a lot of the reason I've yet to finish my draft. I can't leave it though, so I'm trying to cut extraneous activities and stuff from my life so I can refocus.

Starting your own preschool sounds awesome!

[Margo]

Writing. I make the same with writing now as I do with my day job as a resource analyst. Its time to start looking at quitting the day job, but I'll probably spend at least the next couple of months socking more away in the savings account.

[dios4vida]

Writing. I make the same with writing now as I do with my day job as a resource analyst. ITts time to start looking at quitting the day job, but I'll probably spend at least the next couple of months socking more away in the savings account.

This is about the coolest thing I've heard in a long time. Congratulations, Margo!!

[Margo]

This is about the coolest thing I've heard in a long time. Congratulations, Margo!!

Thanks, Brenda. It's actually not an easy decision to make. I usually like to play it safe. Yet all of the most amazing things that have happened in my life have been the result of taking chances (even when people around me were very negative about the risks).

[MattLarkin]

It's awesome that you even have the opportunity to do so. Once you reach that point, you can make the decision at your leisure.

[Falls Apart]

My parents. Hey, I'm in high school. But I do have a job. I work at my town's library, shelving, sorting, tidying, etc. I don't earn much from it, but I like it. I also plan to get an additional job this summer with more hours, not because I want to, but because... college... tuition... expensive... *cowers in fear of the future*